6 hours on a train, departed from Dworzec Centrainy. I began to sit in my window sided seat with complete anticipation and exhaustion. Waking up at 5 in the morning, hauling your 5 ton bags into a taxi and finding the right train that will take you to a new country was hard, especially after the effects of being hungover and starving. So early in the morning I would of rather been sleeping in my nice Polish bed, and wake up to a 3 course breakfast. Even though these thoughts and wishes went thru my mind I knew I had to depart Warsaw and check out my next destination. Berlin, Germany. Although the train itself was comfortable and relaxing for the 6 hours we were stuck in it. Iv'e never heard of an express train with that many hours till the time of arrival. Another thing that really got me was that you got a numbered seat on the train. I felt as if I was on an airplane on the ground. Trains back home you could sit anywhere you'd like. That's how it should be. Either way the drive was smooth and we arrived to the world of Germany around 12 o' clock. Still hungover from the night before. That didn't stop us from exploring what Berlin had to offer.
My hotel was called the Berlin Plus. It was a hotel/hostel. Iv'e never stayed in a hostel although my room was part of the hotel. My previous thoughts on hostel's were that they were dirty and some what sketchy. But in reality this place was clean, friendly, and filled with a lot of young people. My room was very nice and clean. Equipped with all the finer things. A working shower that had fresh clean water, a television, and clean white sheets. Something that Russia lacked in many possible ways. I was starting to feel like I was back in civilization again. Or at least the right kind of civilization. After settling in, I made my way thru the vast corridors of this ancient looking building. Turns out that it use to serve has a dormitory decades ago. I didn't travel all this way to go to a university. I stepped outside in the drizzling rain, waiting for a taxi to take me to meet up with my 2 friends at Potsdamer Platz. 16 euros and 15 minutes later I was dropped off in front of this mega subway station. I thought to myself, why would Dutch and Ramon want to meet me here? Looking around nothing seemed to catch my eye. That thought lasted about 30 seconds when I began to make my way to a row of stacked walls with colored graffiti all over it. Thinking it was some sort of art exhibit, my mind began to come to its senses. The old Berlin wall was standing right in front of my eyes.
Standing around in the rain was not something I planned to do. Being on the train for 6 hours had me hungry for some good German food. The only problem was no German place was to be found in this area and I was meeting up with my friends in a half an hour. Crossing the street the word Cafe caught my eye. Walking inside I grabbed a menu and sat down. Realizing it was a Mexican restaurant I began to laugh. Thinking to my self that I'm about to eat at a Mexican restaurant in Germany was hilarious all in itself. But it does not stop there. Flipping thru the menu I did not find anything that pleased me. I decided to order chips with guacamole sauce and a cheeseburger. Yes a cheeseburger from a Mexican restaurant, In Germany. Lets recap, I just ordered a cheeseburger in a Mexican joint in the country of Germany. Something does not sound right about all 3 of these things but with the little voice in my stomach saying "Feed me or else" I had not much to do but to listen to it right away. Even if that costed me getting food poisoning. I was in Europe now, if something happened to me I would feel safe going to hospital rather than being in Russia where the word food poisoning might mean getting your leg amputated. Finally Dutch and Ramon found the place where I was eating. A little restaurant called Cancun. We made our way to start touring the city.
While walking towards all the famous landmarks I looked on the ground and saw these 2 bricks lining up on the street pavement all the way back from the subway. I asked my friend Dutch what it was since he's been to Berlin a few times. He told me that it's an outline of where the Berlin Wall once stood. Shivers came to my body after hearing that. Knowing that 30 years ago if i were to even be this close to the wall there would be trouble. We were walking on the West side of the wall which was always good, I then crossed over and my mind made feel cold and hurt, as I was in communist territory. Walking for about 5 minutes we reached this huge gate. The Brandenburg Gate was the only way people were able to travel from west to east or east to west. It was where government official automobiles would travel thru. Just the idea that I was standing in front of the gate-way to the west and east was very unreal. It's big column structures and the statues of horses on top were very impressive.
Making our way thru the gate I took a look around me and it still felt unreal. Ahead of us were flocks of tourist's surrounding two uniformed men in a German and American soldier outfit. Taking pictures with them for a few bucks, I thought to myself that it was good not coming here acting like a tourist. As we made our way a bit further my friend Dutch pointed out the Adlon Hotel. He signaled me to look at the top right balcony room. I asked him why it was special. He replied saying it is the very place Michael Jackson dangled his baby out that window back in 2006. Even though Berlin is not known for this act it was still funny to know that I got to see where that happened. Walking down the main street we saw tons of restaurants and different stores. Looking up in the sky we saw the Fernsehturm Berlin. This was a very tall TV tower, reminded me of the Stratosphere back in Vegas. After seeing how high it was we felt that we needed to go on top of it. Our walk towards the tower began and we passed a lot of fascinating places on the way.
