Started the day off with no alarm and a good shower. Even though I slept around 10 hours I still woke up at 9:30. Yeah, we went to bed early the night before! Breakfast was actually really good. One of the best things about the Generator hostel. We had cereal with milk, rolls with honey and fruit spread, some juice, and rolls with meat and cheese on them. We even made a few sandwiches to eat later.

Since the hostel we stayed in is so far from town, we hopped on an S-bahn and took a few connections to get to the East Gallery. This is actually a 4.2 km section of the Berlin wall which still stands. Instead of a barrier, it’s now a canvas on which artists voice their opinion. Right after the wall border restriction was lifted, people flocked to the wall and painted over the graffiti which is like itself a large collage of art. There are several famous paintings here and we did get some pictures.

After that we took the S-bahn again to an area north of town to see a recreation of the death strip. The Berlin wall evolved from a barb-wire fence to concrete giant. There was a wall for each side and in between was a barren area. Here, guards were given shoot-to-kill orders for anyone attempting to cross the wall. The sand was raked so footprints of escapees could be seen. This wall was seriously fortified. It originally had bared wire along the top, but people could actually grab it and use it to scale the wall so it was replaced with sewage piping which proved very difficult to grip. There was a tower we walked up so we could see inside the wall and what the death strip looked like. Next to the memorial is another memorial to a church  which was actually torn down because it fell in the death strip between the walls. There are plans to extent the memorial by 2011, so make sure to visit it if you’re there in two years!

Again, the S-bahn zipped us downtown and to the Berlin Zoo. I am not a fan of pets whatsoever, nor am I very big on animals. So why did I go? The Berlin Zoo is one of the oldest in Europe and is known for its large, open animal areas. We did get to see some interesting animals. Lots of monkeys and apes, bears and lions and tigers, birds, sea lions, and rhinos. I got pictures of quite a lot of animals, so you can see them too! We did get to see Knut, the famous Eisbäre (polar bear), after much wandering around looking for the exhibit. It was impressive being so close to the animals. In a lot of areas not more than a small moat of water or a ditch separated us from them. Hell, we even got to pet a penguin because it swam in the water right next to the glass wall. We could reach right in and pet it as it swam by us. How many of you can say you’ve gotten to touch a penguin!?  (If you have, don’t say anything. I want to live in my little delusion happily, thanks!)

It was 9 Euro to get into the park and then they have the nerve to ask you pay 30 cents each time you go to the restroom. There were no attendants to enforce this rule, so I, of course, did not pay. How ridiculous a policy. It’s not like I peed all over the walls which they’d have to clean. I used the urinal and flushed. That water does not cost 30 cents. Not to mention, Chuck and I are running low on cash, so we need all the change we can muster! No pay restrooms for us. If we *have* to pay, we’ll hold it instead.

After the Zoo we walked around a bit and came across a church which had been partially destroyed in WWII. The day before we had actually seen this same church made out of chocolate in the window of a chocolatiers shop. The place looked beautiful, probably even more so because of the almost artistic, archaic feeling of the dilapidated structure. Again, we couldn’t get inside because of the time, but we got to walk around it. Right next to it was some building I could neither guess nor see the name of. It looked like a religious structure though.

After that we rode up one stop to the Tiergarten. We walked for a little bit through the garden, which seemed spacious and nice.  There were even concrete ping-pong tables for people to use. I hadn’t ever seen that before! We made our way along the path to the Victory Tower. It’s beautiful! Tall, gold-gilded, and epic. We walked through a tunnel to get to the island on which it sat. Well, it was an island in the midst of the roadway ocean. We wanted to walk up some stairs to the platform but I guess we got there too late because a cleaning lady told us, “Gescholssen,” which just so happens to mean “Closed.”

We made our way through the tunnel and Garten back to the Tiergarten stop. We took the S-bahn all the many stops and transfers back to the hostel. I have not seen anyone get asked for their train ticket on these trains, let alone been checked myself. If you wanted to risk the 40 Euro fine, I’d say you could get away with riding without paying. Not that I’m condoning it… just saying.

We ate our sandwiches and some of the other snacks we had and then asked where the local grocery store was. The receptionist didn’t understand “grocery” (which I had used before with a German-speaker) so chuck saved the day with “Supermarket.” She then directed us toward the Kaufland which was several blocks away. You can tell you’re in the middle of nowhere in a large city like that when the nearest food market is so far away. But anyway, we made the walk and found our way in the confusing parking structure of the Kaufland.  It was a huge store with many things we haven’t seen in forever. I did forget to check on soap and deodorant. I have enough to last me for a few days, but I need to get some before I actually run out. Note to self: Remember this! We got some more Nutella, chips, and granola bars since we were running short. Chuck even got a bottle of the Czech-imported beer called Budweiser Budvar, which they can’t call that in the States because it interferes with the American Budweiser brand name. There it’s called Czechvar.

