Shortly after I decided to go on a vacation during spring break, I searched for a European city that a) isn't far and b) interests me. Berlin was the ideal option. Few days before leaving Paris, I had to do some research: museums, transportation passes, food, weather.... I've never been a museum and history enthusiast, but I tried to change this by forcing myself to try.
I downloaded Google Trips app which is really useful to organise your day, where you save the places that interest you and get the directions for them easy peasy lemon squeezy. Some bookings and purchases were done and I was ready to go.
Since I decided really late to go to Berlin, I had to go by bus as the plane tickets were almost double the normal price. But the bus was a terrible idea, especially for someone with car sickness, the irony. I bought some pills in hope to reduce the sickness and I tried to convince myself that they were working. Also, I had no time to pack some snacks and I forgot my water bottle in the big backpack so I was starving and thirsty for some hours until we stopped for thirty minutes in Belgium. My planning was kilometres away from perfection, but I survived the bus trip of 20 hours (?!).
It began at 6 am on the 11th of April, after my arrival at the main bus station of Berlin. I was supposed to go to my host's home, I had the directions and everything. I had to buy the bus ticket from the machine, but unfortunately it didn't accept credit cards for some mysterious reasons. And also because I had no time, I haven't had any cash. So I went on a discovery trip to find the nearest ATM. I was praying the whole time that I'd work. It did, thank God! After being lost for some time, I made it back to the station. I waited for the bus for 20 minutes and then it passed me without stopping! I was perplexed because I was sitting in the station waiting.. I learned the hard way that they only stop if I stand up at the edge of the pavement. (Which is not the case at Paris by the way). The ride was almost an hour!
When I arrived home, the hos
t, Ela, welcomed me with a warm smile and asked me what took me so long (three hours) to reach home. I explained the whole thing while we had breakfast. I took a shower and changed and then took off to go sightseeing a bit. Even though I was super tired. But, I don't get to visit Berlin everyday, so..!
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| The fountain. |
I went to Checkpoint Charlie where I felt like being somewhere else. Then I went to the Berlin Cathedral Church but didn't go inside, because it wasn't free, which is weird. The Cathedral was so beautiful and I adored the light blue domes and statues. Then I went to the Funkturm, the fountain that has Triton (I hope) and I don't know its name. The weather was cold by then but the sky was blue and the sun was shining so I decided to sit on a bench and read a little while having a snack (a sweet nutty German thing Ela helped me pick). I was too happy then.
I brought some souvenirs from Alexanderplatz and then went home. We cooked dinner, also something "German": asparagus, boiled potatoes and Hollandaise sauce, I really liked it. Even thought it was so weird eating whole boiled potatoes. I chilled at home a bit then I went to bed. It was of course early, but since I hadn't slept well in the bus I had to.
Day 2
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| Reconciliation statue. |
I woke up relatively early, we had breakfast and then I took off. Bernauer Straße (street) was my target. During Berlin division, the windows of the buildings in this street were used to escape the western side. Also, some short tunnels were dug. Of course, there were fatalities during these escape missions. There is a reconciliation statue few meters away from the street's famous buildings.
Next to this, there's a small chapel: Die Kapelle der Versöhnung (The Chapel of Reconciliation), small and simple but warm and beautiful.
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| Reichstag Building. |
I took the S-bahn and went to the Reichstag Building. A mixture of modern architecture (the glass dome) and the 19th century architecture (the rest of the building). Brandenburg Gate is a walking distance away. It used to mark the start of the Berlin- Brandenburg road. I visited next the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe.
It was lunch time by then, so I ate at a vegetarian Asian restaurant. (I should've packed lunch with me instead, but totally forgot)
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| East Side Art. |
A trip to the eastern side took place then. I really enjoyed the East Side Gallery, which had tons of different street art/ graffiti.
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Computerspieleinmuseum
Selfie! |
What I visited next
has to be the coolest museum ever! Computerspieleinmuseum! (Museum of Video-games) It showed the evolution of video games, from chess to Xbox. Even though it was super small for a museum, but it was a unique experience to be honest. I strongly recommend!!
Then, I returned home and had a light dinner then stayed in bed till I fell asleep, I can't remember really. I was exhausted anyway from all the walking and wandering!
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| Turkish Breakfast! |
Day 3
I woke up relatively energetic and decided to have breakfast with Ela at a café nearby. The weather was good enough to make me want to eat outside in the semi-sunny weather.
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| A Time-line of Germany, Historische Museum. |
I then headed to the Historische Museum. Ela warned me of how big it was. But I wasn't expecting it to be this big! Germany's history turned out to be impressively long, guys! I spent around three hours, even though I didn't read the descriptions thoroughly in the last exhibitions. I had to have many pauses and an apple pie break in the middle.
Since I was exhausted from standing for so long and my back was hurting so bad, I didn't visit any other museum that day, even though I wanted to. I went to the Mall of Berlin, I enjoyed the walk in the sun to get there but didn't buy anything at last. Except for a sweater from a shop somewhere with "Berlin" on it, I'm sorry, but I had to!
There was a beautiful cathedral nearby (with a splendid light blue dome as well) so I thought maybe I can go to the mass. But then my host told me it'd be for an hour long at least so I took off.
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| Dinner: Spätzle. |
I returned home, replaced my banana bag by a normal handbag and Ela and I went to eat at a small restaurant at a walking distance. We, as usual, chatted during the walk, about almost everything. We had Spätzle which is a pasta (that looks like weird French fries) and some stuff on it: lentille for me and cheese for Ela. We drank some German soda/ jus drink. End of day 3.
Day 4- Last Day
I was really sad leaving Berlin...
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| Neues Museum. |
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| Charlottenburg Schloss. |
My bus was at 8 pm so I had so much time
on my hands. The Neues (new) Museum was my first destination; it had an Egyptian exhibition and Nefertiti's head statue. I didn't visit the other exhibitions because they were similar to the ones I've visited in the Louvre.
I met up with two Indonesian girls from Couchsurfing, Sarah, who was visiting as well, and Rima, who's studying in Berlin. We had lunch together, Turkish kebab for me and a burger for Sarah I then went to the Charlottenburg Schloss (castle). And again, the light domes never failed to amaze me!
I waited for Rima to drop her friend off and then we had dessert and coffee at a cosy homelike café. A cherry cake with decaf black coffee and a cheesecake and cappuccino for my new friend.
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| Cherry cake and coffee! |
Rima insisted on helping me go to the bus station and long story short, we ran A LOT and changed transportation a couple of times. The good news is that we arrived half an hour early! Which is a victory for your fashionably late blogger (I'm trying to change I swear).
Final Thoughts
I did it on my own! I DID IT, I DID IT! A year ago, the idea of travelling alone and couchsurfing seemed deadly to me. It seemed as something impossible, but here I am, a beginner solo traveller.
I did it despite every single unadventurous soul that doubted I'd enjoy it alone. Well, having company is great but being alone is also good. I got to do what I wanted when I wanted. I got to stare at the paintings that interested me without someone yawning next to me. Most importantly, if you wait for someone to be available to come along you might end up not going at all. Bottom line: don't depend on anyone to travel.
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| Credit: germanyflag.facts.co |
As for Berlin itself, it's great! I was afraid it wouldn't be much different than Paris, but thank God it betrayed my expectations. I'll definitely go back for more local spots or something.
Also a huge thank you to Ela for welcoming me and being such a great host in general and Rima for helping me go to the bus station on time! Shout-out to that friend who kept encouraging me to go beyond my boundaries but also yelled at me for not telling anyone prior my trip.
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