Berlin, Berlin

I arrived in Berlin at the Ostrabanhof Train station just near the East Side. The sun was up and it was surprisingly feeling more summer in Berlin than in Hamburg. 

Oberbaun Bridge

The hostel was JetPak Alternative, along the street Oblitresausse, one of the funky neighborhoods and on the East Side. The place itself did live up to the reviews I’ve read beforehand. I did understand then why there were a lot of young ones who liked the venue. It was an old section of a building just beside a park. The area or even the place itself may look dodgy but I guess it was more homey than the Meininger and Generator Hostels. The rooms were located at the back of the hostel, and you’d need to go through the gothic-style lounge and through a stretch of plants and then get to the rooms. One of the things I really liked about the place though I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, would be the service. The guys and girls were really friendly. I was so happy to see a guitar in the house, so I ended up borrowing it for a wee while. It was funny coz Gunu, the girl at the desk, was taking a video. She was really friendly and chatty. Very lovely to talk to.

It was around 4 pm when I got checked in, along with a girl from Sweden by the name of Sarah. Lookin’ big with her dreads, we didn’t exchange much conversation-wise coz she wanted to go to sleep. So I let her be, settled my stuff and went off to explore.

East Berlin Wall

The location of the hostel was a little bit far from the center, in saying that, it was a little bit of a walk to the nearest Subway or Underground train station. However, the walk itself made me smile coz it made me feel more local passing through the neighborhood. Surprisingly, Berlin was way cheaper than Hamburg and so much so to Belgium. I ended up having a cheap lunch at a Vietnamese fastfood place. And also picked me up a few fruits for my exploration.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Berlin. All I knew was the history was massive and museums were all around. Berlin, being the capital of Germany, is also its largest city and second most populous. Located at the northeastern region of Germany, it’s mostly has a flat topography and along the River Spree, which now runs through what was once part of a big glacier. Of course, Berlin has revolved around the inevitable talk in history about World War II and the well-known East & West Berlin Wall. The Western Allies (US/UK/France) formed West Berlin and the Soviet Sector formed East Berlin. In 1961, the construction of a wall came into place more from the initiative of the East. And to take it to the next level, Checkpoint Charlie was introduced. It was only in 1989 that the wall was demolished and the reunification happened in 1990. During those days, I can still remember watching the news.. that was when the whole world was on a standstill… with the fear of another war or with the hope that unity would finally come into play for Berlin. And at the moment when the first few rubles fell to the ground and peace slowly found its way, I think there must have been a spontaneous sigh of relief for everyone, not just Germans but also for the nations around. 


I passed by the lovely Oberbaum Bridge and walked to the East Berlin Wall, admiring the different murals, drawings and expressions. I couldn’t help but be emotional, imagining what it must have been like years ago when checkpoints and soldiers were all around…trying to think how much the sense of liberation could have been back in those days, when freedom was long last part of their daily lives. 

Check Point Charlie as drawn on the wall

The East Side Gallery covered a long stretch of it, starting from the Bridge and until you get to the stoplight to Obhf train station. People around lazed around beside the river and some teenagers were playing volleyball whilst I looked around. 

I got on the train and got off the wrong station. Instead of getting off at Friedrichstrasse, I got off the Berlin Hbf (tier) or also known as Hauptbahnhof, central and I’d say the best train station I’ve seen so far in my travels. With different levels, it covered both the Subway and Intercity tracks, with different shops and food stalls to offer local and tourists alike. 

I decided to go around and explore the nearby monuments, walking along the river and watching the sailboats pass by as I stared at the different structures. It was rather a different scene for me, as it was bigger, less people were on bikes as compared to Belgium and Hamburg. But still, the presence of that mode of transportation still existed. 

I passed through a museum and found myself staring at the Reichstag Building also known as Bundestag, which is the traditional seat of the German Parliament. The original structure was damaged during World War II, but then, it was redesigned by British architect Norman Foster, to have a glass dome on top and available for the public to view for free. I didn’t linger too long around the area coz I had myself booked for the following day to go up the dome. 

Stanley

Passing through, I found myself at the Brandenburg Tor (Gate) which seems to have gone a long way through Berlin and Germany’s history. I was amazed by the structure, and also noticed that it is on some of the coins too. It was hilarious how there were so many operandus.

Walking through, I heard someone busking, but couldn’t see who the guy was because of the massive crowd in front of me. Stanley (as I found out his name later on), came from Africa, has now been living in Germany as a singer-songwriter but also as an African dance teacher. He’s been busking for 2 years now, but also trying to get his music out there. His voice sort of reminded me of Tracy Chapman, and he did resemble her a bit. The crowd was really onto him as he sang “Afrika”. He then invited some people to join him or even get on stage and perform. After a few teenagers had their turn, I got on the microphone and played for 20 minutes. It was fun, and he did a freestyle for Tracy Chapman too. I took a few photos of him and got his calling card. That was a fun eventful afternoon as my first day in Berlin.

I was supposed to pass by the Holocaust Memorial but decided to head back to the hostel since I was a little bit tired. 

I then met Michael, from New York, and was staying in Berlin for almost a week then. He’s been just chilling after Uni, and soon to move to Seattle and get on a full time job. We were both in the same dorm, so we ended up chatting a while. For some reason we got to the hostel events of the past few days, about the guys and all of the crazy things they’ve been doing. Of course I wouldn’t want to include it in this post. 

Dar Edelweiss

Michael apparently said that a few of the guys went to the nearby pub where a music thing was happening. At first I wasn’t interested as I was already comfortably tucked In bed, but by 12:30 pm, I decided to join him and check out the scene. Might as well since it was just close by. 

