I am grateful to Germany for having such an interesting history, as it was perhaps the single thing that kept me sane in between the thousands of Maths equations and English essays.
As one of the four topics for modern history our class studied Germany from 1918 to 1939 which was perhaps the most crucial time in the country's history after the horrific First World War and during the rise of the Nazi party amongst other notable events. For this reason I was eager to get to the capital to see in the flesh the sites I had spent so long studying about. The high expectations I had of Berlin were not exaggerated, and somehow the city managed to exceed them.
The first two nights we stayed a fair way from the centre of the city near Treptower park. We arrived late on a Sunday and as everything was closed we were forced to dine amongst some strange types in a local pub. The food was very basic, and so we made it a very quick dinner and returned to our apartment.
As much of the city is closed on Monday, we decided to walk to the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall at the Eastside Gallery. As it began to pour on our way through the streets of the rather cool Kreuzberg, we stopped for an Apfelshorle in a great little cafe called Die FABRIK. It was a groovy joint filled with the appropriate people and had a very friendly waitress.
As the rain began to soften we made our way to the wall and took numerous photos of the graffiti that stretched the entire 1.3km. We also stopped and wrote our names where many others had done the same to mark our visit to the wall, in my case in the hope of returning soon to see it again.
We then made our way over to Checkpoint Charlie, the landmark that stands in the middle of the city and signals a very significant historical era as it was the busiest crossover point during the time when the wall divided the city.
We visited the museum and spent hours reading the very interesting attempted escapes of many Germans whose lives had been harshly disrupted after the construction of the wall.
As the sun had set for the day we returned home and cooked a quick meal before getting in to bed to read our books as the rain continued to fall outside.
Tuesday morning we moved into St Christopher's hostel in Rosa-Luxemburg Platz in the heart of the Mitte district, what immediately became my favourite area of the city.
The Mitte district is the cultural heart of Berlin- the streets are filled with thousands of galleries exhibiting the works of up and coming artists, there are groovy cafes on every corner and amongst all of this there is some of the best shopping I have ever experienced. In other words, I was in my very own heaven.
We filled the day very easily wondering around these streets soaking up the sun as well as the thriving atmosphere of Mitte. We found a great burrito/soup/salad bar 'Dolores' which became our little hangout for the rest of the week for it's amazing quality and backpacker prices.
We visited a great store of a local Berlin fashion designer named Esther Perbandt. After admiring all of her work, Nina purchased a fabulous black suede coat for a great price.
We arrived back at the hostel late that evening and made the most of happy hour sitting in the bar enjoying a few drinks. We were both happy as there were televisions around the room broadcasting various sports including the Rugby World Cup and more surprisingly, AFL.
We met two British guys, Will and John, who later introduced us to their other friends and who we joined on an expedition to a gay bar on the other side of the city. Had we known Tuesdays were the quietest nights in Berlin we probably wouldn't have bothered, as the bar was empty and the neighbourhood dead quiet. It was nice though to spend the evening in some new company.
Throughout much of North-Eastern a number of the concentration and labour camps used in the war still stand and are open to visit for tourists. We decided the following day to make the 90 minute journey to Sachsenhausen, one of the most important camps in Germany, with two other Australian girls, Penny and Ardy.
Sachsenhausen was a significant camp in Germany as it was one of the first built and was therefore used as a mould for other camps in the future. It was also important as, towards the end of the war when the Soviets where marching into Germany, many people from the camps were moved there and many stayed even after the end of the war.
It was certainly a moving experience, and much of the information we were told on our tour was hard to comprehend.
As Sachsenhausen was built in (1933), it was originally a place for the Nazis to send their political opposition- the communists. Therefore it is actually classified as a labour camp rather than a concentration camp as the people were forced into working.
As the years went by it continued to be filled with anyone who was considered opposition to the Nazis but it wasn't until about (1939) that the Jewish people started arriving.
We were given an insightful explanation about every element of the camp, and were told many figures about the number of fatalities in the camp, the most devastating being that of the 200,000 that resided there over the years, only about 38,000 survived.
