I woke up early Saturday morning almost in a panic. I decided to leave an hour earlier than I had originally planned to drive myself down to Miami, park our car, and catch my flight TO GERMANY!
I had trouble parking the car at a reasonable place but finally found a safe indoor one with an online coupon.
I took the shuttle to the airport and found the charger I brought would not charge my phone. After buying a new charger discovered it was ALL the plugs I had tried (at least 4). I returned the over priced airport purchased charger and found an outlet that worked just as someone unplugged their device.
I was thrilled when it was time to board the plane!
Air Berlin spoils you a bit on the plane. Great meals, a little travel/overnight bag of sleeping goodies.
I read a little magazine, I listened to music, watched a movie, and then passed out!
I got a full night of sleep before arriving in Berlin early Sunday morning.
When I got off the plane and walked down the steps in flip flops and no coat to board the bus to take us to the terminal I knew I'd need to bundle up fast. We got off the bus and in line to show passports. I saw a Mom carrying her little one so I offered for her to cut in line in front of me (I was next) and she was as grateful as I would have been if someone had done that for me. I can only imagine how DONE a 2 year old would be after a 10+ hour overnight flight. Airports in Germany are SO EFFICIENT! I made it through customs and baggage in seconds. I think our airports need to take a field trip to learn how to do things right.
I was picked up by my sweet friend Christina. I watched her children back in Monterey, CA in 2006-2007. We drove into town and parked by a subway station. After trying to find the correct train we made it into downtown.
Sandwiches in Germany are PRETTY to look at.
We got off the train at a main station. Inside the station it was like a mall, full of stores and plenty of shoppers.
With the rain and cold we were approached by a double decker bus tour and we took it.
The guy doing the tour spoke what seemed like many languages. His accent and the background noise made it hard to hear everything but I loved the tour.
Our bus made a stop for about half an hour so we grabbed a quick snack. While in Berlin our group members had McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and Hard Rock Cafe. Those girls do not get American food very often so they were excited.
BERLIN!
I was so excited to sit on that bus and take it all in. Berlin was just like any other city. It was clean and full of new buildings. It was not the burned out run down look I for some reason expected. After seeing three continents this last year I've realized most cities look exactly the same. It's great to step into the rural areas and see more of the country you are visiting.
Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Waiting on our bus tour.
We saw this whole large area of these tall and short stone statues of sorts. People were climbing all over them and taking pictures so we followed suit. Afterward we discovered it was a holocaust memorial. We felt incredibly insensitive!
The Brandenburg Gate was our main goal it seemed like for the day. We had heard you could still have your passport stamped with East Germany there but when we arrived we found out it was just some local guy who did it, nothing official so we said, "No Thanks!"
The Christmas markets in Germany are BEAUTIFUL! They are full of things to buy and warm drinks to enjoy. I bought Jake one of the cute little mugs from there that they drink out of. The Germans return the cups for a deposit but we bought them to bring home instead. These markets are associated with Advent which is big there.
We saw the Berlin Wall and even "Check point Charlie."
"The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.[1] The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls,[2] which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period."
I loved my day in Berlin!
I enjoyed seeing how another people live and operate their lives.
The Germans smoke a lot.
Everything but restaurants and churches seem to close on Sundays.
They are not ones to smile and say hello on the street as you pass.
They dress well but in more muted colors.
We even saw some German Punks on the street in passing, how cool!
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