Berliner

Germany – 7/16/2015

What a brilliant mess of a city.

It took 4 hours to get from Frankfurt to Berlin on a high speed ICE (Inter City Express) train that made several stops along the way.  Not sure where ‘Express’ plays into it if it’s making a bunch of stops.

With the exception of being caught as a tourist, not aware of where I’m at and jumping into rounds of games that ended up costing me a little. Berlin is an excellent, dynamic and culturally innovative city. For a city this size (not to mention being the capital of Germany), it’s relatively moderate in terms of cost and a lot cheaper than Munich.

To meet people, I decided I’d check into a hostel – see if I’m too old for it, turns out – I’m not close to being the oldest chap in this place.

The Wallyard Concept Hostel on Lubecker StraBe was a pleasant place to lay my head. Nice comfortable bunk beds with quality (not those filmsy mattresses), and clean sheets. The 4 person room does not have a locker and my roommates never locked the door when they were gone for the day. Not really reassuring coming back in and finding your door open. However, as far as security goes – it’s solid. To enter through the main door, there’s a code that changes at 7am each morning, once you get to your floor, there’s another door that’s locked before you get to your room, which should be locked but roommates you don’t know, may not care.

Wallyard Reception

About a 25 minute walk or a 2.70 Euro ride on the bus away from the train station. This looked like it was in a pretty sketchy area. What I soon found, is a lot of places I went to are like this and they turn out to be a nice part of town instead.

My attempts on meeting travelers and backpackers failed. People were up for a conversation, however everyone wanted to do their own thing. So it was harder than I thought it would be. One guy I met, older gent about mid 40s, pretty funny Ukrainian dude who happens to be in the arms business. Not sure if he’s telling the truth about that, but he knew quite a bit about it. I’m picturing Nick Cage in Lord of War (although I’ve never seen this movie). Another guy, wanted to check out the city – great; but really his goal was to check out the zoo – and he succeeded.

Germany Sucks! Not really, the weather sucked. In 6 days, I’ve seen the sun once, walked outside with a rain coat daily and also had a hoodie on because it was a high of 50 degrees – this is mid June. So my impression of Berlin is quite depressing and kinda feels like London. This city is definitely an arts city that’s becoming more and more cosmopolitan without fully giving up its past. The history is what drives the city’s future.

Converting Money

I figured I’d comment on this because it was a slight pain in the butthole trying to do this. Apparently, you can’t convert money anywhere in the city except for the TXL (airport) or Hauptbahnhoff (train station). I went to banks, Western Union type places and everyone told me same thing. Go to the train station or TXL. However, the best rate I received was at the Alexanderplatz – the lady will give you a rate, and then you tell her how much commission does it include, then she’ll give you a rate with no commission and it’s a lot better than the train station. Alexanderplatz is definitely touristy so I’d assume they’d rip you off as much as the transportation hubs, but I left pretty happy.

Even though WWII bores me (that’s why I haven’t seen the X-Men movie or Captain America), one thing I didn’t get a chance to do that I wanted to was go to the Holocaust Memorial, Anne Franks house or Concentration Camp.

Stops along the way

Berlin Hauptbahnhoff

The Berlin Hauptbahnhoff is in a very convenient location. A short walk and you’re at the Reichstag or the Brandenburg Gate among many other monuments.

Where to stay

You want to be in the Mitte District. This is where everything is. Mitte continues to expand so even spots that are a 30 minute walk away are starting to be considered at the edge of Mitte; I don’t really buy it, but that’s what I heard from a Berliner. The maps tell you otherwise.

What to see

At least, what I saw

Like I said above – most of Berlin’s main sights are in the Mitte District and a short walk from the main station down Unter Den Linden.

• Reichstag – depending on what direction you take, one of the first buildings you’ll come across is the Reichstag or the German Parliament. There is a fee to go inside and with the line, I skipped it. The building, opened in 1894 and housed the Imperial Diet till 1933 when it was damaged in a fire. You can book a visit to the main assembly hall and visit the dome to get some excellent views of Berlin and the Tiergarten.
• Brandenburg Gate – The city gate / triumphal arch.
• Siegessaule – The Victory column. If you were into Trance music back in the late 90s early 2000’s you’ll remember this from any video of the Love Parade. You can go to the top and there is a cost for admission.
• AlexanderPlatz – “The Alex”, a large public square with shops and access to public transport. Got the best conversion rate here.
• Marienkirche – St. Mary’s Church
• Fernsehturm – The TV Tower. One of the most common sights of Berlin.
• East Side Gallery – The longest stretch of the Berlin Wall still in existence. Famous murals include one of a car crashing through the wall and Brezhnev and Honecker kissing (I actually thought it was Henry Kissinger and had to look it up to confirm). Definitely worth spending time here and seeing what each artist was trying to convey. A lot of art remains, some defaced by graffiti but worth a visit.
• Memorial to the Sinti and Roma Victims of National Socialism – A memorial dedicated to the Nazi genocide of the European Sinti and Roma people. An estimated 220,000 – 500,000 people were murdered

Places I wanted to go to but will have to next time I visit

• Pergamon Museum

– Heard awesome things about this place and the collections it has: Collection of Classical Antiquities, Museum of Near Eastern Antiquities and Museum of Islamic Art. The best known attraction is the Pergamon Altar (165 BC) from Asia Minor, 3 stories high and served as an entrance to a complex.

• Concentration Camp

I didn’t go inside any buildings or museums except for 1 and a few churches. Reichstag and Pergamon were the 2 on my list but the ticket queue being as long as it was, wasn’t on my list.

Next Stop Munchen.