Hey Berliners!

And by Berliners, I mean people who live in Berlin, not the delicious jelly-filled donuts by the same name. 

I’m heading up to Berlin next weekend to visit my Praha bro, and I would love some tips on what to do/see, and what to skip! So if you have any suggestions, please drop me a comment or two. 

I’ve been to the city twice before, but the visits were very abbreviated. The first time I was there for 17 hours, and a big ball of stress as I was applying for my first Czech visa. The second time I was also stressed, but I had both of my Praha bros with me, and so it was a much better time. We were there for a little more than a day, but got around quite a bit. Garth had actually just returned from a 2-week stay in Berlin, and was happy to play tour guide. That sparked a love for the city and so when we all abandoned ship in Prague, he headed up there. But being that my last visit was two years ago, I’d like to make the most of this weekend. I’ll be hopping a train after work on Thursday evening, so I’ll have all day Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday. So if you have some tips, please share! 

Since I sucked at blogging before, here are some photos from my first visit to the capital….

I love the history-consumerism combination.

I made a tiny friend!

But when my breakfast pastry was gone, so was he. Can you spot him?

Bear + wall.

Holocaust Memorial.

Bikes, bikes, everywhere.

As I mentioned, the second trip was a bit more entertaining. We had a rough start though. In true Praha fashion, we decided the best way to make our 6a.m. train was to stay up drinking all night. My visa pick-up appointment was on Monday morning so we went up Sunday morning so we would have all day Sunday to sight-see. So Saturday night we stayed up drinking, playing cards, and so on. But, as it so often happens with all-nighters, we crashed very, very late, and damn near missed our train. Luckily one of us woke up, woke the others, we all threw stuff in bags and ran to the train station. 

We made it, but were still decidedly not sober, so we found a compartment and passed out. This was actually an advantage, because I was super nervous and illegal on my first trip to Berlin and was freaking out silently for most of the trip. This time however, we slept pretty solidly, except at the border when our compartment door flew open, we heard “Guten Morgen,” and the door slammed shut again. Apparently none of us looked threatening. 

Since we had packed in about five minutes, I didn’t have my camera (or a hairbrush, or socks, and was wearing my tank top backwards), so here are some photos courtesy of my old flatmate….

The Reichstag: German Parliament

Czech Embassy/Consulate

Hungover faces with Heather

Berliner Dom

Wandering through some alley.

Karl and I wandering along the East-Side Gallery.

Karl and Garth prepping for some beers and Egyptian Rat Screw. Pretty much what we did the entire summer of 2009.

Karl doing a prom walk down from the bathroom.

Lurking.

We went to this bar called Belushi’s, which we now know is a chain and in a ton of European cities. They opened one in a Prague hostel not too long after this. After Belushi’s, we went to the Kunsthaus Tacheles. Basically it’s a huge old building that artists use, but also includes a nightclub, and a bar.* Garth had been there on a weekend when it was packed, but on a Sunday night it was pretty much deserted. We hung out on a patio area in the back of the building (which had a beach/tiki theme), and made friends with the two other people there. Oh, and some rats. After we determined that the only other people there were up on the club level, and we were all tired of climbing four flights of scary, graffiti-ed stairs to find a bathroom or more beer, we went to another bar. 

It was at the other bar where I became so tired that I actually fell asleep sitting on a bench, and eventually we decided to make our long way across the city to our hostel. We took about six U-Bahns or trams, and I think Garth got us lost at least 10 times. But in the wee hours of the morning we made it back. Three hours later, we overslept again, and made it to my visa appointment with not a moment to spare. Are you sensing a theme to the summer of 2009? Yep, me too. 

So I’m looking forward to next weekend, and again, tips please!!

*It did, anyway. I’m not sure if it’s still in operation or not. Garth mentioned something about it being shut down before, but I’m not sure. Feel free to correct me.