I had a four day adventure to Germany last weekend that started in Berlin. I would just like to start by saying that the airport in Berlin was extremely touristy… maybe even worse than the Eiffel Tower. For example:
I got into Berlin pretty easily on the bus. Before I even really got in I got my first Deutsch treat… so yummy.
I checked into my hostel (Womabt’s, it was good) and started to explore Berlin. I started with the East Side Berlin wall gallery. Now “gallery” means it’s just what’s left standing of the wall with all the art. It’s not the conventional indoor gallery. Do not be like the Americans I heard asking the merchants where the “gallery” was when they were standing there staring at the wall. (face palm)
Old German men playing betting games along the wall…
Across the river was gorgeous also…
Boat hostel!?
After the wall I wondered around a bit and went to the Charlottenburg Palace. While I was walking there I ran into this large German man walking four chihuahuas. It was adorable and he let me play with them…
It was late so I didn’t get to go inside, but the outside as you can see was gorgeous. After that I walked around and just kind of explored near the palace and the area around the zoo.
So I’m not sure the affiliation with Berlin and bears but it was pretty prevalent all over the city. It was actually a cute unifying thing that I really enjoyed. After that I walked through a big part of the Tiergarten to the Bradenburg Gate. I do not recommend this, it is a lot bigger than it looks and I ended up walking a lot more than I was hoping to….
Berlin TV tower…
I passed the cathedral on the bus too, which was gorgeous.
I ended up passing a lot on the public transportation and seeing a lot of Berlin without really having to go there. (unable to really catch pictures)
Final opinion: I do not like Berlin. Despite the pictures that I’ve shown, it was so dark and gloomy. A lot of the housing and buildings looked exactly how I imagined the entire setting of 1984. A lot of the buildings were just cement with windows. It was like a cleaned up newer version of a lot of the old Polish ghettos I saw in the Krakow old town. It was incredibly sad and just so depressing. There was no question about there having been a war there. The entire city gave me a very bad vibe and really killed my whole aura. I even ended up breaking out in random hives at the end of the night so I just went home to bed. It was weird, don’t let me turn one off… it’s a bustling lively city with a lot going on. It just wasn’t for me.
Sass Abroad 