Berlin!

We got to Berlin and the train station was huge.  It literally had at least six floors and tons of restaurants.  We left our Canadian friends as soon as we got to the train station so we could find our hostel.  After asking someone at an information booth, taking the S-bahn, taking the U-bahn, and walking down the street we found our hostel.  The man at reception was really helpful and even carried up Mackenzie’s bag for her.  We had our own room which was nice even though it was on the fourth floor.  Mackenzie had a friend who was studying here who we were meeting and then traveling with after so we agreed on a spot to meet him.  It wasn’t too far away and although we had to wait awhile we eventually found him.  We all went to a low key bar and had a few beers.  It would have been a nice night but on the way back Mackenzie realized she left her Ray Bans at the bar and when we got back they were gone.  It was really upsetting because she had bought them on this trip.  But other than that it was a nice relaxing night compared to the two previous nights in Munich.

We woke up the next morning and walked down the street for breakfast.  I got pancakes (which were more like crepes) and a big coffee for 3 euro which was awesome and tasted delicious.  We then went to meet Mackenzie’s friend again so he could show us around.  First he showed us the area he had lived in and where his university was which apparently was the only section of Berlin unharmed after WWII.  There were really big, pretty houses and it felt more like a neighborhood than a city.  The university was pretty big and somewhat modern looking.  It felt way more like a university campus than where we went to school in Sevilla.  Then we took the subway to a good place to eat that had really good beer (Augustiner).  We all got their dark beer and french fries which we dipped in their mayonnaise and ketchup which had curry in it.  We sat there for literally two hours drinking and talking which was really nice.  Then we went to KaDeWe which was the biggest department store in Europe (or something like that).  It was huge and was filled with designer clothes.  The top two floors were dedicated to food.  They had a buffet on the top floor where I got chocolate gelato which was two die for and then a chocolate counter on the floor below where I got a bag of a few different Godiva chocolates which were also amazing.

After eating our way through Berlin we made our way to where the original wall was still standing in the original location.  It had panels near it with information which was really interesting and we even touched the wall!  I think it was especially interesting because it all happened so recently.  All through Berlin they had it marked on the ground where the wall stood which I think was one of my favorite parts of the city.  We then went to the East Side Gallery where they moved a long section of the wall and had different artists paint on it.  All the artwork was phenomenal.  The river was also near where we were which was really pretty since the sun was setting.  We then ate kabobs for dinner which were really good and apparently there are stands all over Germany.  I also tried desperado which is a type of beer with tequila in it that was really good.  We then made our way back to our hostel after our big day of sightseeing.

The next morning we woke up and checked out but left our stuff in the luggage room since our train to Paris wasn’t until 6:55pm.  We found another breakfast place since the first place we went to was closed and I had a bagel with turkey, tomato, lettuce, and some different sauces on it that was really good.  It was the first bagel I had found in Europe and it was delicious.  The latte was also good.  We sat there until we saw Mackenzie’s friend coming off the subway and then walked to our hostel so he could leave his luggage there too.  We then took the subway to Brandenburg Gate which was really cool and was right next to the US Embassy.  We also saw Reichstag which was really pretty.  On our way back to one of the subway stations we saw the Holocaust memorial which was really cool.  It was a bunch of rectangular concrete slabs that were different sizes and the ground underneath them had different levels too.  After we got back to the hostel station we walked to a beer garden that was on the map the hostel gave us.  It was similar to the one we went to in Munich.  I got bratwurst and a pretzel with wheat beer and it was really good.  Then I had Berliner Weiss with raspberry that was also good followed by another normal wheat beer.  When in Germany :) ... Mackenzie and I also stole another glass to take home as a souvenir.

We eventually got our stuff from the hostel and made our way back to the main train station.  There was one point where we were a little confused but we found our train with 15 minutes to spare.  I stayed with the stuff while they went to get wine for us and fruit for Mackenzie (as usual).  The train came right when they left and I was worried they weren’t going to make it but they ran back and we made it on the train.  However when we found our car it wasn’t the sleeper car we had expected.  Instead it was six seats sitting opposite from each other and the other three were full.  The seats didn’t recline and there was not much leg room.  Somehow there was a miscommunication with the lady who booked our reservations because this definitely did not have a place to sleep.  I should say this in present tense because I’m currently sitting in this squished room.  The train ride is 14.5 hours so I’m definitely going to need this wine.  Especially since it takes a lot for me to fall asleep on trains.