So we headed back to the hostel. We took showers that night so we wouldn’t have to in the morning. I also got some of my pack done up so I wouldn’t have to make a ton of noise in the morning. I try to creep around as silently as I can so I don’t wake others since I hate when people do that to me.

Oh, I almost forgot: I did get some string at the Kaufland. You see, I had meant to bring string so we could use it as clothes line and have our towels dry in the windows but forgot it. And now the plastic holder thing on my water bottle had also broken, so I needed some string to make something to hold it by. Luckily they the large store had some, so I took advantage of it. A little late in the game for use as a clothes line, but it did wonders with the water bottle. I’ve got it set up with 4 strings as a connector from the bottle to the lid so I can carry it again. Even learned a few knots from Chuck! I am so proud of how well it turned out!

Anyways, after the showering we just went to bed. Had to wake up at 7am to get ready and travel to Hauptbahnhof for our 9:45am train to Bruges. That tale is next!

As I said in Day 20, we took a night train from Munich to Berlin. It was a 7-8 hour journey. Who would have guessed that the two cities would be that far apart! I didn’t think Germany was that large a country. The US is much bigger than all of Eastern Europe but I guess it has some sizable nations. Anyways, back to the night train. Reservations on the website we booked them from were a lot a bit expensive, so we decided to do the reclining seats.

“Oh boy,” you say, “reclining seats sound like fantastic fun!” But let me tell you otherwise. They did at least recline, which is more than I can say for the seats I am in now (on the day train from Berlin to Köln (Cologne)), but they are awkward to actually sleep in. Why? Because what’s the first thing you want to do when you try to sleep? Rest your head, that’s what. The seats did have a curved headrest… like an attempt had been made for ergonomics, but it doesn’t really work because you’ve got no side support, and then your head goes lolling off the side and your neck gets strained. So I tried using the window as stabilization. That sort of worked. I did eventually fall asleep, but woke up many many times throughout the night. Either my body needed repositioned, or my neck hurt, or the train jostled. I mean, it was a cheap seat through the night which saved us a day’s travel, but I expected better for something like that. If I had to do it again, I would get the couchette, because they are loads more spacious and comfortable, and even though they are small, you can lay down and stretch out.

We finally arrived at the Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) in downtown Berlin. From there we had to make our way to the hostel, which happened to be in the outskirts of nowhere. We took the S-Bahn train from HBF to Ostkreuz, and the ring train to Langsberger Allee. Luckily we got to ride the S-bahn for free because it’s run by same train company as some of the other inter city lines and they accept the Eurail pass. We arrived at the Landsberger Allee station and we could see the Generator Hostel right from there. It’s a massive blue and white building with 8 floors, 270 rooms, and 900 beds.

A little bit about the place. It was overrun by 12-16 year olds who must’ve been with either paretns, teachers or other adult chaperones. And as we all know, kids of that age group are incredibly annoying. We once got on the elevator to find that someone had hit all the floor buttons, meaning the elevator stopped at each floor on our way down. We finally got out and walked the rest of the way down. Luckily, it seems they put the large groups of little buggers on lower floors. We were all the way on the 7th floor (8th floor for us Americans) and we didn’t have anyone running around. There was no kitchen, as you could assume by the 900 some people it would have to accommodate, but they did have a restaurant/bar. That’s where we got our free and plentiful breakfast each morning.

We got there around 8:30am; too early to check in yet. We sat down and ate some of our food we brought. Since we hadn’t checked in yet, we couldn’t partake of the free breakfast. Nutella hotdogs, chips and peanuts made an awfully scrumptious meal >_> And after that we stored our packs in their luggage room and headed out with the free maps they provided. There was a free 3.5 hour walking tour which we wanted to do. We decided to take the S-bahn toward the meaning place instead of waiting for the hostel pickup but we actually rain into the group on one of the platforms.

We finally made it to Pariser Platz where they were sorting out the tour groups. This was definitely the largest crowd we’d seen. There were probably 100-150 people there. They separated people going on paid tours and those going on the free tour. We were eventually put into a group with Dave and around 30 other people. We first talked about Pariser Platz, which houses the hotel Michael Jackson dangled his baby from (Obama has also stayed there), and several embassies, including the United States! That was the first time I’ve seen American soil in three weeks. Right on the Parizer Platz is the Brandenbuger Tor (Gate). It was erected several centuries ago, modified by Napoleon, and it even survived World War II, which is impressive because 90% of Berlin was bombed.

