Berlin

I just got back from my weekend in Berlin. It was so great! I arrived very late on Thursday and got lost on the way to my hostel. That was a little scary, but I figured it out. Friday, I went for a walk and ended up walking 12 miles. It wasn't what I had planned but I saw lots of cool places. I actually stumbled upon the East Side Gallery, the part of the Berlin wall that is covered in murals. From there, I walked through Kreuzberg and went to the Turkish Market, where I ate a delicious fried cheese and spinach thing for lunch. Then I stopped for a hot chocolate in this great little cafe, and went and got a sweet treat. From there I walked around some more and then cirlced back to my hostel. It was really nice becuase one of the people at the hostel makes dinner every Friday night for free. So we were able to eat this meatball and potato dish for free! It was delicious.
Saturday we woke up and went on the New Berlin free walkign tour. It was amazing! On Friday it didn't really hit me that I was in a place of such historical significance, but during the tour I was overwhelmed with different emotions and lots of information. The tour went from the Brandemburg Gate-Reichstag-The Jewish Holocaust Museum- the site where Hitler's bunker once stood, and where he committed suicide (now a parking lot)-the military headquarters (now the financial offices)-the wall as it originally stood (ironically enough it was protected by a fence to keep people from stealing pieces of the wall)- Checkpoint Charlie- A delicious chocolate shop-Paris Square- The square whre the book burnings took place- Mitte (museum island). Then we had a currywurst for lunch and went on a pub crawl that night.

It was exhausting, but so full of information. I will post pictures later.
Sunday we went to a flea market, where I bought two little booklets. One is in German and English about nixons visit to Berlin and the other is only in German about JFK's visit. After the Flea Market we went to the Berliner Dome and wakled to the top and got the best panoramic view of Berlin. Well, probably not as good as the TV tower, but it was 7 euro cheaper. After that we went back to teh chocolate shop and bought some goodies, then I went to the C/O Berlin Gallery, where they had an exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe's work. It was an amzing gallery! Probably the best gallery space I have ever been in.

Anyways, off to class. A week and a half and then I am in Sctoland. I will update with specific pictures later.

All in all: Berlin is an alternative city and was a really cool and great place to visit. It's not somewehre I think I would ever go with a young family, so I am glad I had the opportunity to go this past weekend.