As we closed in on Berlin, our train was commandiered by what appeared to be hoards of football fans (slightly overweight, wearing colourful scraves, drinking as much beer as they breath air, and chanting loudly). It was great, the closer we got, the drunker they were, until our ICE was a huge party-train (traveler's tip: when in Berlin, find a party-train). As it turns out, we arrived just in time for Stuttgart to face Nurnberg in the German Cup final. The only thing that made the massive Hauptbahnhof station more impressive then the dozen or so criss-crossing levels of train tracks, was the echoing cheers and football chants that filled the building. We wasted no time, and got right into it. We adopted the underdog squad, Nurnburg as our own, and joined the locals in oooing and ahhhing at every chance. The first 90 left the two teams tied at 2, an extra 15 accomplished nothing aside from allowing the fans to get more wired. Half way through the second half of extra time a silver goal was scored by Nurnburg. The pub we were in exploded, crazy germans broke out into song and dance. It was all exhausting; being a football fan takes a lot out of you. When in doubt of what to do on a Saturday night, meander on over to Berlin for a little national epic...
The Jetpak hostel that we are staying at is really impressive. The biggest plus has been the owners who have managed to make all the other operation we have been involved with seem like prisons (okay, minimum security, white-colour lock-ups, but still nothing compared to the clean, comfortable, free-internet providing Jetpak). However, the no free breakfast has forced us to change our routin a little though (mom, we are still eating though... just not lots... I miss the Mom's-all-inclusive). The place seems to attract a lot of Canucks too. And where there are Canadians, there's bound to a little unpredictable excitment.
After touring the city's central sites on the S-Bahn (which is an amazing use of public transit), we spent the day charging through Berlin's east side. Although, before we were able to see any of the hot spots, Neil and I were surrounded by crazy Gypsy Ladies peddling their one baby as bate for cash. Not only were these wiley women experienced with this scheme, but they were persistant. Neil and I had to drop the gloves with one of the big ones... okay actually we just tore into them verbally after their third attack on us... the truth is they scared the crap out of us, so we booked it and never looked back.
Fast forward passed the post card pics (which are all amazing architectural structures), passed the Fernsehturm (bizzare TV Tower), the Marienkirche (old gothic relic of a church), the Berlin Dom (a true sight to see), the Museumsinsel (Museum Island, five separate museums of Berlin's best), down Unter Den Linden, passed the Russian Embassy, towards the Brandenburger tor (the spectacular Berlin wall gates, through the Reichstag (worth the wait in the queue, great vistas from the dome), passed Ptsdamer Platz (with it's Sony Center, and Imax with Pirates 3... we almost stopped in... for the popcorn), passed Checkpoint Charlie. and here begins our East Side Gallery adventure. On the map, the distance between Checkpoint Charlie and the artistic history of the East Side Gallery "appears" to be about 10 or 15 minutes. I emphasis "appears" for dramatic purposes. I will also add that the light drizzle that had been going on all day is now a down pour, the sun has been swallowed up by the dark (ominous) clouds, the streets are empty, and Neil and I are following a small brick line that represents the old wall through the ghetto of East Berlin. Since we survived I can now say that it was a great experience, at the time we were both wishing we were back with the Gypsy ladies... This area of Berlin is neither the new and flashy West end, or the scenic pre-war city center, this is the real deal Berlin, the area that makes a 6 foot 3, 23 year-old MAN, want his mommy. We followed the wall line for 45 minutes and just as a crazy bum started to follow our lead, we found it. Neil and I may have actually hugged each other... or a least exchanged nods of satisfaction. We walked the East side Gallery, but it wasn't even the art work that was most amazing, it was the camera crew that was filming the dude from Super Size Me, that really blow our minds. Of all the walls in all of Berlin...
The end of the first leg of our tour is coming with our flight to Athens. The London-to-Berlin stretch has been full of excitement... and everything else that can't quite be filed under "a great time" (see also: crazy gypsies, see also: old german as dorm neighbour). Part 1 of 4 has been a life time of experiences, time to head south and explore the Greek sun...
The Jetpak hostel that we are staying at is really impressive. The biggest plus has been the owners who have managed to make all the other operation we have been involved with seem like prisons (okay, minimum security, white-colour lock-ups, but still nothing compared to the clean, comfortable, free-internet providing Jetpak). However, the no free breakfast has forced us to change our routin a little though (mom, we are still eating though... just not lots... I miss the Mom's-all-inclusive). The place seems to attract a lot of Canucks too. And where there are Canadians, there's bound to a little unpredictable excitment.
After touring the city's central sites on the S-Bahn (which is an amazing use of public transit), we spent the day charging through Berlin's east side. Although, before we were able to see any of the hot spots, Neil and I were surrounded by crazy Gypsy Ladies peddling their one baby as bate for cash. Not only were these wiley women experienced with this scheme, but they were persistant. Neil and I had to drop the gloves with one of the big ones... okay actually we just tore into them verbally after their third attack on us... the truth is they scared the crap out of us, so we booked it and never looked back.
Fast forward passed the post card pics (which are all amazing architectural structures), passed the Fernsehturm (bizzare TV Tower), the Marienkirche (old gothic relic of a church), the Berlin Dom (a true sight to see), the Museumsinsel (Museum Island, five separate museums of Berlin's best), down Unter Den Linden, passed the Russian Embassy, towards the Brandenburger tor (the spectacular Berlin wall gates, through the Reichstag (worth the wait in the queue, great vistas from the dome), passed Ptsdamer Platz (with it's Sony Center, and Imax with Pirates 3... we almost stopped in... for the popcorn), passed Checkpoint Charlie. and here begins our East Side Gallery adventure. On the map, the distance between Checkpoint Charlie and the artistic history of the East Side Gallery "appears" to be about 10 or 15 minutes. I emphasis "appears" for dramatic purposes. I will also add that the light drizzle that had been going on all day is now a down pour, the sun has been swallowed up by the dark (ominous) clouds, the streets are empty, and Neil and I are following a small brick line that represents the old wall through the ghetto of East Berlin. Since we survived I can now say that it was a great experience, at the time we were both wishing we were back with the Gypsy ladies... This area of Berlin is neither the new and flashy West end, or the scenic pre-war city center, this is the real deal Berlin, the area that makes a 6 foot 3, 23 year-old MAN, want his mommy. We followed the wall line for 45 minutes and just as a crazy bum started to follow our lead, we found it. Neil and I may have actually hugged each other... or a least exchanged nods of satisfaction. We walked the East side Gallery, but it wasn't even the art work that was most amazing, it was the camera crew that was filming the dude from Super Size Me, that really blow our minds. Of all the walls in all of Berlin...
The end of the first leg of our tour is coming with our flight to Athens. The London-to-Berlin stretch has been full of excitement... and everything else that can't quite be filed under "a great time" (see also: crazy gypsies, see also: old german as dorm neighbour). Part 1 of 4 has been a life time of experiences, time to head south and explore the Greek sun...
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