Along the tour we also talked about the Victory tower in Tiergarten. We walked left to the Holocaust Memorial which was also impressive. It’s a grid of 2711 (or something) concrete blocks which rise to different heights and lean at all sorts of angles. You can sit on them or also walk through the grid, but you are not allowed to step, walk or stand on them or smoke in the area. We saw people both walking across and smoking in the area. People can be so ignorant. We did walk through and take some pictures. It was impressive to walk into the monument, go to where the towers stood over you and feel immersed. The ground was hilly in there, which was interesting. The momument is there for the people of Berlin to keep in mind every day.
Next, we walked along to an inconspicuous area. Here, the guide told us, under the ground, lie the bunker in which Hitler lived during the last few weeks he was alive. He married Eva Braun and two days later they killed themselves. Guards then burned most of their bodies while the battle for Berlin raged around. His teeth survived though and were used to identify that he was indeed dead and not hanging out in Mexico with Tupac, Elvis or Amelia Erhart. The area today is, fittingly, a parking lot. There is no memorial to Hitler, and owners take their dogs there daily to relieve themselves The bunker is sealed off and flooded, so no Neo-Nazis can come pay twisted homage to Adolf.

We then walked to the former Luftwaffe HQ building and later the center for Eastern Berlin government and a Russian intelligence agency. The building is gargantuan! 2000 offices sit inside. Today it’s the tax building. The movie Valkyrie was filmed there. On one of the sides is a mural of what communism was supposed to be, and in front is a picture of a revolution which took place there. Onward again, we walked to a section of the Berlin Wall and the guide talked about it. Throughout the city is a strip of two bricks which mark where the wall used to run. Quite a few times in my and Chuck’s visit we crossed between East and West Berlin which was impossible just 20 years ago. That’s crazy to think. And we walked to Checkpoint Charlie, which is one of the most famour Wall crossing areas. Right after that we took a 30 minute break to grab some food and rest.

Then we saw the Konzerthaus, Deutscher Dom, Franz Dom and a Catholic church which a Prussiam ruler had built. Then we saw Bebelplatz, which is a popular and historical Platz. One of the many things to occur here was the Nazi book burning. Right across the street is Humboldt University where the likes of Max Planck went to school. Right next to that is a monument which has changed names several times. It’s now called the Memorial to the Victims of War and Tyrrany. Inside is a statue of two huddled figures, one holding the smaller other. The room is quite large, and has a circular opening in the roof which casts light onto the statue. It gives you a sense of the isolation Jews in particular felt in WWII and even though the figures are downcast with heads bowed to the floor, the opening above suggests that even in their plight, light and perhaps hope is looking to shine on them.

We walked across a bridge reminiscent of ones in France and we could see the TV Tower in the distance. Our next stop was the Berliner Dom, a huge church built in 1905 but made to look much older with its Baroque-like architecture. The garden in the front is beautiful and has a nice fountain to boot! Right across the street is an empty area where a bustling, important building once stood. It was voted the ugliest building in Berlin 6 years running. The plan is to build another place like it sometime in the future. Under some trees to the left of the Dom we ended the tour. Dave was a fantastic, entertaining and education guide and I hope anyone else who takes the tour can get him as their guide!

On our own now, we walked back past Humboldt university. We made our way to the Reichstag building, which Dave had mentioned on the tour but we didn’t get to go in it. We walked around, trying to find an entrance, and found it on what we thought to be the back side. it was actually opening on a park. They had a really interesting fade from concrete walkway to grass, which I have pictures of. The Reichstag is actually the home of the Bundestag (German Parliament) and was never used by the Third Reich. The name Reichstag somehow stuck. It is a large building with an old-style facade, but the interior is modern. We waited in line to be able to go to the top. In the middle is a huge glass dome. Inside It’s a walkway where you can listen to the free audio guide to learn about the Bundestag and building and get a great view of Berlin.  It also has some crazy structure of mirrors on the middle which focus sunlight and direct it into the building to reduce the amount of artificial light needed to light the main room when the Bundestag is in session. Very cool! The audio guide was great at pointing out sights in the distance as well as some other epic looking governmental buildings right by on the River Spree.

After seeing the Reichstag, we headed back to the hostel. We checked in, got settled, and then went to eat at some Turkish place around the corner. Seriously, Turkish food is all over here. We had some Döner which was really awkward to eat since it was packed full of food and was in the middle of some break container. We managed. In the process I incidentally blew a bee into the sauce on it, which got on the bees wings and meant it couldn’t fly. I then killed said bee in a napkin because I figured if it could get away it would be pissed and probably sting me. After all that fun we came back and eventually went to sleep. This night our roommates were some people from Argentina. I slept with earplugs in because it is much more restful that way. Sounds or other people in the room don’t wake you!