We were invited by Penny and Ardy to join them for dinner at a nice restaurant they had discovered the previous evening. We had a great evening at 'Good Morning Vietnam' where we each enjoyed a traditional Vietnamese curry and I rejoiced in the fact that it had a bit of spice to it.
After dinner we returned to the hostel and sat down in the bar for some more drinks with the many other hostel guests.
On Thursday morning the rain had unfortunately returned along with the unexpected freezing temperatures and so we went to the Jewish Museum. Architecturally the building is fascinating, and the inside of the building is almost like a maze as one follows the different exhibitions around the room.
After the museum we went back to the hostel to meet Ardy who wasn't feeling well, and then ate lunch at Dolores. In the afternoon Nina and I were eager to explore the other side of Mitte which we hadn't seen yet and so we left the others and went for a wander. We found a nice little cafe called the barn where we sat down for a coffee, only to discover the entire staff were had Australian accents and were communicating in English. It did not come as a surprise as the entire four months we'd been travelling so far we'd met more Australians than any other nationality.
Whilst wandering around Mitte we stopped at every second window to admire the clothes and shoes on display, and resisted buying anything except a cardigan which I greatly needed as we were beginning to feel the cool Autumn Weather which would only get cooler for the rest of our days in Europe.
The next day the clouds and light rain that was falling outside reflected Nina's state as she felt unwell from the previous day.
I spent the morning enjoying the cold in my wool coat and spent hours walking and listening to my iPod. As the rain got heavier I stopped in at a little art gallery and had a look around and then had a coffee. For an hour or so I sat writing my blog and enjoying the time by myself. On the way back to the hostel I bought a cool necklace which I found in a great little shop in AuguststraBe.
In the afternoon Nina's state hadn't improved and neither had the weather so I caught the train over to Kreuzberg to further explore the district. I revisited Die FABRIK and to my surprise was recognised by the waitress who helped me translate the menu to find something to order.
We had another delicious dinner of papaya noodle salad and rice paper rolls at Good Morning Vietnam.
On Saturday we both eagerly made our way to the old Templehof airport for the Berlin Music Festival. We had a wander through the art display and had a quick curry for lunch before the acts started. Over the course of the evening we saw some fantastic live music including The Naked & Famous, Beirut, Boyz Noise, The Bloody Betroots, Tune-yards and Mogwai.
The next day we followed our tradition of seeking out the city's walking tour and made our way to the Brandenburg gate to meet the guide.
Our guide Tom from England was incredible! His knowledge of 800 years of German history and his ability to remember every name and date was impressive. It was slightly depressing though as his wealth of knowledge made me feel as if I knew nothing in comparison, although it did make me eager to continue studying German history in more depth.
On the tour we went to the many historical monuments including the Reichstag, the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler's bunker, the remnants of the Berlin wall and the old Nazi Airforce building. We also spent a while in Paris square where we saw the famous Adlon Hotel and the American and French embassies. We noticed the American flag was flying half-mast and remembered it was the tenth anniversary of the Twin Towers attacks. Tom also told us that for the suite in the Adlon hotel it is only €15,000 per night with which one gets a personal butler and limousine.
We had to leave the walking tour early as Nina and I had an appointment at the Reichstag of which we had to be prompt.
We went up into the top dome of the Reichstag and had a great view over the city and it's many sites.
A few hours later as we watched the sky turn a freaky black we went back to the Museum at the Memorial to the Jews. If anyone has seen the Memorial they will understand that walking through there as the lightning and thunder continued above us would understand that it was a very eerie and rather creepy experience. The Museum was well worth the visit as it tells the story of individuals and families that were victims of the holocausts and therefore tries to put identities to the figures of which we sometimes throw around too loosely.
We celebrated our final night in Berlin with a delicious burrito at Dolores and both regretted the fact that we were leaving in the morning.
On our way to Koln I realised how much I loved Berlin, and I can see it as a city in which I would definitely want to live. Away from the touristy sites (such as in Mitte and Kreuzberg) I find it a very relaxing but at the same time very 'happening' place, and I could easily picture myself joining the thousands of others on bikes on their way to work each day.
