The idea of going to Berlin had been thrown around and there was a general consensus among those not already traveling that we should head there. After all, it was close and supposed to be an amazing city. Not only had people in the program told me this but Josh and Allison both highly recommended it. In the days leading up to the trip people debated whether they would go or not and the final group was eventually decided upon. Ben was going to meet up with some friends from high school and Allison, David and myself would go, stay in a different hostel and hang out with Ben when we could.
When Thursday rolled around we packed our bags and caught a 10:40 train to Berlin. The train ride was pretty unremarkable save the fact that I had an expensive, yet terrible, smaženy sýr from the dining car. When we arrived at the Haputbahnhof we took a short train ride to our hostel; the Three Little Pigs Hostel.
I got yelled at for talking loudly about this at the train station in Berlin but the fonts on all of the metro stops were very 'nazi-esque' as I put. Understandably, that shouldn't be said in Berlin but the fonts just screamed national socialism. If I was the Berlin public transit authority I would choose a different font, perhaps Comic Sans.
The hostel was surprisingly nice and had good accommodations. We checked in with ease and had to man at the front desk recommend a good place to get a beer. The guy gave us a map and planned out a route through Potsdamer Platz, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag and Tiergarden. The first stop was Potsdamer Platz, a site that used to be right on the Berlin Wall but has recently become a very commercial center signifying reunited Germany. Immediately I noticed that fantastic modern architecture all around the area.
Leaving Potsdamer Platz we headed over to the Brandenburg gate and stopped at a Holocaust memorial along the way. The Brandenburg gate was incredibly impressive as was the square on the inside of the gate. Here, we wandered into a building looking for an ATM but found a massive modern art fish construction. Next, we headed into Tiergarden looking for a beer garden but found nothing so we ate some food at a little cafeteria instead. I had a sausage and some delicious potatoes with a tasty weizenbier that reminded me of the ski trip I took earlier in the program.
After our meal we began exploring the park and found a memorial for the Red Army and the Victory Arch (read: Column). We explored the park for a bit longer and then headed back to the hostel for a nap.
Until this point Ben had been with Allison, David and Me because his friends weren't arriving until 9 and we were just going to meet them at the hostel and then head out. If only it was so easy. Trying to meet Ben's friends at the hostel, we arrived at Wombat (the name of the hostel) and Ben began talking with the lady to see about his reservation while we enjoyed some beverages. Suddenly we hear Ben shouting. (I am paraphrasing)
Ben: (loudly) Fuck! What the fuck? Fuck!
Us: Ben, what the hell is going on.
Ben: (still shouting) I'm in the wrong fucking hostel. Fuck!
Apparently, Ben did not have a reservation at Wombat. He had a reservation in a hostel on the opposite side of town where his friends already were. After getting directions from the flustered receptionist we left for the correct hostel by this time miserably behind schedule. At this point I want to explain that Berlin is a sprawling city. While most of the sights in Prague are centrally located, to see anything good in Berlin you have to take a considerable trip by taxi or metro. So, about an hour of navigating the Berlin public transit system later, we arrived at Ben's real hostel. By this time his friends had already left and I was charged with asking the hostel receptionist where we should go. The man was a nice Australian who recommended a good techno club and explained how to get there on the map. 45 minutes later we got off the metro and walked to the club.
The club was called Lido and was situated in the famous club district of Kreuzberg (Bloc Party has a song named after it). The club was supposed to have a good DJ start spinning at 2 and we were there around 1. As we walked in it looked as though some act had just finished on stage so we ordered some beers and waited for 2 to come around. At some indeterminate time the DJ started spinning but I couldn't really discern it from the earlier house music. After a little dancing we decided it was time to go (it had been a long day) and hiked back to our hostel. This would be the last time we used public transport at the end of the night.
The next day the three of us woke up to a text from Ben saying that he lost his wallet on his cab ride home. We grabbed the all-you-can-eat breakfast from the hostel (it wasn't all that bad) and called Ben. Luckily he hadn't lost his passport or phone and was calling the cab company to see about his wallet albeit not from his phone because that was out of minutes. While Ben was calling we agreed to go rent bikes for the day and have Ben meet up with us later.
The hostel receptionist recommended a place nearby and we got three sweet rides from Checkpoint Charlie Bike Rentals. As the name implies, the rental place was right next to Checkpoint Charlie so we rode over and saw the famous Berlin locale.
To effectively describe all that I saw and felt in the next 4 hours would be impossible. During the bike tour I went from liking Berlin to loving it. The weather was gorgeous and I saw parts of the city I never would have seen if I had just walked. Moreover, the city was incredibly bike accessible and, because the city was so large, bikes were the perfect way to get around. We say the Berliner Dome, rode down to Alexanderplatz and the TV tower, hung out in a park, rode along side the Spree, rode through tiny neighborhoods and then rode from the Berliner Dome up the street and through the Brandenburg gate. It was an amazing experience. Tragically, Ben was unable to rent a bike because he didn't have an ID.
