Aside from Prague, Berlin has been my favorite city in Europe - a place I would definitely want to live. It’s a fascinating city. I wasn’t expecting how modern most of the city was - it has to be, as the whole city was destroyed in the aftermath of World War II and further the Cold War. When we first exited the metro at Potsdamer Platz, we were confused - the city surrounding us looked the business district of Washington D.C., not the capital of Germany. And even though most of the Berlin Wall is torn down (small portions still remain throughout the city - it’s eery), the divide between Eat and West Berlin is quite clear, and not just from the different walk sign lights.
Logistics:
- Travel - Took the Eurolines business class bus straight from Prague to Berlin. The trip was about 4 1/2 hours, and the bus was probably the most luxurious one I’d ever seen. Easy, and only about $60 round trip.
- Accommodations - At the insistance of one of my friends, we rented an apartment for our two-night stay through the website airbnb.com. We stayed in a comfortable, modern apartment in Prezlauer Berg - a bit far out from where I would have liked to be. The price was pretty comparable to hostel as well. While it was definitely worth a try, I personally prefer to stay in hostels - they provide you with more information, they are generally more centrally located, and it’s just more fun to stay in a hostel full of energetic travelers.
The Highlights:
- Topography of Terror - This museum is fairly new, and incredibly well-done. It sits on the former site of the German Security Headquarters - home to the SS, SA and Gestapo. Outside of the museum is a large portion of the Berlin Wall, as well as ruins form the original building. The museum tells the story of the Thrid Reich, primarily focusing on the role of these Nazi security organizations and their leaders, Heydrich, Himmler and Eichmann. The majority of the museum is photographs and texts, but there are many interesting documents present as well as opportunities to watch film footage. The temporary exhibit is currently on Adolf Eichmann’s trial, which was my favorite exhibit.
- NATO Conference - As we attempted to get to the Brandenberg Gate on Thursday afternoon, we encountered tons of police and cut off streets due to a NATO Conference taking place in a hotel adjacent to the American Embassy that night. Bill Clinton was apparently there, but we just saw a lot of motorcades and empty cars.
- Ordering Vietnamese in German - Our first night, we went to dinner at a small Vietnamese place near our apartment, as it seemed the only restaurants in Berlin were Vietnamese or Italian. The menu was Vietnamese translated into German with very little English, and we really struggled to figure out what to order and mostly ended up guessing. Luckily, the food was delicious and our ordered ended up just fine, if not exactly what we expected.
- Oranienberger Synagogue - Probably one of the most historically fascinating synagogues in the world, the front of this place is enormous and beautiful. Inside, there are a few main rooms that discuss the history of the synagogue - how it was harmed but save on Kristallnacht, and later obliterated in other violence against Jews in WWII and the Communist Era. Beyond that is a large, empty back lot with simply a brick outline showing how big the synagogue once was. We splurged the extra 2 Euro to go up into the dome, which was pretty pointless. The views through the dirty windows are lackluster, you can’t see the inside of the dome itself, and if you’re me, you’ll get in trouble with a scary German security guard for taking pictures.
- Tacheles - Originally a department store, it was bombed out at the end of WWII. No one ever took the time to restore it or completely knock it down, so it was taken over by a community of artists. Today, it features the art studios and sale stands for many artists, and sometimes features live shows. It also acts as a canvas that artists are constantly changing. This felt like real, artsy Berlin and I loved it!
- Free walking tour - I cannot say enough about how wonderful free walking tours are. We had a lovable tour guide, Leo, who took us on a 3-hour jaunt all over the city to the Brandenberg Gate, Reichstag, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Hitler’s bunker, part of the Berlin Wall, German Labor Ministry, Checkpoint Charlie, Humboldt University, Berliner Dom, and a few churches whose names I don’t remember.
- Humboldt University - The courtyard at this university is striking a reason besides its beauty - it was the site of several book burnings by Nazis and Communists. Today, the courtyard has two windows in the ground, where when you look below, all you see are empty bookshelves. Across the street, the University hosts a daily book fair.
- Currywurst - a German street food speciality, I had to try it! It’s just a big sausage with curry ketchup and curry powder on top, and served with french fries. A must.
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - This memorial is right in the center of the tourist city, and is overlooked by the American Embassy. It is very big and imposing, and is simply a large square covered with a grid of huge, plain cement blocks in different sizes. The architect never provided any explanation for what the memorial is supposed to represent, but did say that he found his inspiration for it from the crowded Jewish Cemetery in Prague (more on that later). I was very moved walking through the memorial, and loved its ambiguity as it allows every visitor to have their own impression and individual experience within it. Not only it is a memorial, but a gathering place - on Saturday, we sat in the sun and read and people watched for awhile, a long with many other.
- Tiergarden - The biggest garden in Berlin, it is opposite the Brandenberg Gate. We barely went into it, it was huge! We did get over priced beers in the beer garden there and drank them and talked with a scenic view of the park and theReichstag.
- Berliner Marcus Brau - When I saw this name in my travel guide, there was no way I was not going to go there for my obligatory typical German meal. They brewed (great) MARCUS beer, and I ordered the MARCUS special - German sausage, sauerkraut, potatoes and mustard. I was very pleased. We were probably the only tourists there, which was nice, and the Germans that were there were … very stereotypical Germans (read: heavy drinking, singing drinking songs).
- Cafe Morganland - Another recommendation from my bible, Let’s Go, Europe, this place was a real winner. For 9.50 Euro, you get an all you can eat brunch, from perhaps the most amazing brunch spread I’ve ever seen (and as a Jewish girl, I’ve seen a lot of phenomenal brunches in my day). Literally, anything you could have ever wanted was there, and it’s (mostly) healthy. It made it even better because one of my closest friends from school, Megan, met up with us while we were there and hung out with me for the next few hours!
- Beautiful People - I always thought of Sweden as the country with the most hip and beautiful people, but Germany seems to give it a run for its money. Very impressive.
- Prices! - For being a capital city on the Euro, Berlin was surprisingly affordable.
What I didn’t like about Berlin: The public transportation. Like most other European cities, they have tram, metro and bus stations. However, because of Berlin’s size, there are very many lines (U-Bahn, S-Bahn, etc) and they are quite confusing and often require many transfers to get where you want to be.
Coming back from this trip marks the beginning of my last month in Europe! I have one more trip next weekend and then three weeks to take in all I can before I go home for the summer!