Passing a university, museum's, and more tourist traps we made our way across this beautiful bridge to this Notre Dame type building. My automatic thought was that it was another church and I was 100% right. Where are all the temples and mosques in Europe? The Berlin Cathedral is totally huge. It was built all the way back in 1451 and it serves as an evangelical worship center. Standing right in front of it is a beautiful water fountain with bright green grass and rows of benches where people are seen watching the day go by, reading fine literature that 30 years ago they would of been in jail for reading. Crossing the street I saw a man serving hot dogs on what looked to be a grill. Didn't seem strange until I got closer. This thing was connected to him! He had a metal bar going right under his crotch while he's standing there feeding flocks of ungracious tourists and random pedestrians. If someone decided to run away with out paying this guy would not be able to keep up. Judging my the metal that was so heavily having him chained in one spot.
The Fernsehturm right in front of us. Powering over Berlin's cityscape as a symbol of connection and strength. Getting closer to it made me excited about getting on top and seeing the great city. Even with the crappy weather and black clouds. We finally made it up the steps where we went around to find a disastrous sight. Over 400 tourists lined up all the way from the upstairs to outside to get on top of this tower. There was one thing that came thru my mind. "No way in hell am I going to waste my time on that line". I guess doing something like going up on top of a tower is very touristy. I thought to my self that since I was on the Stratosphere in Las Vegas that it didn't matter to me. Being on high buildings was just a waste of money. Something that could be used towards a fine dish of schnitzel or great Berlin beer.
Kurfurstendamm shopping avenue is the place to be when it comes to shopping at every store you could think of. From cheap to expensive this place has it all. It would be the equivalence of walking down 5th avenue in New York City. While shopping here I bought a few things at the store Jack & Jones. Which is an english brand from the U.K. It was interesting to look at the different styles that Europeans were into. Cruising around for about 2-3 hours, peeking in every shop was considered one way of seeing Berlin. But in reality I still didn't have the chance to try some real German cuisine. It was time for me to change that. My friend and I found a nice restaurant right on the main street. It was in German words so I figured they had to have something good. Boy was I right. Ordering a plate of the infamous German Veal Schnitzel. After putting the lemon on it the whole thing was watering in my mouth. Sparking water at hand, especially being in Europe still water is not respected.
A trip to Berlin is not complete without checking out it's capital building. The Reichstag is a master piece from the outside. I wouldn't be able to tell you about the interior due to the fact that you need to book 5 days in advance for an inside tour. Even with the crappy weather that was served to us this building illuminated like a light with its beauty. Construction of this building began right around 1871. After an Allied bombing in 1945 the Reichstag's exterior was mostly destroyed. Later years the landmark was reconstructed to look the exact way it was. It was a shame that we couldn't take an inside tour of the building but like I said earlier the outside was enough to have your jaw drop. Besides it wasn't a time out in Germany without having some good beer and a fun night out in the Berlin bar life.
On the last night in Berlin my friends and I had a goodbye feast. Although the original tour's departure meal was in Warsaw we made our own, since all of us were departing ways the next day. We went to some German styled restaurant and I of course ordered something that is well known in Germany. Without any regard of taste I ordered a Pork Knuckle. The actual name did not sound that terrifying until the dish was put right in front of me. It was sort of like a stand off in an old western movie. I didn't know where to start with this thing, it was so oddly shaped and the fat on this thing could of been a full course meal itself. Washing down 2-3 beers my mind told me to go for it and it took all the courage I could get. The meal wasn't as bad as I thought the first couple of bites but it started tasting very fowl. Something that you can get over very quickly. I believe that is what Berlin is all about. Dating back to when the actual wall was put down it was a very sour feeling. People were use to the daily life of a wall separating both east and west and they had to deal with it. Berlin is now shaped in another form. A form of complete young spirit, filled with art, nightclubs, and a yesterday of history. This was definitely a place that I was thankful to check out. It was also sad to leave all the friends that I've made on this journey from the start in Helsinki. But just like Berlin, times change and things move on. Getting a cab back to the Berlin Plus was hard. Packing my stuff and leaving at 5 in the morning for the airport was also a drag.
No comments:
Post a Comment