So we were able to find the bus that took us to the airport and it only took about 25 minutes to get there from our dorms. We headed up to check in and go through security. I had measured my bag close to twenty times at home, and each time I found it fit their dimensions. The guy put it in their little test-size compartments and it went in REALLY tightly. But, it went in. He said I shouldn't risk it and told me I had to pay 30 EUR to have it checked. I was so mad. I told him, no, it fits the measurements, it fits in the bin, it's going on the plane, but he just wasn't having it. I was furious. But, whatever. It's not like I needed that 30 EUR ($41) for anything...
But anyway, security was no problem and we made it to our gate with plenty of time to spare. I hadn't had time to eat breakfast before I left, so I grabbed a bite at the airport. The flight left just ahead of schedule and it was a fairly pleasant flight. I think I was too nervous/stressed to sleep for most of the ride, but I think I did get in a little cat nap. We arrived in Berlin 20 minutes early. Way to go, EasyJet. If I weren't already furious with you, I might think you had done decently.
The first food I see in Germany...oh, America!
The tickets for the trains from the airport to the hostel were more confusing than I was hoping. Even though some things were in English, the machines just weren't very novice-friendly. But we did eventually figure it out and get on both the trains to our hostel. It was not a long walk at all.
I'm not going to say much about the hostel, except it has "character." You can see for yourself what I mean by that.
We couldn't figure out how to open the door...but a nice man showed us :)
After settling in, we headed out to find food. We were looking for a good authentic German meal for our first food in Germany.
This didn't exactly fit the bill, but it sounds like something I would enjoy :P
Why, hello there, sunny Berlin afternoon :)
We did find this restaurant, and I got some sort of meatball with potato salad. I also tried the bratwurst and currywurst. Gross and grosser. Clearly, I have no sophistication of taste :P But mine was pretty good :)
By that time, we felt like it was already getting late, but we had been there for three hours! The service was sort of horrible, and so it took longer than we were hoping. We headed off to try to find the East Berlin Memorial Gallery by the remnants of the wall. It turned out it was farther away than we thought. But we did pass some cool things on the way.
In the background is the TV tower. They were setting up some kind of festival. I also saw a Ferris Wheel being built. Now I know why my mom always said they weren't a good idea :P
An electric violinist and guitarist. LOVE.
City Hall, in a beautiful red brick.
A...pretty park. :)
A nice contrast of ancient and modern:
St. Mary's Chapel. Interesting story: They have stained glass of Danse Macabre (based on which Camille Saint-Saens composed one of my favorite pieces by the selfsame name. Check it out!) which needs renovating, but they've no money. So they are asking people to buy tiles to build a mosaic of the windows in a paint-by-numbers style to earn money to renovate the stained glass. What a neat idea!!
By this time, it was 16:30 and the sun was setting. All day long I've felt like it was later than it was in reality. Probably this has to do with my crazy sleeping habits lately, but alas. As soon as the sun went down, the temperatures DROPPED. It was chilly before, but it was freezing now. I stopped in a shop and bought some earmuffs, which helped IMMENSELY.
Beautiful sunset first night in Berlin:
A view of St. Nikola's Chapel from across the river.
A sculpture of the arch-angel Michael defeating the devil. It was really very neat. I wish the picture could be more detailed.
One of the weirdest things I've noticed so far is how many things were closed on a Saturday night! Many places weren't open, and the ones that were closed at around 6 or 7pm. So crazy. It became too cold to be just walking around, so we stopped in a café for some hot chocolate (thank you, German, for looking like English so I can read menus), and decided to go to a choir concert we saw advertised at St. Mary's earlier.
We headed over there, but it was almost 10 EUR, and just not worth the money (especially considering we could probably see the same thing for free at Rockefeller back home). So, we bought some pretzels (mm, warmth!), and decided to check out that big mall-looking thing we passed earlier. Everything looked so different in the dark. It turned out it was a huge multi-purpose store. There was a full-service grocery store as well as a department store. Pretty cool, really.
A view of the mall from earlier in the day:
Really and truly, though, I am grateful to be here. I'm grateful to be able to have these experiences, because I know they are changing me as a person--if only in my perspective. I can already tell an enormous difference between the French and German cultures. It's so stark, it's almost unbelievable. The French (or, really, Parisians in particular) really do have a stuck-up attitude about them. It permeates through you, even if you don't notice it. I realize it most when I speak French. It's so much more chill here. People just don't seem so concerned all the time, and they seem just in general more approachable. It makes me feel a lot better for not speaking the language. They're very accommodating--though I'm still deciding if that's a good thing.
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