It was an okay fight, another aisle seat and near crying babies. But I did sit next to a nice(?) German man who lives in Florida who told me of some Berliner things to do. It was an extremely long flight, but they did provide nice earplugs, a sleeping mask, and a pretty darn good airline dinner.
Equipt in flip flops and a light sweater (assuming we would get off in a terminal), they let us off the plane in the middle of the airfield to walk to buses to take us to baggage claim. Happy to have found my luggage, I made it to the bus to take me to the city.
Using my great, sleep-deprived mind, I decided to purchase a 5 day pass for €32. ( I have yet to use it again, and it expires the day before I need to take public transport to the train station...) I was quickly yelled at by the bus driver and we were in our way!!!
A bus ride and a metro later, I had landed in Schönleinstraße. I enjoyed a delicious cappuccino and found my flat for the next 6 days.
The bed was extremely comfortable as l laid down to what turned out to be a 5 hour nap...
Choosing not the waste the entire day, I walked to the main streets of kreuzburg and then to a cute restaurant where I enjoyed my first beer in Germany. I ordered the meat rolls, which turned out to be meat balls. They were delicious.
Exhausted from my 4 hour day, I headed back to the flat to get more sleep.
The following day I decided to be a tourist. I woke up and began my trek to Checkpoint Charlie.
I stopped for a delicious crossiant and cappuccino and somehow found my destination.
I spent about 2 hours in the museum and learned a lot about the history of the Berlin Wall. I highly recommend spending time in this museum.
I started walking towards my next destination, Teirgarden. I stumbled upon this large reaining chunk of the wall.
Next door was the Typography of Terrors. It has detailed stories, quotes and photographs from WWII. Highly recommend.
I continued my trek...
..and found my way to Teirgarden before sunset. I took a nice stroll.
I left the gardens to find this...
The smile I had been working so hard at suppressing, due to making Germans uncomfortable, had a hard time staying off my face.
I made my way to my first Christmas market and enjoyed my first brawt (surprisingly hard to find in Berlin) and Gluwein (hot wine). Delicious.
There was a lovely band singing Christmas songs, I swear if you closed your eyes, you would think it was Michael Bublé.
I began my walk back to my flat. Got back, rubbed my sore feet from walking over 12 miles, threw of my way to heavy jacket, and went to find a cool pub.
Having read great reviews, my first stop was Ankleklaus (sp?). It only had tables, and I soon became bored of sitting alone. I downed my pint and strolled down the street.
I found a hole in the wall pub and on my left, sat next to two guys, one in red fireman suspenders, the other with blue hair shaved into a giant V. On my right, my soon to be friend, Oliver.
The bartender, Dominick, was very nice, spoke English, and wrote down all of the things I needed to do in Berlin. His suggestions mainly included drinking and dancing.
Dominick has a love of famous American songs. From the 70s and 80s. My two new friends and I spent the evening listening to Madonna, Hall and Oats, and Michael Jackson.
In preparation for the following evening's karaoke night, I attempted to fix the karaoke machine (pc to Samsung mirroring). Failed.
I headed back to the flat. Stopped for the delicious pizza.
And called it a night.
Merry Christmas Eve Eve.
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