Burly B

The main point of my study abroad program is to improve and practice my German. And while, yes, Austria is a German speaking country, wouldn't it make sense for me to speak Deutsch in Deutschland? Yes. I mean I spent a lovely eight hour layover in Frankfurt, but sitting in a terminal for eight hours does not count as a visit to Germany. Last weekend, I solved this problem with a trip to Berlin!

Being an American in Europe gives you a false sense of proximity so I thought taking a night train would be no problem. Eleven hours is a little more than I bargained for though. But hey, it is better than sitting on a plane for eleven hours. It was a cool train ride though to be honest. I spent dusk in Austria, watched the sunrise over the Czech Republic, then took in the view of the early morning sun hitting the German country side. It was quite beautiful.

A tad blurry but taken out the window from the train. Morning sun on the German countryside.

We arrived, dropped our bags at the hostel, then roamed around the city. Unlike Vienna, which is relatively small and walking it is manageable, Berlin is Huge. I mean it is the capital of one of the most powerful countries in the world, but the maps did not accurately portray how spread apart everything is. If anyone goes to Berlin buy the transit pass. It is expensive but worth it to be able to see more--also there is a group rate.

Anyways, it was a hot and sunny day, and we saw a ton. It was mainly landmarks and architecture on the West side of Berlin. Listing off names is boring though. Here are some photos:

Day two the heavens opened up and drenched the whole city. We only had three total days to explore though so rain wasn't going to hold us back. We were in the "Mittel" which is basically the center of Berlin. We saw the Brandenburg gate (not as impressive as we imagined), the Berlin Dome (very impressive), pieces of the wall, Fernsehturm, and Checkpoint Charlie among many other sites. So much history has gone on in this city, and it is cool to be able to walk through it. Checkpoint Charlie was a tad weird because there were Germans impersonating Americans, but other than that it was culturally and historically rich. At the same time though, Berlin was bombed heavily in its past so most of the buildings are new and construction was everywhere it felt like. So its a peculiar feeling knowing so much has gone on in these grounds, and  yet it is covered in modern architecture with new buildings still being erected.

Day three, thankfully, was beautiful. We saw an ad for a "free tour" in our hostel so we decided to go for it. I did not realize until we were already on the tour that is was technically an "alternative tour." That basically means that the guide avoided main tourist sites and also that the main focus was on street art. I am so glad we went on it. We saw so many cool pieces throughout the city. The government looks the other direction and lets sprayers do their thing pretty much as long as they aren't vandalizing. The tour was pretty long and at the end we were in Kreuzberg. There was a large culture and arts festival/parade going on that we hung around for a while. It was crazy! Germans do whatever they want. They crowd everywhere, walk where they want, and take over the streets. It was an exciting place, but I was over it pretty fast. We grabbed a bite to eat then made our way to the train station for our ride home.

It was a bit of a whirlwind attempting to conquer Berlin in three days. I think we made more of a dent than a complete conquer, but hopefully I can return again in the future. The train ride back was 12 hours of extreme excitement and fun. But seriously though, while it was long, the train ride was beautiful and peaceful. The sun was setting over the German countryside and I was reading a book while stealing glimpses out the window. I don't know what could be more relaxing than that.