The first weekend of June was Stustaculum. The second weekend of June I was in Berlin. The third weekend of June I was in Oslo. The last weekend of June I am going to be in Prague. Rough life.
So this blog is about Berlin, as the title says. One day I am going to title a blog that has nothing to do with the contents just to mess with you guys.
Blake, Libby, and I took a trip to Berlin from June 11-14. It was originally supposed to be 8 of us, but a ton of people dropped out, but we were like whatever we are still going. We had all visited Berlin before, so we decided that it would basically just be a trip to take it easy and relax.
We got on an 1130 pm bus in Munich to Berlin Thursday night. We arrived in Berlin at 7 am. The ride actually wasn't bad because I just slept the whole time, with exception when we stopped at the rest stop around 3am, and I bought gummie bears and twix, and then proceeded to pass back out.
When we arrived we just went over to the Bundestag and Brandenburg Gate area and went in search for coffee. We found this nice little street cafe and just chilled and drank coffee. I also brought rum and spiked everyones' coffee at like 830 am. When in Berlin I guess.
This bird kept landing on my water and drinking out of it. Got a pretty cool action shot of him taking off
Bundestag
Brandenburg Gate
Checkpoint Charlie
A memorial outside the Bundestag
Some Berlin Wall stuff in a shopping mall
Berlin is famous for its mascot, the bear. You see him everywhere. Here he is inside the US embassy
The parking lot where Hitler had his bunker and committed suicide during the final days of the war
Riding the Berlin Ubahn
After coffee we walked around some more and ended up at Alexanderplatz. There was an African Festival happening there for some reason, which featured live music, dancing, african cuisine, and drinks. The weather was beautiful so we decided to just hang there. I got some sprite mixed with lime and vodka, which hit the spot on a hot day, and for food I got zebra, kangaroo, and samosa. The kangaroo and zebra came on a stick, like a kabob. It was actually delicious. Really well seasoned and the kangaroo was really tender. The zebra was really chewy, but oh well, it was still good.
Eating zebra or kangaroo
Some cool dishware at the African festival
After this we ended up walking over to this place we were told about where you pay a couple euros and get to do a wine tasting and eat some pasta, soup, and bread. That was a good time and was delicious. Along the way, we ran into the Berlin wall memorial, which was cool because it was something I didn't get to see last time I was in Berlin and wanted to this time.
The Berlin Wall
The memorial to those killed trying to cross the wall
We also went to the Ampelmann store. The Ampelmann is the little green dude that is on the pedestrian crossing lights. So the guy that tells you if you can cross the street or not. He is really famous in Berlin because the one Berlin uses was used in east Berlin, and when the wall fell they continued to use him, also in west Berlin. So there is a little store completely dedicated to this guy and you can buy a ton of stuff in his form, for example, Libby bought him as a wine opener and wine cork.
Blake at the Ampelmann store
David Hasselhoff signed this wall. Has anyone figured out why the Germans love him so much yet?
The next day we went to an ice cream festival. It was really cool It was in an old Berlin factory with no roof and there were a ton of ice cream stands and even a pool and sand where people were eating, drinking, swimming, and tanning. It was an unexpected find, but definitely really cool.
The ice cream festival
After the festival we went to the Olympic Stadium, which housed the 1936 Olympic Games. If you can remember, the last time I was in Berlin I tried to go here, but got there too late so it was closed. This time though, it was not, so we got to go inside. It was pretty crazy to see. It is very big, and is actually pretty cool looking. They honored the Germans in all the games in the years past who won medals the building was grand. It was really neat. It also started pouring while we were there, one of the most insane storms that I have seen in an while, but thankfully the stadium has a glass covering over the seating now, so we were protected.
Olympic Stadium
Inside the stadium
The pool
The bell that was hanging in the Olympic Tower
Complete with a swastika
Names of the winners of different events during the 1936 Olympics. Jesse Owens was famous for being an African-American athlete who went to Berlin and stole at the show at an even supposed to demonstrate Aryan supremacy. You can see his name several times here
That night we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and it was amazing. I had some lamb, and everyone was happy with their meal. We then met up with one of Libby's high school friends and got drinks and then went to a club. It was a really good time.
The next day we woke up and went to a brunch buffet. That is my jam. We had bread, yogurt, granola, cheeses, eggs, bacon and coffee, all for only 9 bucks. I had like 3 plates and it was amazing. We then went to this place called Mustafa's, which is supposed to have the best Doener in Berlin. We each got one and it was definitely the best Doener I have had in Germany. Would definitely recommend it to anyone going to Berlin. You do have to wait in line for a while though since it is so famous, but it is worth it.
Mustafa's
The line for Mustafa's
By this time, we had to go to the bus station for out 5pm bus back to Munich. We arrived in Munich at midnight. The bus ride was fine again because I just slept. It was funny though because they played a Michael Jackson performance on the bus but there was no volume. So you are watching this dude dance his heart out but there is no music, so he just looks like an absolute maniac so it is hilarious.
So there we go. Spiked coffee to Michael Jackson. Berlin is a good time.
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