Oktoberfest! (Part 7 - Berlin)

This was our next and final stop of our two-week German tour and we were all exhausted at this point, especially after all of the fun in Munich. With that being said, this was a more relaxed portion of our trip, but by far the most enriching. While I knew the general history of the city, I am slightly embarrassed to admit that before stepping off of the train into Germany's (fairly new) Capital that I wasn't aware of the extent of its historical significance.  (Tidbit-- the former Capital, of West Germany, was Bonn which is just south of Cologne, from 1949 to 1990.)

Given the history lesson we were planning on learning in this city, it was fitting that we arrived in Berlin on the eve of Unity Day. Unity Day is the anniversary of German reunification. We visited the Brandenburg Gate the night we arrived and could tell that a stage of some sort was being set up on the opposite side. It turns out that the next day, in honor of the country’s holiday, there was a huge festival which brought masses out to the main stage and along Straße des 17. Juni, or 17th of June Street. (Read about it's role in history on Wikipedia here.) The next day we witnessed this stage and the crowd around it. A brief tangent about the crowd: It was at times shoulder-to-shoulder, as if you were a strewn plastic bottle, floating with the current of a river-- except in this river of bodies, you better be in the right current or you'll be pulled in the opposite direction! After attempting to walk through the crowd, we finally made some progress and slowly trudged away from the main stage.  However, me made sure that it was worth our time by grabbing some to-go drinks and crepes once we exited the river of people! 

Brandenburg Gate at night. Truck delivery and
stage set-up behind it facing Straße 17, Juni

Having had enough of the fair food and crowd, we headed to a highly recommended Currywurst stand that was a bit off the beaten path. Walking up the stairs from the metro, we thought for sure we were lost once we were street-side  in what seemed like a barren part of town (imagine grown up weeds from summer, starting to brown alongside the road... and there may have been a tumbleweed blow across the street.) We chalked it up to the fact that it was holiday and everyone in town was on 17th of June Street, so we kept hiking. Another tangent: We walked along side a cemetery, separated only by a brick wall, where I took one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip, simple graffiti, beckoning "unite".  Although it isn’t the ‘Berlin Wall,’ which has its own share of graffiti, it’s a symbol still.

Not the Berlin Wall of course, but still symbolic.

Our resiliency finally paid off as we eyed the crowd of people on the street, all lined up at this hot spot! Literally, there was no one else around—only the 20 or so people hovered around this Currywurst stand.  It was worth the wait and small adventure though, even if we had to stand up while eating. (Tidbit: there are many food establishments in Germany termed “Imbiss” which basically means it’s a to-go food stand. Some have a bar area or ledge to sit your food on while you stand to enjoy it, before hitting the pavement again. Germany's fast food.) This place though—it was just a walk up window with no 'inside'. Thankfully it was a sunny day though, and we weren't alone, as mentioned, so it felt normal.

Currywurst und Pommes Frites mit Ketchup

Berlin has many museums and even touts a "Museum Island" where several are clustered, including their Cathedral. We were sadly museumed-out by this point, so we didn't venture into many, but made sure we visited Berlin's Cathedral, the Berliner Dom. Keeping with our tradition, if there are stairs to climb to the top, we're in line for it. We're used to paying to go to the top, but not just to enter the church itself, so that was a bummer, but worth it. We got a great view from the 'top' (the bottom of the big green part of the dome) and this one where we relaxed on the lawn or Lustgarten at the bottom again.

Berliner Dom from the lawn, or Lustgarten.

A more distant view of the Dom on Museum Island.

View of the Dom from the inside (on our way up).

View looking down to the lawn in front of the Lustgarten.

Looking back from atop the Berliner Dom.

Switching gears a little. We mustered up some energy to do a final museum run.  We went into the Pergamon Museum which surprisingly was all about ancient Rome and Babylon.  But they had some really interesting items and it was refreshingly enjoyable.  We stopped by Checkpoint Charlie to where our minds were overwhelmed with some of the amazing yet tragic details of the suffering the city endured. Inside the museum, there were hollow welding machines used to smuggle people out of East Berlin. Homemade hot-air balloons, and stolen uniforms were just some of the other creative ways East Berliners would use to escape to West Berlin. It's truly humbling to know this happened in my lifetime and hard to fathom what this city and country endured not so long ago. 

Bricks across the sidewalk -- the former Wall's footprint.

The Allied areas of control in Berlin.

Pieces of the Wall remaining outside the 
Topography of Terror Museum.

While the remaining walls show the literal 'terror' of the most recent history the city faced, it shouldn't be missed that the city's suffering wasn't new. Compare the picture below to that of it's image on June 3, 1945 on Wikiepedia showing the aftermath of it's bombing. Simply mind-numbing.

The Reichstag or Parliament Building.

To end on a lighter note, we found some delicious meals in Berlin (however photos were too low quality for posting) and some fun sights throughout the city. Among our meals was an Indian place that might have had the best Indian food that we have ever had (and we've been to a lot of Indian restaurants).  We also went to a great Cuban place on the last night that was also very good food.  At that same restaurant, we met and talk to some professional European basketball players who used to play college ball in the US.  Also, we can't forget the nightlife.  We went to one fun bar in which the prices of the beer changed throughout the night like the stock market (based on what beers were popular and which ones weren't).  Hopefully we'll return some day to hit more museums and re-visit our epicurean path. 

One-man-ban.... er, Bratwurst Stand?

The Berliner Beer at our last night's dinner.

Along 17th of June Street-- a fancy schmancy sangria booth!

A Trabi-Safari city tour passing by.

Although we heavily debated self-driven Trabi-Safari car tour (above), we ultimately decided against it. However I may have been persuaded, if I knew this 4-wheel tour existed:  Mini Hot Rod Berlin Sightseeing Tour! Now those look fun! 

Beer-Bike Tour 

Or, if you don't feel like steering (there's someone designated upfront for that), you and some friends can book a beer bike tour. Pedaling while drinking tap beer, with your own bartender, either tour would be fun!

Well that marks the end of our two-week tour of Germany.  We escorted our friends to their taxi in the morning to take them to the airport, and we took the long train ride back to Köln to start our German adventure together!  We plan on traveling a lot and trying to experience as much as we can during this assignment.  We look forward to filling you in on the details.

Tschüss!