*The picture to the right is of a model of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof. I could not capture it all in the picture, but the model is complete with people and the underground tracks.The Hauptbanhof in Berlin is the biggest and busiest train station that I have been in so far in Germany. It is numerous levels of shops, cafes and ticket offices, and packed with people. After our second attempt, we successfully checked into our hotel, a Motel One with numerous locations. Our first attempt was not the location where I had a reservation. Like most hotels in Germany, especially in big cities, our room was very small, just enough room for our two single beds pushed together, a chair, wall-mounted tv, and small bathroom. Luckily we traveled pretty light for this trip.
For dinner we walked down the street towards Alexanderplatz and were able to get into the second restaurant we tried. I did not make any reservations for Friday and unfortunately we were trying to get dinner at prime time here between 6:00 and 7:00 pm. Our dinner and beer of course were fantastic. I had a schwarzbier brewed exclusively for the restaurant and the Easter special of lamb with scalloped potatoes and vegetables. It may not be authentic but I was very glad to see a mound of sauteed veggies on my plate. They do not serve enough vegetables (other than cabbage, carrots, and onions) in German restaurants. Ryan had the Kolsch bier I think. It was also great! After dinner we walked around the Ostermarkt or "Easter Market" going on in Alexanderplatz. I was drawn to the lights and sounds of children riding the merry-go-round, people drinking and eating, and small booths of wares. There were temporary buildings set up as a Partyhaus and everything was decorated with colorfully painted eggs. I was able to refrain myself from purchasing any crafts or "tourist junk" but I definitely enjoyed looking. We did treat ourselves to chocolate covered grapes and a chocolate covered rice/marshmallow cake while we explored on foot.
Saturday morning we had some time to kill before our free walking tour began at 11 at the Brandenburg Gate (pictured left). We took the train to KaDeWe, the large department store in Berlin. It reminded me a lot of Marshall Fields in Chicago. We walked around and explored the children's section, the coffee pots, Bosch kitchen appliances, electronics, and the food on the top floor. They had free bathrooms on the top floor as well so the stop at the department store was definitely worthwhile.During our walk to the Gate from the train station I began to notice the differences between Northern and Southern Germany...First of all, I could not understand Northern Germans because I am so used to the strong Southern dialect. The North is definitely more liberal and Protestant versus the conservative Protestants in the South. Berlin is also very flat and much more modern since it has all been rebuilt, leading to wider roads and remaining elements from the 70's and 80's. The area is more culturally diverse and English speaking, especially since Berlin is a tourist city. The American influence is pretty evident in the North in fashion, automobiles, restaurants, and tourism. I am glad that we live in Southern Germany for the rich traditional culture but it was definitely nice to experience the North.
*As a side note, the pictures above are of the pedestrian crossing lights in Berlin. The Ampelmännchen or literally "little traffic light man" in German was originally in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR - East Germany). It has become a tourist symbol and the lights have been left on the streets.
So that this entry does not go on forever and ever, I am going to skip over the walking tour here and include our activities for the rest of Saturday instead. Since we were going to be in Berlin for three full days and planned on keeping busy we bought the Welcome to Berlin Card which included free travel on all public transportation and discounts for entry to museums. It provided us to easily take trains all over the city without the worry and hassle of buying tickets for each ride. If you are going to visit many museums it is definitely worth it.
Saturday afternoon Ryan and I went to the Deutsche Historische Museum. The museum was very large and we were able to cover what felt like the beginning of time until 1916 in the first two hours. We then visited the special exhibit Diversity Destroyed in Berlin 1933 until 1938. This small exhibit was painful and slightly overwhelming. Since Ryan and I were on history overload and excited to get off our feet, we moved our dinner plans up to 5:30. We met Courtney and Derek, the other American couple visiting Berlin at the same time at the Berliner Republik for dinner. The restaurant was full with reservations but we were able to grab a table that had a reservation at 9 pm. We thought that we would be out long before then but we actually did not leave until after 8:30 pm. Three hours is just about the longest that I have ever sat at a restaurant!
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We watched the soccer game projected on the wall and were entertained by the beer economics or beverage stocks on the tv screens. Each individual beer price of the 18 German beers on tap fluctuated throughout the evening and we were able to watch them go up and down and then order our drinks accordingly. The menu said to watch for the crash when prices were at their lowest sometime in the night. Unfortunately the service was horribly slow. Thank goodness for delicious beer! I tried the Berliner Weiss — a pale, very sour, wheat beer typically served with raspberry or woodruff-flavoured syrup. Both flavors were great and the beer is very sweet. I also had an Altbier or dark amber. As 9 pm approached we tracked down our server for the bill, paid and got up to leave. As soon as we zipped our coats the TV flashed, a bell rang, and the crowd erupted as the beer market crashed and prices were at least 2 Euros lower that what we just paid for our drinks. We laughed about our missed opportunity as we walked back to our hotels.
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