Snuggled in bed this morning...stomach isn't feeling really great so I decided not to go to my morning class today...might have been all the different (kind of rich) food in Berlin and tiredness getting to me :(
Berlin was a really great city though! Our Hostel (Amstel House) in west Berlin worked out really well, I would recommend it to fellow travelers for sure. The sightseeing was also a lot of fun, and really interesting, and we were lucky that the weather was pretty nice and not too cold, although a little overcast all three days, because we did a ton of walking each day, especially Saturday when all the "trams" and buses were striking for most of the day!
My favorite things that we visited were the Holocaust Memorial (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe), which had a museum under the memorial with very personal stories of jewish families throughout Europe and what their experiences were in the Holocaust, and even a room with enlarged postcards sent during that period, some tossed out of train windows, some sent to children, parents, family abroad. That room made me the most emotional. I also really enjoyed the East Side Gallery, where a mile of the Berlin wall has been turned into an art gallery, painted with murals by artists from all over the world. It was really interesting to see firsthand the city of Berlin, and start to understand and feel for the first time what a bizarre and complicated last hundred years of history it has experienced. It made me rethink a lot about how people move on after tragedy, and betrayal, and how people build communities and trust back up again, and remember not to forget who they are and what they think is right and wrong.
We ate a lot of good food, and especially for breakfast all three days had some yummy sort of fruit buckle/cake, some with rhubbard, some with plums, and milkcaffe (like a cafe au lait). Soft pretzels were also delicious, as were wiener schnitzel, sauerkraut, lots of potatoes, and apple strudel! We also enjoyed the markedly cheaper cost of food/drinks in Berlin compared to London and Paris, and it will certainly be harder to consider paying four to five euros for a coffee from now on!
All in all, I was pleased with the city of Berlin, and glad we decided to go there on such a whim! Next weekend I have Dublin to look forward to with some other good friends (and more delicious food of course!) and then two weeks of no classes :) yippee ....
A bientot!
xoxo Gillian
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