For most of the time I have been in Europe I have been in
places I have never thought about going. It isn’t that I didn’t think they were
cool countries, they are, I just never really thought about them. If I
had never thought about them, how would I know I wanted to visit? Berlin, on the other hand, is a
place I have always wanted to go, but never thought I would reach. Well, It was
the first stop on our crazy ten days five countries vacation and I couldn’t
have been more excited about it.
After our whooping 16 hour long bus ride from Vilnius to Berlin, we
had finally arrived at our destination. We gladly hopped off the bus and began
the journey to the hostel. Of course knowing us, we got lost. While we were
trying to find the right tube (subway, but I prefer tube like them local folks say), a sweet little woman stopped
and tried to help us. When we showed her our map, she literally pulled out a
magnifying glass to see it. It was the most precious thing. We got on the right
tube, and hurriedly found our way to the hostel. Thanks magnifying glassed grandma. You were the cutest.
After we checked in, we really had to hurry to get to the
Berlin wall. We only had a few more hours of daylight, and we really wanted to get a good daylight view of one of the most famous walls in the history of walls. We decided to go to Charlie’s Checkpoint first. When we got
there, there was this booth where fake American soldiers were posing. Obviously
we had to get some pics. After paying a stinking 5$, we took a bunch of
pictures with these dudes. They were sooo funny. One of them grabbed my arm and
the other one started taking selfies on Jessica’s cell phone. After this little
adventure, we realized how pressed for time we really were. It would be dark
very soon. So, we left, hopped back on the tube and rode to the wall.
When we got to the
wall, I was so amazed. I have always been one that loves graffiti. I think it
has a time and place and obviously I don’t like it everywhere, but I loved the
art/ graffiti on this wall. We spent probably the next hour taking tons of
pictures next to all of the cool graffiti we could find. To be honest, I felt
like I could stay for even longer than we did. We ended up leaving because it
was getting dark, cold, and we were all experiencing mild starvation since we
hadn’t eaten in hours. (We are pretty big cheap-o’s so it is our own
fault. Don't worry mom.)
On the way to get dinner, we decided to go see a building
that had some sort of significant meaning. I will admit, it was really
beautiful building but I had absolutely no idea what sort of special meaning it had. I did like looking at it though. After we saw the building, we decided to try and find some
traditional German cuisine. We got tips from a tourist shop about a cool strip
of traditional restaurants that were pretty close by. Unfortunately, on the way
there, everybody got mad and cranky. The group was all complaining and we
couldn't quite agree on a restaurant to eat at. Finally, after a whole lot of wasted
time, we finally agreed upon a restaurant that seemed reasonably priced and
very traditional.
The ambiance of the restaurant was wonderful.
Rosie and I decided to buy two dishes, split the price, and try as much German
stuff as possible. We decided on schnitzel and a bratwurst. I don’t know about
you, but I always imagined that schnitzel was like a fancy pancake or bread. Bratwurst on the other hand I thought was the most delicious savory sausage
in the world. Rosie and I were both saddened that the schnitzel was just fancy
country fried steak and the bratwurst was just a plain old hotdog. Come on
Germany! I expected more from you. Maybe I just went to a bad restaurant… Who
knows.
Thanks for the great time Berlin!
XO Mikele