The Dar Edelweiss was just a 7-minute walk from the hostel and right along Oblitrestrasse, and inside the park. During the day it’s a typical restaurant but at night it looks like the usual pub/night scene. We got there and bumped into drunk teenagers who were most probably tourists having a good time. The place itself was a little bit dark, hazy with smoke but packed. 

We found ourselves a little spot at the corner of the bar and Michael bought the booze. The night was a Jazz jam session, composed of different musicians from around the globe. There was a guy on double bass, piano, drums, bongo, flute, saxophone.. it was awesome. I found myself swinging to the music. 

Through the noise, I found out that Michael was actually into cryptics and sort of security side of I.T. We then ended up with a few discussions on the technicalities. Yeah, imagine huh? That discussion in a pub. Amazing how we got to hear ourselves through that conversation. 

Later in the night a few singers got on stage, a Spanish girl, 2 jamaicans and a girl from Massachusetts who actually topped it all. Her voice was superbly jazzy….and her stage presence was awesome. 

By the time we had our 2nd round of booze, it was already 2:30 am and I told Michael we had to head back to the hostel. I also noticed he was already struggling with his second bottle, or maybe I was just drinking too fast, but definitely I told him I didn’t have the strength to drag him back to the hostel if he was already tipsy. He had a lot of time spent already in berlin, and I didn’t want to waste my 2nd and last day with a hangover anyway. He was really sweet and said it was okay. 

When we got out of the pub, some scenes in the park just blew my mind out. It was quite embarrassing how I reacted, coz it seemed Michael was just cool about it. I’ve only seen such in movies, but my eyes couldn’t grasp the sight in front of me, a girl and a boy doing it just out in the park, and what made it worse was that they could be seen by anyone who’d get out of the pub. WAAHHH. Okay…. That was just too much for me.

Bundestag dome

We got back to the hostel hoping that the lights were still on, not wanting to be the ones sneaking in and making some noise in the room. Good thing was that the 2 guys from Japan were still up and awake, booking their next trip. The girl Sarah came in a little bit later as well. So by the time lights were off, everyone was happily done with their day and on the same slumber state. 

I woke up around 9 am, had a shower and headed off for breakfast. The Japanese guys were checking out and Michael and I finished our breakfast. I quickly had a chat with Patrick, who I met on my trip in Newfoundland, Canada. Apparently he was back in Berlin already just 8 days ago. He asked how long I was staying in Berlin, and I said only for 2 days. I appreciated him contacting me and offering me a place to stay next time. He was really sweet giving me some tips around the city too. It would have been nice to have caught up with him but our schedule for the day didn’t work out. But we agreed, next time, we’d made sure we meet up when I visit Berlin again. 

I also had a quick chat with Laura, who I also met in Newfoundland, in the same hostel where I met Patrick. She also was back in her own city. And so, she offered to have me over in Nuremberg, south Germany. I told her I’d see how I go about Prague, which was my next destination after Berlin.It was a great feeling getting the messages from all of them, it’s a marvelous thing what travel does. 

Michael and I walked towards the end of the bridge. We had to go our own ways, me to the subway him to the underground for the Olympic park.

composers memorial

I was just right in time for the viewing at Bundestag, 12:45. The dome up the building has been a state of art, composed of different mirrors in the middle, which actually uses the suns light and reflect it into the dome itself, sort of energy saving functionality. Pathways goes around the globe eventually takes the viewer to the top. The whole structure gives you the opportunity to see the different sites from a certain point. What makes it really good is, it’s for free , you just need to make an online booking/reservation for your slot. And it also goes with a narrating device so you’d be able to identify the different monuments from afar, alongside the history as well. This building is the actual German Parliament, which amazed me, the fact that it’s been so open to the public for visitations.

It was actually fashion week, the time I was in Berlin. Just right in front the Brandenburg Tor was a section closed for the Mercedes Benz fashion show. I lingered for a while and watched the local scene and the girls lookin’ glamorous. 

I headed off to the Tiergaten, a long stretch of tree and gardens. Apparently, years ago, this was a local
hunting ground for the administration. But later on, it was transformed to a park instead. In the middle is the monument Seigessaule, standing grand and significant. The walk in the park was lovely, I felt like I was far away from the hustle bustle of the main city. I even had a chance to have a path to myself, listening to the rustle of the leaves, so green and lovely with the sunlight behind the towering trees. I realized I missed the forest walks again. There were a few more monuments, one that stuck to my memory was the one built with the 3 different composers, Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart.I stopped for a while and just stared at the monument. It was just so hot and I was wearing a summer dress. Grrrr. Steaming hot around, I struggled with my few last drops of water before heading back on the streets.

Holocaust Memorial

Around 4 pm I was contemplating if I should go back to the hostel, have a shower and head back to town to meet Gitta. But I thought, it was just too far, so decided to proceed to the Holocaust Memorial. There, I stopped by a postcard shop and sat on one of the blocks of the memorial as I filled up the postcards. 

Around 5 pm I was dead tired and lacking sleep. I then realized, it was just 1 late night for me but I was feeling hammered already. Go figure. Oh hold on, no… I think it’s an age thing. I decided to head to Potsdamer Platz and read on the writings where a few ruins left of the wall stood still. After that I found a quiet spot just beside the flower shop, and slept there, far away from the passing crowds (except for the lift). Around 6:15 pm, I took the train to Oranienburger Train station to meet up Gitta.