Today we started out with a bus tour of Berlin, which was actually really cool and we did get to stop and walk around in some parts of the city to see some things up close. The tour started a bit awkwardly though because we were all eating breakfast when a girl came running in to tell us that our tour director got the time wrong and the guide and driver got to the hostel at 9 am and he thought it was supposed to start at 10 am so we had just started eating breakfast around 9:30 and then had to quickly eat our food as we ran out to the bus. It was a bit comical actually if I'm being completely honest.
In the beginning of the tour we drove by a Soviet graveyard in memoriam of the soviet soldiers who died during the Battle of Berlin, some main governmental buildings, and the central station that was built for the World Cup a few years ago.
Our first stop where we got out to walk around was the Brandenburg Gate on Eastern side of Berlin (where people danced on the fallen Berlin Wall in 1989). The gate was a major point along the wall blocking immigration from east to west that many called the "death strip," but the gate has actually been an important part of Berlin since even before Napoleon invaded Germany. A statue on the top of the gate was actually "kidnapped" by Napoleon in the 1800's. The gate opens on a square where you can find the American embassy and the British embassy, both in very beautiful buildings. There is also the hotel where Michael Jackson infamously almost dropped his baby over the balcony.
Next we walked to a Jewish monument in honor of all Jews affected by the war (both those that were killed in the camps and those that were forced to flee their homelands and lost everything.) The monument was actually really interesting and powerful, pictures don't really do it justice. You've really got to walk through it and experience it to understand the meaning, which is different for everyone.
We also went to another part of the wall where they actually also found remains of an old castle when they were digging around the wall and at first they thought it was part of an underground Gestapo prison, but it actually was an old palace wall so they left it standing next to the Berlin Wall.
Our next walking stop was a very quick one at the famous "Checkpoint Charley" that was a major checkpoint run by the US during the period of separation of Berlin.
Then we went to a place that I'm definitely going back to tomorrow on our free day; Museum island. It is an island in the middle of Berlin that has 5 different museums and I can't wait to go explore them!
We also were able to see today the remaining indications of WWII in the city. Many buildings are still being rebuilt that were bombed and there are still bullet holes in older buildings and columns that you can see.
After the bus tour we were allowed to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the day. I ended up wandering through Berlin on my own and it was really nice. Berlin is an amazing city and I loved window shopping and I actually found this Germany sports drink that is a lemon-grapefruit flavor and I love it!
I did head back to the hostel to meet up with a few other girls and we stumbled upon a festival of some sort in one of the main parts of Berlin. There were all sorts of different vendors and we got some food (I'm not sure what exactly it was that I got, it was some sort of chicken and vegetable kebab or something - it was really good!) and then I got some ice cream that was very thick. It also had a very interesting shape to it and I ended up having to eat it very fast because the bottom of the cone got soft and it started to drip everywhere.
Now I am back in the hostel for the night and tomorrow we have a free day to do whatever we want before we head to Amsterdam on Thursday and the pace of the trip picks up again.
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