Berlin

Inside Reichstag

I was so excited to visit Berlin but unfortunately I started getting sick the night before we headed. Just that dry throat achiness allover feeling. I swear it was from all the smoke – cigarette and marijuana – in Amsterdam. Anyways, we made it to the train station and boarded our 7am train for the 6 hour trek from Amsterdam to Berlin. Since some of us were over 26, we had to get 1st class tickets. Unfortunately, Courtney got 2nd class tickets and had to sit separately – boo! 1st class was awesome and we had our own little private compartment. I slept most of the time since I felt like poop warmed up. After sleeping, I felt better but walking from the train station to the metro to our hostel – I was completely worn out again and kind of moody – sorry guys! Our hostel was very nice and in a beergarden. Since it wasn’t quite check-in time, we found a hot dog place around the corner to grab some food. Let’s just say it was interesting. I went back to the hostel and passed out for the rest of the night.

The next morning I felt better and was determined to see some of Berlin while I was there. We first went to the Reichstag which is the government building. The exterior was in old world architecture, but the inside was completely modern. We were ushered into a large elevator to the top where there is this glass dome with a mirror tornado thing on the inside. On the inside, you can take a spiral ramp up to the top to look out over the city. The views are beautiful but we were all burning up! It was so hot in this mirrored glass dome! We exited pretty quickly to the rooftop where we could still take some pictures.

We walked through a quiet park on the way to Checkpoint Charlie. The park had some interesting art installations.  At Checkpoint Charlie, we want to take a picture – but it cost money and it was with fake US military. It just felt weird. Leaving there Caleb navigated us towards an art market that Kerri and Courtney wanted to visit. On the way, we ran up on two identical cathedrals flanking a square called Gendarmenmarkt. One cathedral is German and the other French. The art market was neat and had some really good original pieces. We headed back to the hostel to rest for a few hours before dinner.

Gendarmenmarkt

Holocaust memorial in Berlin

For dinner, we went to the Hofbrau House. I started feeling worse at this point and did not get to enjoy myself much. I had the veal sausage and from what I could taste – it was good. Caleb tried it and said it was good and mild. We soon headed back and I went to bed. I hate that my last few days were riddled with sickness, but hopefully I will be back one day!