Oh holy moly! We just ran our butts off to make sure we got on our train to Dresden! Thankfully our train is running late, otherwise we would've missed it. Berlin was awesome to us though, we had such a great time!
When we got into Berlin, we were starving. The Central Station in Berlin is HUGE!
It was ironic because we thought we were getting off in Germany, but it felt like the States. There was a McDonald's, Burger King, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, and Pizza Hut. We ended up eating at Currywurst, which is really popular in Berlin. It is pretty much a bratwurst restaurant that offers different types of brats and puts curry sauce (ketchup and spices) over it. I ended up getting a pork/beef burger with curry sauce over it. It was so delicious! No bun, just the patty which was so juicy and flavorful.
After we were done eating, we found the train that went to our hostel, and jumped on it. Our hostel was not where we were expecting it would be. We thought it would be near city center and it was far off. However, it ended up being a good thing for us. We stayed at Plus Berlin, which was a 15 minute train ride from Central, it was more like a hotel. We were in a 4 person room with our own bathroom. The best part is, there was never anyone else in our room, we had the room to ourselves. We did sleep in separate beds still, which made it feel like the 50's, but we had our own room and bathroom which made it worth it!
After we checked in, we went out to explore some of Berlin and grab some dinner. We went to the Parliament Building and the Tiergarten. Both were so amazingly beautiful. The architecture here is unlike anything I've seen before. (Rome might kill me!)
We also went to an authentic German dinner at a quaint cafe where I ordered my first ever schnitzel! It was perfectly cooked, with the most amazing potatoes and side salad. I also got a piece of coconut cream cake to go. Tyler got a sausage platter with three different sausages and mash potatoes. It would've been really hard to be Vegan on this trip. They fully believe in meat here, but their meat is so much better than ours.
We headed back to the hostel, and ended up going to a club, Matrix, that was near our hostel. It was "happy hour" which was two for the price of one! We were double fisting all night! We danced until 3 or 4 in the morning. It's funny that all of the music that the DJ played was American music. We felt so cool. Lol! But really, it was crazy. I don't think there was one song that wasn't American. Also, no one dirty dances or freak dances here. They straight up all dance. It was such an amazing time!
We woke up early and got a move on. We had a long day ahead of us, which I had to rally for because I was completely hung over. I got a juice that was kind of like a V-8 fruit juice and a spinach cheese pastry that they heated up. That pastry was so delicious!
We then got on the train and headed to Sophie Charolette to see The Charlottenberg Palace. It was exquisite! The detail in each room was unbelievable, and the gardens were breathtaking! We did an audio tour of the inside, and walked the outside for a bit before heading back to the city center.
We headed to the Hackescher Market for lunch. It was filled with restaurants, booths, music, and tons of people! We got bratwurst sandwiches with homemade fresh sauerkraut. OH MY GOD, BEST BRAT EVER!! I'm not a bratwurst lover at all, but this was amazinggg! So different than our meats. There weren't fillers or anything, it was pure sausage and spices.
I wore Lululemon shorts yesterday, you wouldn't believe the stares I received and looks of disgust! I didn't know shorts are not appropriate attire here. I only saw ONE other girl wearing shorts the whole day!
Next, we headed to the Berliner Dom, Berlin Cathedral. This place was out of this world. The pictures can only show a fraction of the beauty. We saw the main church, the museuliem, and then went up to the Dom outlook which had a 360 view of the entire city of Berlin. The experience was unlike any other. To see the city that way was so cool.
When we were done exploring the cathedral, we went across the street to a park and laid in the grass before we moved onto the Pergamum Museum. Some of the recreations they did in this museum were mind boggling! Check out the pictures below.
Next, we went to see the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. Being in Europe makes me realize how fortunate I am to live in the land of freedom. The fact that the piece of wall I saw once divided Berlin in east and west is unfathomable to this CA girl. The art and messages on the wall gives you an idea of how people felt during that time. It seemed like they never gave up hope though, they always longed for the better days, and eventually, they came.
In all of the places we went, all the buildings we saw, one thing was clear, Berlin's city was highly affected by the bombings of WW2. They had to reconstruct so much of their city, which was either discussed on the tours, or easy to see that it had been reconstructed. The fear during those times must have been unimaginable.
We ended the night with another schnitzel dinner at Schloss Schnitzel, it had a 4.5 star trip advisor rating. Lol! This time, the schnitzel was topped with chili con carne and a piece of cheese. (So NOT healthy, but so worth it!) I also got a pastry with a nut filling that was dipped on one side in chocolate. (Also NOT healthy, and also SO worth it!)
We went back to the hostel to go to bed a little earlier since we had to be up at 5:30am. Now we sit on the train to Dresden, a little erie outside as the fog is heavy in the trees and daylight is creeping in.
Thank you Berlin for being so good to us! We're ready for you Dresden...
Peace & Love,
Christina