As one of the four topics for modern history our class studied Germany from 1918 to 1939 which was perhaps the most crucial time in the country's history after the horrific First World War and during the rise of the Nazi party amongst other notable events. For this reason I was eager to get to the capital to see in the flesh the sites I had spent so long studying about. The high expectations I had of Berlin were not exaggerated, and somehow the city managed to exceed them.
The first two nights we stayed a fair way from the centre of the city near Treptower park. We arrived late on a Sunday and as everything was closed we were forced to dine amongst some strange types in a local pub. The food was very basic, and so we made it a very quick dinner and returned to our apartment.
As much of the city is closed on Monday, we decided to walk to the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall at the Eastside Gallery. As it began to pour on our way through the streets of the rather cool Kreuzberg, we stopped for an Apfelshorle in a great little cafe called Die FABRIK. It was a groovy joint filled with the appropriate people and had a very friendly waitress.
As the rain began to soften we made our way to the wall and took numerous photos of the graffiti that stretched the entire 1.3km. We also stopped and wrote our names where many others had done the same to mark our visit to the wall, in my case in the hope of returning soon to see it again.
We then made our way over to Checkpoint Charlie, the landmark that stands in the middle of the city and signals a very significant historical era as it was the busiest crossover point during the time when the wall divided the city.
We visited the museum and spent hours reading the very interesting attempted escapes of many Germans whose lives had been harshly disrupted after the construction of the wall.
As the sun had set for the day we returned home and cooked a quick meal before getting in to bed to read our books as the rain continued to fall outside.
Tuesday morning we moved into St Christopher's hostel in Rosa-Luxemburg Platz in the heart of the Mitte district, what immediately became my favourite area of the city.
The Mitte district is the cultural heart of Berlin- the streets are filled with thousands of galleries exhibiting the works of up and coming artists, there are groovy cafes on every corner and amongst all of this there is some of the best shopping I have ever experienced. In other words, I was in my very own heaven.
We filled the day very easily wondering around these streets soaking up the sun as well as the thriving atmosphere of Mitte. We found a great burrito/soup/salad bar 'Dolores' which became our little hangout for the rest of the week for it's amazing quality and backpacker prices.
We visited a great store of a local Berlin fashion designer named Esther Perbandt. After admiring all of her work, Nina purchased a fabulous black suede coat for a great price.
We arrived back at the hostel late that evening and made the most of happy hour sitting in the bar enjoying a few drinks. We were both happy as there were televisions around the room broadcasting various sports including the Rugby World Cup and more surprisingly, AFL.
We met two British guys, Will and John, who later introduced us to their other friends and who we joined on an expedition to a gay bar on the other side of the city. Had we known Tuesdays were the quietest nights in Berlin we probably wouldn't have bothered, as the bar was empty and the neighbourhood dead quiet. It was nice though to spend the evening in some new company.
Throughout much of North-Eastern a number of the concentration and labour camps used in the war still stand and are open to visit for tourists. We decided the following day to make the 90 minute journey to Sachsenhausen, one of the most important camps in Germany, with two other Australian girls, Penny and Ardy.
Sachsenhausen was a significant camp in Germany as it was one of the first built and was therefore used as a mould for other camps in the future. It was also important as, towards the end of the war when the Soviets where marching into Germany, many people from the camps were moved there and many stayed even after the end of the war.
It was certainly a moving experience, and much of the information we were told on our tour was hard to comprehend.
As Sachsenhausen was built in (1933), it was originally a place for the Nazis to send their political opposition- the communists. Therefore it is actually classified as a labour camp rather than a concentration camp as the people were forced into working.
As the years went by it continued to be filled with anyone who was considered opposition to the Nazis but it wasn't until about (1939) that the Jewish people started arriving.
We were given an insightful explanation about every element of the camp, and were told many figures about the number of fatalities in the camp, the most devastating being that of the 200,000 that resided there over the years, only about 38,000 survived.
