We woke up in our cozy hostel, ate some breakfast, and hit the town! Not without help from out trusty tour guide friend Barbara though. She was taking us to where we were to start our free walking tour (like the one in Amsterdam), and she was pretty awesome. She pointed out this church to us, which had its roof blown off in the war and was never fixed:
Then the tour began. We had a recent European history master's program grad as our guide, so we got a lot of information about this city that came as a surprise to me. Here are some highlights:
There used to be 18 bridges like this one, built in the late 1700s for customs. This particular bridge had a "goddess of peace" sitting atop it, and 12 years after the figure was added, Napoleon entered Berlin, and took it for himself back to France. In 1814 it was brought back, but now is called Victoria (for victory of course). They named the square Pariser Platz (or Paris Square), and they even turned Victoria slightly to the left so that she can stare directly a the French Embassy building. Kinda petty, Berlin.
I learned that there was a building near this bridge that somebody (no one knows who) burned down when Hitler came to power, and he naturally blamed someone who was a known communist, thus giving them permission to make laws and arrest anyone they deemed necessary, because "communism was destroying everything, see, that building even burned down". That's how the rounding up of people started.
Speaking of that, our next stop on the tour was the Memorial for Murdered Jews of Europe (yes, it is called that). It was put up in 2005, and was the first memorial of its kind. The architect said he won't say what he thinks is the significance of all the blocks, he wants everyone to make their own conclusions.
We then proceeded to walk to a parking lot, which stood 13 meters above the bunker where Hitler killed himself. Apparently, he wanted to be cremated, and ordered his soldiers to do so after he and his wife committed suicide. The soldiers took the bodies onto the street and set them aflame, but the Soviets were coming, so they decided to flee and leave the burning bodies behind. The Soviet army found these bodies and did two things: they bombed the bunker, then flooded it, then covered it in concrete (therefore it is now a parking lot), and they buried the half burned body of Hitler in an unmarked grave (he was later relocated).
What would a trip to Berlin be without going to the wall? Well, I don't have the answer to that question, because I did see the wall.
There are other parts of it that are more colorful, but I didn't take any pictures of those (I'm a bad tourist).
Between the years of 1961 and 1989, 161 people were shot trying to go over the wall.
Check Point Charlie was our next stop. Take a look...
No, that sign is not the original. Yes, you see a KFC and a McDonalds. Yes, that is a random American soldier with no significance whatsoever staring down at the formerly Soviet-controlled side, and yes, there is a random insignificant Soviet soldier on the other side staring down the formerly American-controlled side. Yes, that is awkward. It's become a total tourist trap and nothing about it is original, so we moved on.
To Humboldt University! This is where Einstein and Carl Marx and other notable smart people taught.
This is also the site of the infamous book burnings. Check this sign out: it says something like "When books burn, people will burn too" in the top right corner.
Can you see what is crazy about that quote? You don't even have to speak German to know.
Did you find it yet?
Okay I'll tell you. That quote was said in 1820... a century before the prophecy came true.
The students of Humboldt University hold a daily book sale on their campus. I wanted to buy one, but they were all in German! Surprising, I know.
Blair and I hung out in the area for a bit, then went to a bar to chill some more. Here's our hipster pictures:
The next day, we had a slow morning, and went to Cafe Anna Blume. Of course we opted for the three tiered breakfast buffet for two. And we definitely opted for the chocolate cheesecake afterwards.
We went back to the bar we were at the night before, and retrieved the souvenirs I absentmindedly left there... I got super lucky that no one stole it or threw it away!
Then we went to Blair's friend's recommendation, a place called Mano. We drank beer and wine in a treehouse, and felt very hipster again. Check us out:
Expect to see these pictures on instagram very soon.
For our last event in Berlin, we went to the Markthalle Neun (street food market) to chow down on some Currywurst (a Berlin classic of marinara sauce, sausage, and curry powder. A delicacy, really) and some delicious homemade ice cream.