After the bike ride we had a delicious lunch/dinner at a small restaurant where the service was impeccable. We had another good nap and then got ready for the night. The plan was to pre-game near our hostel and then take a train to meet Ben in the bar district. The hostel didn't really have a nice place to drink so we ended up sitting with a few cocktails on a park bench near our metro stop. In College Park, sitting in the middle of a poorly lit park would be terrifying but in Berlin we just saw some nice people walking their dogs.
We made it to the bar district, I had my first Beck's and then we went from crowded bar to crowded bar. We finally ended up at some club with a three euro cover and a terrible DJ. This guy played the WORST euro metal and mixed in some Red Hot Chili Pepper and Rage. I danced when I deemed it appropriate and then we headed out. Right outside of the club they were selling grilled steak sandwiches. It was pretty cheap, I was hungry and it smelled good so I had one.
On the way back we ran into a hookah bar so we stopped in for a quick session. This hookah was amazing. It had real coals on the top and pulled fantastically. The best part was that when I went to pay, it only cost 4 euros. As we left the at around 4 am it was abundantly clear that no one wanted to take metro back so we grabbed a cab and got home in about 5 minutes. It was certainly worth it.
The next day we got up a little later and Ben came and met us at our hostel. We went out in search of food but had a little trouble finding a suitable restaurant. After a 30 minute walk across Berlin we settled for this nice outdoor restaurant that was staffed by only 2 incredibly overworked women. Two hours later we had finally eaten and paid and were ready to hit the town. Ben recommended a cool biergarten that he visited yesterday so we decided to go there.
The metro ride to the biergarten wasn't bad and Ben took us by the East Side Gallery, a large portion of the Berlin Wall that is covered with graffiti. When we finally got to the biergarten it wasn't quite what I expected. Right as we walked in there was a skate park, basketball court and lots of Rastafarians. Towards the back was a sandy beach right along the river with volleyball, foosball and a little cabana-like bar.
We grabbed a few beers and sat down in a little boat and started talking to some Germans. Some high school kid, Alex, decided to hang out with us for the rest of the afternoon. He was nice but really like the American girls. Either way, it was interesting to talk to him and told us about the biergarten. It was called Yaam, originally founded by students as a hang out spot and later some Rastafarians moved in. It remained a student hang out but now characters like 'Lyon' (pronounced like Lion, not the city in France) grill potatoes and corn for you.
The highlight of Yaam was the Dju Dju beer. Early in the day our German friend Alex recommended one and I tried to order one. Asking for a Dju Dju the bartender asked me what flavor I wanted. This confused me because I wasn't aware beers came in flavors such as banana and passion fruit. I got scared and just ordered a Beck's. Later, Alex told us they were beers from Africa so I decided to get a banana Dju Dju. This beer was amazing. It was the tastiest Ghanaian banana flavored beer I have ever had. The mango and palm varieties were equally delicious and we all drank quite a few. I think we were a bit of a joke to the Germans for liking them so much though. At one point I was singing their praises and some guys started laughing at me. Later, when I was ordered my 5th Dju Dju the bartender asked me if I was going to try them all. I'm still trying to figure out what the issue was. Perhaps you're supposed to enjoy your Dju Dju in moderation.
As the sun started to set with left weird German Alex and went back to the hostel. David and I decided to take a nap while Allison had a dinner date. Waking up, David and I went looking for a doner kebab (a Berlin invention). We got out of the hostel at 11:05 and soon realized that almost all kebab stands closed at 11. We started walking through Potsdamer Platz and on to the Brandenburg Gate. We went through the gate and headed down the long thoroughfare, past the Berliner Dome and all the way to the Alexanderplatz TV tower where we finally found some kebabs, albeit an hour and a half later.
It must have been fate though because the guy at the kebab stand was awesome. The beers were only 3 euro for a half liter and as we ordered he pointed to his personal pewter stein and let us try beer from his personal stash. He showed us his little keg in the back and then talked with us for a little while. While we ate we tried to call Allison but were having some issues. The phone system in Berlin was a little touch and go with most dialed calls not connecting and a prerecorded message telling you that the number you dialed was not assigned. We eventually got in touch though and decided to meet at the same bar district as the night before.
Again, we went into a few crowded bars before finding a nice quiet one with good prices and settled in. We drank a little and I talked to Ben's friends Heider? and David about what I should do in London. We just sat and relaxed before leaving and taking a cab home fairly early.
The next morning we woke up at 7 and checked out of the hostel. We took a metro to the train station and got on board our train. The car we were in had pull down seats so I slept for the entire ride. It was a fantastic train ride. We arrived in Prague around one with the sun shining, the weather nice and a great Easter Sunday ahead of us.
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