Berlin is a City Not to be Missed

When people think of Germany, the first city that pops into mind is Berlin. Everyone I met who has been there just loved it. There's a quote that was written on a postcard that Ursel gave me with a quote from Franz von Suppé, "Du bist verrückt mein Kind, du mußt nach Berlin" (You are crazy my child, you must go to Berlin). Well if that's where the crazies go, then I think that's for me!

My visit to Berlin was bitter sweet. The opportunity came because Ivana had applied and been accepted to the TU Berlin - Technische Universität Berlin for the Neuroscience Program. The girl is going to be a superstar in this field! So the visit was also to help my dear friend move her stuff as she will be there for the next 2 years and boy did she have a lot of stuff! We managed to find a big suitcase at the flea market a couple of days before we left and packed the crap out of it. It was so full that it seemed like it was ready to explode. The taxi driver was not too happy when he saw it and carried this heavy load down 4 flights of stairs the morning we left. Ursel asked one guy to help us before the train came to lift it onto the train where he agreed until he saw the luggage and said he had to go to the other end of the platform where his seat was. A nice guy did eventually agree to help us but I caught him doing a test lift as we lined up to get on just to make sure he can do it. It was a funny sight but I totally undertand.

The train from Karlsruhe to Berlin was about 5 hours long. It was not as bad as I thought despite the loud teenagers on the train. We saw many school groups heading to Berlin and all over Berlin once we arrived. I was in awe when I saw the main Berlin train station. There were probably about 4 or 5 levels with shops all over. It felt like a mall than a train station. I even saw Dunkin Donuts! I have yet to try it and made a note to do that while in Berlin as I always seemed to forget to go whenever I saw one. To date, this has to be the best looking train station I have seen yet.

I had 5 days to check out this beautiful city. The odd thing is that within the first few hours, it felt homey and I even thought I could perhaps live here. And no it wasn't because of the hostel we were at. It was just more the way the city lives. It reminded me of London - the vastness of it but more friendlier. I heard more English than I heard German. And I loved that it was so multicultural like Canada. It was a bit of everything that made me feel the way I did. We noticed the friendliness right away on the streets but also at the campus when I went with Ivana for her registration. Every single staff at that campus was so friendly and willing to help out. She had some complicated paper work but the lady we had was doing everything she could to make sure it was doable. I am sure it was a long day, heck even week, with all the students registering themselves but they still had a good mood about them. The registration went by pretty fast and the coolest thing I thought was how they did the photos for their ID cards. It's been a while since I have registered for any schooling but it was cool how they used a passport photobooth for the photo which saves time and money instead of getting a professional photographer and then you just went to the office to get the ready made card. It was as simple as that. And I found out that it was only about 250€ per semester and you even get a Bahn card (public transport card) with it. Everything was included. And the campus was so nice. I loved the way you have the old historical buildings along side the new ones. You see this all over the city.

Berlin has so much history. If you can pick one place to see as much as you can, it would have to be Alexander Platz. That is the main square where you are surrounded by museums, churches, cafe, restaurants and even the river Spree. The main icon that will catch your eye to where the centre is is the Fernsehturm (tv tower). It reminds me of the CN Tower in Toronto. It is about 203 meters and you can go up there to view the city at 360 degrees. There is also a revolving restaurant at the top.

Nearby is something called Museum Island. For most of you who know me, this would be great for museum lovers but I am not. I joked with Ivana that this would be a nightmare, but I do love the architecture of museums as they were quite stunning. I just don't fancy going in :) The island is an UNESCO National Heritage Site and comprises of 5 museums - Altes Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, Bodemuseum, Pergamonmuseum. Each one houses art collections from different periods of civilization. The architecture reflects this as well and it's a great idea. I think I would enjoy checking them out if I loved museums. There is one church you will notice on the Museum Island called the Berliner Dom. It is quite noticable with its greenish dome tops and greyish colour. It was severely damaged during the Second World War, but has been restored.

Close by is something called the Humbold Box. It seems a bit out of place within all these historical buildings and I truely thought it was a museum of some kind from the Humbold University. Every day I would pass by but always passing by on the opposite side of the street from where it was. It always intrigued me. And then on the last day as I was wandering around the main centre again, I almost crossed the street away from it. I was like what the heck, I should check it out or I would always wonder what it was (even though I knew full well I could Google it later on). It is a temporary structure for the Humboldt Forum and it encourages exchange of cultures from around the world in regard to the fields of art, science and culture. I feel lucky to have seen it especially if it is only temporary. It is very cool looking.

This city is so huge, you need to have a day pass or something to get around to see as much as you can. I cannot even tell you everything I saw on this blog. There is so much but so little time to see everything. I bought a 5-day pass for about 29€ where I can go on the transport system. The trains and buses are very efficient. I was surprised how efficient the buses were. Most came every 6 minutes on a weekday. And I preferred them to the trains as I can see a bit of the city sitting by the window than taking a U-Bahn underground. But if time is of essence, the S-Bahn and U-Bahn are great since Berlin is like any city where there is construction everywhere that can slow down traffic.

Another part of the city, away from the main centre, to check out is Potsdam. We only had time to go to Potsdamer Platz. It was quite interesting as it has tall buildings that you would find in cities in North America. It has a mall and small art structures all around. We even stumbled upon the Canadian Embassy! It took a bit of time to see what the flag was as it was limp because there was no wind that evening. Ivana, Canan and I would agrue what it was from afar but my Canadian gut says it's our flag and we did not know until we were returning to the station and stopped by. At least I know where it was if I ever needed it! All the other major emabssies such as France and Russian are by the Brandenburg Gate near the former Wall and the Chancellor's Office and Parliment House. You can see bits and pieces where the wall used to be as it is still embedded in the streets and sidewalks.

There is really so much to see and do in Berlin that even if you lived there, you cannot get bored. There are beautiful parks to sit and enjoy the sun. There are museums to learn from. There are restaurants to check out. There are little gems to find. There are areas to do major shopping. There are theatres and live art scene. It really is a lively city. If you come to Germany, you must stop by. You'll love it as much as I did - crazy or not.