I made it to Berlin! I have to say I love this city so far. It’s probably the most foreign city to me but overall it was pretty damn good. Now I say foreign because in France, I can get by with speaking French, England, obviously, and Holland I can always call up my uncle, but Germany, I know pretty much NOTHING. I more or less walk into random restaurants and get someone to explain the menu to me. If that doesn’t work then, I guess I have no choice but to walk out. But, I have to give it to Germans. They are really patient in trying to explain things to me, even if their English is limited or non-existent.
I found a place in Berlin that’s pretty central. I’m staying close to a station called Frankfurter Tor. It’s really close to this square called Alexanderplatz. Alexanderplatz was the first place I visited here. It was so cool. It was like an oversized version of Nathan Philips Square back at home. I’m not sure but I think all the street food here was setup for the season, because all of the stands look like they were portable. Even the huge restaurant in the middle called, Partyhaus von Nicholas, which I think translates to Santa’s Party House, looked temporary. I ended up getting a hot dog from these guys who were carrying portable grills. It wasn’t the best sausage I’ve had in Germany but it was pretty interesting. For the rest of the night I kind of wandered around Frankfurter Tor to see what was in the area, restaurants, banks, and grocery stores, anything that might be helpful in case I needed something. The person who I rented the room from suggested that I eat a restaurant close by. I ended up getting a Bacon Burger and some of those great Germany fries.
The following day, I set out to go see what I really came to Berlin for; war monuments. My first thought was that I wanted to see where the Berlin Wall was. If you don’t know what the Wall is, it was basically a wall that divided Germany from East and West after World War II. East was controlled by the USSR, and the West was pretty much controlled by Americans. There is a specific museum for seeing monuments of the wall. It’s called the Wall Museum or also known as Checkpoint Charlie. When you get there you can see old signs from when the wall was up. They even have people dressed up as Soviet and American soldiers for tourists to take pictures with. The cool thing about the remains of the wall is that in Berlin you can see where the wall used to be, because they basically replaced the wall with a cobble bricks on the floor. This cobble brick line can be found going through Berlin in various places. A famous place to see it is actually right behind Brandenburger Tor. If you know your history, there is where JFK and Reagan, US Presidents, made their speeches in Berlin. Right behind pillars you’ll find the line running through the street.
The following day was my birthday! It was also a Sunday, so before going out for drinks, I thought I’d go to church first. Obviously, it’s not what most tourists would think of doing, but first I did it because I’m Catholic and secondly church is the best place to meet new people. The church I went to was called All-Saints Catholic Church, near Oskar-Helen-Heim station. It’s in Zone B on the South-West end of Berlin. And of course it was an English speaking church. It was really cool because I met quite a few people. I even met the Vice-President of the Berlin History Association. He gave me a ride around the area and showed me quite a few cool things. I saw the first ever McDonalds in Berlin, the American Consulate, the original border dividing the British and the American side of Berlin from during the Cold War, and another Cold war museum. From other members of the church I got a really good history lesson of Berlin and even learned more about the lifestyle and things like cost of living. I think overall Berlin definitely sounds like a great place to move to. Probably could find a job faster there than back at home. They’re really looking for more people will skill sets from overseas. During the afternoon, by suggestion of a follow church friend, I went to Alt-Tegel. It used to be where the French setup base after World War II. So, there are still signs that still have French alongside the German. The area itself is very French in architecture. You’ll notice that about Berlin. The West and East are very distinct from each other. I ended up spending the rest of my day by kicking back with a beer and skyping with people back at home. For dinner I had pizza at a restaurant called Zeus. It was a Turkish owned restaurant, aside from having AMAZING pizza; they had this wall with comments all over it. I put up my own little piece on the wall as well. Hopefully, if you’re ever town you can see my mark!
There was a lot I didn’t get to see during this short visit to Berlin, but for the last day I tried my best to make the most of it. I did visit the Jewish Memorial near Bradenburger Tor. Unfortunately because it was Monday it was closed. But, take a look at these photos from outside the museum. There like very tall standing, almost casket-like, pillars. I assume they represent coffins or tombstones. You could probably walk on top of them, but I would assume that’d be very disrespectful. Definitely no locals were doing it, but I did see other tourists do it. The pillars are so tall that you could literally get lost in them. Prior to my visit here though I went to go visit one of the many bunkers that are still intact in Berlin. It was one in Gesundbrunnen. I’d say definitely do the tour. 
They have English ones that start at 11AM and another that starts at 1PM. Just by doing this one tour you’ll learn a ton of history that they never taught you in school. The bunker itself was used to protect German citizens, though it didn’t house too many at a time. Unfortunately, you weren’t allowed to take photos inside the bunker, but it was the case for most museums in Berlin. At the end of the day I went back home and got ready to pack. The flight back to London was really early so wanted to be a little less stress and decided to leave for the airport right after midnight.
Berlin was by far my favourite city to visit this winter. Made me want to watch my favourite German movie again, Der Untergang (Downfall). Check it out! It’s a great German movie that takes place during the last month of the war. There’s just so much to see in this city. This might not hold true for most people, but because the history of this city is so recent it makes it that much more emotional. Germans really take this part of their history quite seriously. So make sure you don’t do anything stupid like the Nazi salute, otherwise you might get arrested. Home is drawing near and the end of this trip, hope you enjoy the photos!
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