And then we were off to the airport! Lots of plans for Copenhagen, and it's already been a warm and welcoming city... well, okay, it's pretty dang cold here, but you know what I mean. I'm also well aware that it is extremely possible I will meet many Danes who are potentially related to me. No wonder this place feels like home ;)
Then the tour began. We had a recent European history master's program grad as our guide, so we got a lot of information about this city that came as a surprise to me. Here are some highlights:
There used to be 18 bridges like this one, built in the late 1700s for customs. This particular bridge had a "goddess of peace" sitting atop it, and 12 years after the figure was added, Napoleon entered Berlin, and took it for himself back to France. In 1814 it was brought back, but now is called Victoria (for victory of course). They named the square Pariser Platz (or Paris Square), and they even turned Victoria slightly to the left so that she can stare directly a the French Embassy building. Kinda petty, Berlin.
I learned that there was a building near this bridge that somebody (no one knows who) burned down when Hitler came to power, and he naturally blamed someone who was a known communist, thus giving them permission to make laws and arrest anyone they deemed necessary, because "communism was destroying everything, see, that building even burned down". That's how the rounding up of people started.
Speaking of that, our next stop on the tour was the Memorial for Murdered Jews of Europe (yes, it is called that). It was put up in 2005, and was the first memorial of its kind. The architect said he won't say what he thinks is the significance of all the blocks, he wants everyone to make their own conclusions.
We then proceeded to walk to a parking lot, which stood 13 meters above the bunker where Hitler killed himself. Apparently, he wanted to be cremated, and ordered his soldiers to do so after he and his wife committed suicide. The soldiers took the bodies onto the street and set them aflame, but the Soviets were coming, so they decided to flee and leave the burning bodies behind. The Soviet army found these bodies and did two things: they bombed the bunker, then flooded it, then covered it in concrete (therefore it is now a parking lot), and they buried the half burned body of Hitler in an unmarked grave (he was later relocated).
What would a trip to Berlin be without going to the wall? Well, I don't have the answer to that question, because I did see the wall.
There are other parts of it that are more colorful, but I didn't take any pictures of those (I'm a bad tourist).
Between the years of 1961 and 1989, 161 people were shot trying to go over the wall.
Check Point Charlie was our next stop. Take a look...
No, that sign is not the original. Yes, you see a KFC and a McDonalds. Yes, that is a random American soldier with no significance whatsoever staring down at the formerly Soviet-controlled side, and yes, there is a random insignificant Soviet soldier on the other side staring down the formerly American-controlled side. Yes, that is awkward. It's become a total tourist trap and nothing about it is original, so we moved on.
To Humboldt University! This is where Einstein and Carl Marx and other notable smart people taught.
This is also the site of the infamous book burnings. Check this sign out: it says something like "When books burn, people will burn too" in the top right corner.
Can you see what is crazy about that quote? You don't even have to speak German to know.
Did you find it yet?
Okay I'll tell you. That quote was said in 1820... a century before the prophecy came true.
The students of Humboldt University hold a daily book sale on their campus. I wanted to buy one, but they were all in German! Surprising, I know.
Blair and I hung out in the area for a bit, then went to a bar to chill some more. Here's our hipster pictures:
The next day, we had a slow morning, and went to Cafe Anna Blume. Of course we opted for the three tiered breakfast buffet for two. And we definitely opted for the chocolate cheesecake afterwards.
We went back to the bar we were at the night before, and retrieved the souvenirs I absentmindedly left there... I got super lucky that no one stole it or threw it away!
Then we went to Blair's friend's recommendation, a place called Mano. We drank beer and wine in a treehouse, and felt very hipster again. Check us out:
Expect to see these pictures on instagram very soon.
For our last event in Berlin, we went to the Markthalle Neun (street food market) to chow down on some Currywurst (a Berlin classic of marinara sauce, sausage, and curry powder. A delicacy, really) and some delicious homemade ice cream.
And then we were off to the airport! Lots of plans for Copenhagen, and it's already been a warm and welcoming city... well, okay, it's pretty dang cold here, but you know what I mean. I'm also well aware that it is extremely possible I will meet many Danes who are potentially related to me. No wonder this place feels like home ;)
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