We were invited by Penny and Ardy to join them for dinner at a nice restaurant they had discovered the previous evening. We had a great evening at 'Good Morning Vietnam' where we each enjoyed a traditional Vietnamese curry and I rejoiced in the fact that it had a bit of spice to it.
After dinner we returned to the hostel and sat down in the bar for some more drinks with the many other hostel guests.
On Thursday morning the rain had unfortunately returned along with the unexpected freezing temperatures and so we went to the Jewish Museum. Architecturally the building is fascinating, and the inside of the building is almost like a maze as one follows the different exhibitions around the room.
After the museum we went back to the hostel to meet Ardy who wasn't feeling well, and then ate lunch at Dolores. In the afternoon Nina and I were eager to explore the other side of Mitte which we hadn't seen yet and so we left the others and went for a wander. We found a nice little cafe called the barn where we sat down for a coffee, only to discover the entire staff were had Australian accents and were communicating in English. It did not come as a surprise as the entire four months we'd been travelling so far we'd met more Australians than any other nationality.
Whilst wandering around Mitte we stopped at every second window to admire the clothes and shoes on display, and resisted buying anything except a cardigan which I greatly needed as we were beginning to feel the cool Autumn Weather which would only get cooler for the rest of our days in Europe.
The next day the clouds and light rain that was falling outside reflected Nina's state as she felt unwell from the previous day.
I spent the morning enjoying the cold in my wool coat and spent hours walking and listening to my iPod. As the rain got heavier I stopped in at a little art gallery and had a look around and then had a coffee. For an hour or so I sat writing my blog and enjoying the time by myself. On the way back to the hostel I bought a cool necklace which I found in a great little shop in AuguststraBe.
In the afternoon Nina's state hadn't improved and neither had the weather so I caught the train over to Kreuzberg to further explore the district. I revisited Die FABRIK and to my surprise was recognised by the waitress who helped me translate the menu to find something to order.
We had another delicious dinner of papaya noodle salad and rice paper rolls at Good Morning Vietnam.
On Saturday we both eagerly made our way to the old Templehof airport for the Berlin Music Festival. We had a wander through the art display and had a quick curry for lunch before the acts started. Over the course of the evening we saw some fantastic live music including The Naked & Famous, Beirut, Boyz Noise, The Bloody Betroots, Tune-yards and Mogwai.
The next day we followed our tradition of seeking out the city's walking tour and made our way to the Brandenburg gate to meet the guide.
Our guide Tom from England was incredible! His knowledge of 800 years of German history and his ability to remember every name and date was impressive. It was slightly depressing though as his wealth of knowledge made me feel as if I knew nothing in comparison, although it did make me eager to continue studying German history in more depth.
On the tour we went to the many historical monuments including the Reichstag, the Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe, the site of Hitler's bunker, the remnants of the Berlin wall and the old Nazi Airforce building. We also spent a while in Paris square where we saw the famous Adlon Hotel and the American and French embassies. We noticed the American flag was flying half-mast and remembered it was the tenth anniversary of the Twin Towers attacks. Tom also told us that for the suite in the Adlon hotel it is only €15,000 per night with which one gets a personal butler and limousine.
We had to leave the walking tour early as Nina and I had an appointment at the Reichstag of which we had to be prompt.
We went up into the top dome of the Reichstag and had a great view over the city and it's many sites.
A few hours later as we watched the sky turn a freaky black we went back to the Museum at the Memorial to the Jews. If anyone has seen the Memorial they will understand that walking through there as the lightning and thunder continued above us would understand that it was a very eerie and rather creepy experience. The Museum was well worth the visit as it tells the story of individuals and families that were victims of the holocausts and therefore tries to put identities to the figures of which we sometimes throw around too loosely.
We celebrated our final night in Berlin with a delicious burrito at Dolores and both regretted the fact that we were leaving in the morning.
On our way to Koln I realised how much I loved Berlin, and I can see it as a city in which I would definitely want to live. Away from the touristy sites (such as in Mitte and Kreuzberg) I find it a very relaxing but at the same time very 'happening' place, and I could easily picture myself joining the thousands of others on bikes on their way to work each day.
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