Berlin

6th - 9th April 2001 ... Staying at Let em sleep Backpacker Hostel, Prezlauer Berg


It all started when Berlin is a wonderful Stadt (Asli) We have a lot of rain gesehen (Judith) Und das ist alles (Asli).




After a late night last night (my birthday party) we have arrived in Berlin, after a muddled up train trip, battling lack of sleep and colder weather. After an in depth visit to the Reichsgebaeude, for an in depth view from the dome, we trundled to the Backpackers hostel, which seems to be in an arty part of Berlin. All our feet and collective legs are sore, yet we are going to dinner tonight. Berlin is modern, but grey and rainy. We all hope it brightens tomorrow. Bige says English is better than German. Bis spaeter.





Berliner Dom

Me,Asli and Bige, Berlin April 2001

10-04-01  For dinner on friday night we had mexican. It was delicious. The Italians are real party animals. Apparently they have a reputation for it. On Saturday, we went on a tour of the city. By the end all our feet were tired, and sore, but we didnt stop there! The tour was interesting, we saw the uni at which Einstein lectured, and the spot where the Nazi students burnt the books. We went thru a market, and I bought a Berlin t'shirt for $20.



Me and Judith, Brandenburg Tor

That night we went to the theater, and the play was real shit. It was so stupid and tasteless, and I felt sorry for the actors, who tried really hard. They were also using film projectors, and by the end, they relied on them too much. It went downhill from the scene where the main male character had sex with the ground outside his house. It was a pointless scene, it just made the character look disturbed.  Everyone hated the play. Afterwards we looked for a decent club, where we could party, and following the chboice of the swedish girl, we spent about an hour looking for it, and it turned out to be crappy. We ended up in a barcafe, like friday night, and then went home, tired and frustrated. I went hysterical on the train ride home, from a combination of stress, disappointment, homesickness, drinking beer, tiredness, the full moon and my period. (which arrived monday)

Judith, Me, Bige, Potsdam

Sansoucci in Winter with Heidi (in charge of us!)

On Sunday we went to a huge park in Potsdam, which is full of old castles and statues throughout the parkland. It was great, so beautiful, and exactly what you picutre royal houses and grounds to look like. I went to bed early Sunday night. Exhausted and sick with incredibly sore throat. Monday we went to the Berlin Wall, saw the 'topographie des Terrors' and the Mauer Museum at Checkpoint Charlie.

The Berlin Wall.

Berlin is a nice city, not my favourite, but definately worth the trip. You need more than one weekend to really see everything. The history and its aura are so strong, and I really enjoyed being there, although I was sick, so I couldn't enjoy it that much.

P.S Big groups (22 people) are a bad idea when travelling

....

I became really sick on this trip.. unfortunately. I think I ended up with tonsilitis. The fact that everyone smoked like chimneys didnt help. Every time we went to dinner or a cafe or something, people would all smoke, and the lack of ventilation would make every room a smoky one! I wish I had seen more of the night life while I was there... but following the Swedish girls was a mistake... shoulda gone with the Italians!

Im sure I would've liked Berlin more if I went there again. Being there for a couple of days doing walking tours is a great way to see the place, but its better if you have more time to absorb it, I guess..

I loved the castles at Potsdam. It was the first time I had seen castles and the like. They were built in the 1800s by the last Prussian Emperors (correct me if I'm wrong!). Friedrich II, son of Friedrich William I, must've had some kind of love for the ocean, and King Neptune. I remember the ballroom of the Neues Palais was encrusted with gold and gems and the them was King Neptune. Or under the sea or something. It was gorgeous. There was also a fountain in the middle of Berlin somewhere, of King Neptune. Which we crawled into and took a photo - it was winter and dry after all!

There were also memorials around the place - the museums about war etc. At checkpoint Charlie there is a sign that said in 4 languages "You are now leaving the American sector".. I remember getting someone to take a photo of me running away... with the sign above me :) Photo gone, but the memory is there. There were churches maintained as they were at the end of the war. They had a strange beauty to them.