Berlin, ich mag Ihre köstlichen, Mast Brezeln.

Provincetown, MA (see explanation below)

I’m happy to say goodbye to Berlin & hello to Prague tomorrow! Berlin is a huge city with lots of history to learn, but I was surprised by the lack of people out & about. The past 2 days have been pretty relaxing & full of walking all over the city. When I switched trains due to the flooding on Friday, the older lady insisted that I have dinner with her on the next train (I didn’t even know trains provided this). It was an awkward next 3 hours while she & the other German speaking people were all chatting to each other as I stared at them blankly or pretended to see something interesting out the window. But she bought me dinner, which was sweet, while telling me how she hated the English language becoming universal. When she goes to France, she wants to speak French, not English. She also tried to convince me & my “boyfriend” to move to Berlin because the country is doing decent financially in comparison to others.

Goober (RIP), Dina, & Toky

We parted ways, & I went on my exciting journey to search for my hostel. Luckily for me, it was only a few steps from the train station. The past 2 nights I had 2 extremely quiet Czechs staying with me, but tonight I have the pleasure of sharing the room with an older Swedish man who smokes too much. He gave me some places to visit in Sweden on my way back. Swiss Alps, here I come! Oh, on a side note, I may have lost my camera cord/charger on the train keeping up with the older lady sooo no photos uploaded for today’s blog. I’ll do my best to find some electronic shop tomorrow. But for now, enjoy some old pictures.

Madre & Stephen

Yesterday morning, my body was nice enough to wake up in time (I don’t have an alarm since my phone left me) to join the free daily tour offered by the hostel, only they left earlier than the time said on the bulletin board. The clerk lady gave me quick directions on how to cover a mile & find said tour group. Knowing I had no idea how to find these people, I set off in the direction that she pointed & my ears perked up when she said look for the Starbucks. I don’t know how I found it, but there it stood, the beautiful green letters spelling out my home away from home, “Starbucks Coffee.” This is my go to place when I need free wifi because Europe isn’t fond of providing this unless you’re willing to shed some euros.

I found a huge group waiting for the free English walking tour which lasted about 3 hours…Sam Noble, you were a great guide (the English accent helped too). We saw the 2,700+ slates of concrete in the Holocaust Memorial, the small leftover part of the Berlin Wall, the car park where Hitler killed himself in the bunker a few kilometers below, the used-to-be air force Nazi building now currently the IRS building, Humboldt University where over 20,000 books were burned, Berlin Cathedral, & a few other places. Sam informed us that the cost of living is extremely cheap compared to the size of the city because they’re population is decreasing, which explains the lack of people.

Chris & Dina frolicking

After Sam dismissed us, I wandered off to the tv tower (tall tower with a huge ball in the center of it) and then onto the longer section of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was the best part so far. All along this section is artwork/graffiti in memory of those years, what these people had to go through. It’s different learning what happened in the history books & actually being in that same spot. There was a Reggae Jam festival blocked off on the other side of the wall (ironic), so I sat myself down on some grass & basked in the sun committing to my farmer’s tan. I was quite a bit away from the hostel, so I decided to learn their train system which I couldn’t figure out for the life of me (something to do with section A, B, & C). 5.2 miles wouldn’t be too bad of a walk until you start to go through a very shady part of the area. I found the next train stop & learned their train system this time.

Rhea & Stephanie being...Rhea & Stephanie

This morning I attended mass at the Berlin Cathedral which was absolutely gorgeous inside! They had a full choir complete with violinists…the echoes in the church lasted seconds after they would finish their pieces. Lovely! Once a year the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Opera puts on a free show outside of Humboldt University, so this was my next stop. They didn’t have any singers, but the music was beautiful & very well done! Luckily I got there early & found a spot on the ground to sit in the 4^th row while the surrounding area became ridiculously packed. I walked through the Tiergarten to the Grober Stern, & then back home to get ready for tomorrow morning.

This picture always makes me smile.

A few important notes for Germany: WC means bathroom, their idea of souvenirs according to the vendors on the streets are gas masks, the subway fare is $2.40 minimum for one trip (Paris’s is $1.70, Boston’s is $2), & the police officers look fantastic in their uniforms. Also, Belgium, Amsterdam, & Germany didn’t stamp my passport as I passed through the countries which made me a little sad, but more worried about their national security. I was planning on heading to Munich tomorrow, but I realized it’s going to take 2 days to get to Greece, & I want plenty of time there, so off to the Czech Republic instead! I accidentally ended up putting up pics of my entire family, but now you've met them & can see how awesome they are.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!!! I love you!

Greatest dad ever.