Kelsey's Travel Blog!
I travel not to escape life, but to be sure that life will not escape me! Come join me!
Berlin, Germany
If there was one city on this earth that I had to pinpoint as my city, Berlin, Germany would be it. There is no other city I have come across that speaks to me like Berlin does. The controversial and fascinating history, the eclectic underground scene, the breath-taking monuments, and picturesque back allies, all of them move my heart in a way that keeps me coming back for more.
I knew that when Sarah, one of my closest friends from back home in Colorado, came to visit me in Hamburg, we HAD to go to Berlin. My third time back in the city definitely didn’t disappoint. It doesn’t matter the number of times I’ve seen the Brandenburg Gate, or the Jewish Memorial, I still get the chills when I think about the things that occurred on the same streets I was walking on, only a few decades earlier.
The great thing about Berlin, in my eyes, is that it is a perfect example of the Germans’ attitude toward their past: It happened, but it will not define the German people, nor will it be forgotten or overlooked. Walking through the streets of Berlin, there is always a constant reminder of what happened. Memorials are scattered throughout the city and bullet holes can still be seen in some of the buildings. The Berlin wall is subtly marked with a brick path, and the occasional piece of it can be found unsuspectingly behind a corner. It is integrated into the everyday lives of the Berliners, as if to say, “This is a part of our history, and we must remember it, but we will not let it define us.”
Sarah and I arrived after a short, two-hour car ride at the main train station in the city. Our hostel, located in the eastern part of the city, was a cute, modern style building located strategically close to the infamous Hofbrauhaus. I have always preferred the East Berlin to West Berlin, perhaps because I have spent more time there, yet I always try to stay in the eastern part of the city. Not only is it cheaper, but there are more interesting people and more things to do, especially in neighborhoods like Prenzlauerberg and Kreuzberg.
We settled into our hostel and immediately headed to the Brandenburg Gate where we would start our free walking tour. Now I have advocated for these tours before, but I will reiterate what I have said a number of times: Free walking tours are the best way to start off your trip in a place! Not only do you get a bit of back ground and historical knowledge about the area that you are in, but you are guided around the city to places that, if interested in, you will be able to retrace your steps to. Our guide, a scruffy, homeless looking American student, who had been living in Berlin studying for a few years now, was incredibly knowledgeable and excited about the rich history that can be found in Berlin. He took us all over the city, told us stories of monumental moments that occurred right in the same streets we were on, and gave us an intro lesson to Berlin. If you are every traveling to Europe, this really is the best thing you could do as an introduction to a city. Although I had seen a lot of what he had shown us already, I still loved every moment of the tour, and I always seem to take away something new every time I do one.
We started this particular tour off at the Brandenburg Gate, the former city gate that separated communist East Berlin from the democratic West. We covered an enormous amount of history and historical monuments all over the city; everything from the Reichstag, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Hitler’s former bunker, the Luftwaffe (Air force) headquarters, Checkpoint Charlie, The Berlin Wall, the former SS Headquarters, etc. There is so much to see here Berlin, and this four-hour tour only scrapes the surface.
Most of our time was spent as all good girlfriend-outings are spent: shopping, drinking cappuccinos in cute, off-the-beaten-path cafés and cocktails at cute local pubs and bars. We range in Sarah’s 21st birthday with dinner in Kreuzberg at a great Italian restaurant that we stumbled upon, and at my favorite Irish pub in the city, the Kilkenny Irish Pub located on Am Zwirngraben with Irish car bombs and conversations with our cute Irish waiter. The next morning, Sarah’s actual day of birth, we retraced our walking tour, shopping along the way. We decided to stop and rent a Smart car for an hour. One because we had always wanted to drive a smart car and two because walking across the city to the Berlin Wall seemed a bit steep given the Guinness hangover from the night before. To my surprise, I absolutely loved the Smart car! I hate to say it, but it really is the perfect city car! I know, chastise me all you want, but Smart has two new fans.
Berlin is a city that really speaks to my heart. It has everything that I believe a great city should have: history, charm, and mystery. Sometimes I wonder whether I should have looked to study here during my semester, but Hamburg really was the better choice. Perhaps I will return for Grad school, or to further my career. Whatever the reason, Berlin never fails to make me feel right at home, no matter how much time has passed since my last visit, and that, my friends, is exactly what makes this city so perfect.