SPRING BREAK 2 of 4: BERLIN

Finally got a Java Chip Frappucino!

HUGE German Pretzels!

Brandenburg Gate (The only remaining gate of the Berlin Wall)

The hotel where Michael Jackson hung the baby out the window.

So, on day 3, we departed Prague for our next city on the Northern Loop which was Berlin, Germany. We were supposed to leave at 9am but some people have no respect for others so we didn't actually ended up leaving till 10. People just assume that if they are late then the bus will automatically wait for them and that's usually the case, but still so disrespectful. We finally arrived late into Berlin around 4 pm, we saw some really neat architecture on the drive into Berlin. If you ever travel to Berlin, do not stay at City Hostel Berlin. The staff at the front desk was very rude and not very helpful at all. And there was only one bathroom for a whole hallway full of rooms. (It was worse than college, I've never actually lived in a traditional dorm but I know that's it's worse). So, because much of the day was already over, we decided to check out the Jewish Museum (I was expecting more about the Holocaust) but it was more about the history of Jews although it still was all very interesting. We were on our own to find dinner so we found this typical German restaurant down the street from our hostel (after the front desk told us that nothing was open, liars!) I decided I must try typical German food so I had the class Berlin meatballs and honestly they tasted like any other meatloaf I had other had. Oh, well at least I can say I tried them!

The next morning started off with Sanderman's New Berlin Walking Tour. These walking tours are led by a guide from the company New Europe which provides free walking tours (they operate on tips) of all major cities in Europe. The Berlin Tour was the first walking tour ever created so it is well known and supposed to be the best. Berlin is a really cool city I just wasn't a big fan of our tour guide. On the tour we saw the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall (very unimpressive), Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Deutscher Dom and Franzosischer Dom, and Museum Island. Oh, and we saw a site not listed on the itinerary (the hotel where Michael Jackson hung the baby out the window and yes, I have a picture of the exact window). The tour guide was blabbering on and on and as soon as he mentioned this fun fact, the group was suddenly alive and turning to take pictures of the hotel, it was quite comical. I never really thought of Germany as a touristy area but it is full of visitors and the city actually has a lot of offer. It is an ever changing city and really up to date because most of it was destroyed in WWII so it is all very new looking. For lunch, we also had to try another typical German food, Currywurst Sausages which is mouth watering sausages with ketchup and curry. It may not sound great but probably one of my favorite meals on all of spring break. And as the tour guide says "You are what you eat, only eat once a year" so really it's not all that healthy which is probably why I liked it the best! I spent the remainder of the day walking around the city because it was absolutely beautiful weather (we actually all got a little sunburned that day!) And I finally got my Starbucks fix (every other country in Europe has Starbucks BUT Italy.. it's insane). We ended our time in Berlin with a group dinner at another typical German restaurant (the servers actually dress up in "German like" costumes) which included some cheese thing, HUGE PRETZELS, beer, and apple strudel and it was all worth it. Although I have decided that I am officially not wearing a bathing suit in Greece, ha ha ha!