We took the Eurorail from Amsterdam to Berlin.
We headed straight to Brandenburg Gate, and started soaking in history immediately.
Okay, so neither Candice, Jaco nor I had any clue what the historical significance of this gate was. We even read the big plaque thingy. Basically, it had something to do with fighting for independence. Anyway, it was big and pretty and important.
Moving on.
We went to a "traditional German restaurant," whatever that meant. Well, that meant wieners.
And heavy, starchy weightiness in our bellies.
Imagine the digestive tornado to follow. Germans have cast-iron intestines.
We then proceeded to ride the subway everywhere.
We met some really awesome German folks, who became our new friends. Partying ensued. At one point, we had a big sing-along. The Germans sang Kate Nash, the Americans sang Third-Eye Blind (okay, well Jaco did). But everybody knew all the lyrics to Oasis. It's universal.
Eventually we found our way to a party that everybody in town seemed to be talking about. Super "underground." (Of course, how "underground" could it be if everybody was talking about it?) It was a giant dance party held in a former power plant.
Note the 3rd Floor Rocking OutOn the way home, I noticed that someone had written "Someday you will be loved" on a car window:
It was late, I was not-quite-coherent, and I had only seen German written everywhere. For these reasons, I suddenly felt very emotional, and started taking approximately 973 pictures of said window. Jaco and Candice had to convince me of my lameness and pull me away from the car.And thus the night ended.
Back to our cheap little hostel we went.
Cheap Hostel Room for Three, PleaseAs we were totally slumming it, Jamie wanted nothing to do with us, and rented a beautiful apartment elsewhere in Berlin. I'm sure he was having fun, but we were roughing it.
Day two: we strolled down the Berlin wall.
The Most Berlin-y Picture I've Ever SeenOver the next two days, I decided to brush up on my German (I took a few years of it in high school, but had since forgotten much). And there was more dancing. More partying. More taking the subway all over German creation.
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i hope you tried the wiener schnitzel. im from europe, and that is probably the best thing you'll ever eat! Wiener actually refers to the city in Austria "Wien" (Vienna). It's veal battered and fried. you have to have it with fries, ketchup, and a slice of lemon. YUM
ReplyDeleteThe Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. Today, it is considered one of Europe's most famous landmarks. Ta Dah!
ReplyDeleteAlso the Brandenburg gate was a very large symbol between East and West Berlin as it was a part of the Berlin wall back in the day. It signifies and represents a lot of the struggles that Germany has gone through in the past hundred years.
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