Grand Adventures in Germany!

Are you all tired of my grand adventures yet? :)

Immediately after taking my exam, I ran to the train station, took the train to Milan, bus to the airport, flight to Berlin, bus to city center, then walked to Sonya's house. Sonya is one of Ryan's friends who studied in Rome last semester and is studying in Berlin this semester. Somehow we never met when we were both in Italy, even though we meant to - but she was nice enough to let me stay at her house in Berlin for almost a week. I arrived just in time for a dance party and her house, and a pancake breakfast the next morning. I don't think my timing could have been any better.

Then, joy of all joys, beautiful Joy from Berkeley flew into Berlin to meet me. Joy is one of my all-time favorite people and I was so happy to see her I was barely able to speak! I just kept squealing like a very happy little piggy who hadn't seen her favorite piggy friend in almost a year.
Then, to add to my state of piggy ecstasy, the very first thing we did was go to Sonya's favorite burrito place. Italians don't know the first thing about burritos. They don't even have tortillas. So, this burrito became so much more than a burrito. It was a life-changing burrito revelation, a burrito epiphany. It was burrito nirvana. The perfect state of burrito being. I can remember very few meals in my life that were as satisfying as that delicious, perfect, beautiful burrito. It was a vegan burrito, with black beans, brown rice, lime-marinated tofu, all sorts of grilled veggies, salsa and as I realized in one of the happiest moments of my life, fresh guacamole. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

What's funny is that it was a "gourmet San Francisco style burrito" so the restaurant was completely San Francisco themed. Remember, Joy had just gotten off an 18 hour flight from San Francisco... so it was kind of like she just went in a big circle.

Enough burrito-talk (who are we kidding, you can never have enough burrito-talk but I'll move onto another subject anyway). Sonya, Joy and I got along great - even though I'd never met Sonya before it felt like we'd all already been friends for a long time.

Sonya was an amazing guide and took us to all her favorite places in Berlin. As an artist herself, she knows of all the best galleries. She took us to an amazing installation exhibit, made entirely of those little plastic ties that you'd find in a grocery store. It was like something from outer space, and we were allowed to play all over it! It's not every day you find an art exhibit you can climb on.
I fell in love with the city and I know that I'll go back. I know I say that often but there is just something about Berlin that captured me. I honestly think that part of me is still there, probably enjoying a burrito as we speak. How I envy that part of me!

The city is huge but somehow still feels intimate, like you're a part of a community. It's a feeling that reminds me of being in San Francisco - depending on which district you're in, it's easy to forget how big the city actually is. It's filled with tiny cafes, art galleries, markets, and squats (buildings taken over by artists after World War II). It's also an incredibly green city, and even the busiest streets are lined with trees.

The most famous squat in Berlin is called the Tacheles and is an old department store, now filled with small galleries and exhibits. I guess it was supposed to be demolished but then a group of artists took over and completely transformed it.
In addition to the amazing art and music of Berlin, the city has an incredible history. I've always been fascinated with World War II history and it was interesting to see where everything actually took place. We took a free 3-hour walking tour of Berlin and by the end of it I was completely overwhelmed. We saw a beautiful holocaust memorial, the site of Hitler's bunker, the former SS headquarters, Checkpoint Charlie (a famous crossing point of the Berlin wall), and Bebelplatz, where a group of nazi students burned over 20,000 books. Now, Bebelplatz contains a memorial which consists of a window in the ground, looking down into a chamber filled with empty bookshelves - enough space for 20,000 books.

There are dozens of memorials scattered around Berlin but my favorite is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which is a huge space (about 5 acres) filled with concrete blocks of varying heights but the same horizontal dimensions.

There are many interpretations of what the architect may have had in mind when he built the memorial. In fact, there's no description written anywhere around the site, not even to explain what the structures commemorate. Everyone draws their own conclusion. Some think that the blocks represent grave stones. Others think that the varying heights of the blocks represent standing up for one's individuality under an oppressive regime of uniformity. For me, though, the most interesting part of the exhibit was walking through it. As you walk through the exhibit, surrounded by these huge blocks, you catch quick glimpses of other visitors to the exhibit. You only see them for an instant, and then they're gone. It felt like I was catching glimpses of ghosts wandering through the aisles of the memorial.
Almost every city in Europe has its own rich and incredible history. What makes Berlin so different is that it still feels so recent - the Berlin wall fell in 1989 and before that, thousands of people were held prisoner in their own country, in their own city. Families were actually divided, friends and family members weren't allowed to see one another for 28 years. Huge portions of the wall are still there, and there's a brick outline on the ground showing where the rest of the wall used to be.
Then there's all the World War II history, which is still so raw for some people that they feel the need to make up for the actions of their parents or grandparents. Students gather every day at Bebelplatz and hold a small book fair, selling copies of various books that were destroyed during the book-burning that took place there - it's a small gesture but I found it incredibly touching.

Sonya took us to a huge flea market and then to see the East Side Gallery. Another of the most beautiful memorials in Berlin, the East Side Gallery is a large portion of the Berlin Wall (about 1.3 km), covered in beautiful murals by over 100 artists. It's now considered a memorial to freedom.

While we were in Berlin we also met up with Kevin, one of the Americans who stayed at my house back in November. The other American, Jeff went home in February but Kevin fell in love with Berlin (and a beautiful German girl!) so he is still there. He and his girlfriend Sima took us to a place called Teufelsberg which is by far one of the most interesting places I've ever seen. It's an artificial hill constructed completely out of rubble, after Berlin was practically destroyed during the war. The NSA built a radar station on top of the hill which is now completely abandoned, so we spent hours wandering around in the buildings and climbed up inside the radar domes. Sonya and I (both photography nuts) had a field day wandering around the ruined station.
There are all sorts of rumors about the hill of rubble being constructed to cover up secret Nazi bunkers, training camps - we heard about a secret escape tunnel but unfortunately didn't find it. It's a very eerie place though, filled with broken glass and graffiti along with old military equipment. The domes were by far the best part, because every single sound echoed dozens of times. Even a tiny footstep or my camera shutter would create an eerie effect so we immediately started making singing and making rocket noises. Also, the lighting inside the dome was perfect, and there were beautiful views of the city!

Finally, we watched the sunset from the tower and headed back into town.

I really, really didn't want to leave Berlin but Joy convinced me that I should give the rest of Germany a chance. So, we met up with Patricia, a German girl who actually studied abroad last year at Berkeley and lived in the coops. She took us to Göttingen, a small University town where she and several Berkeley students are studying this year. It was amazing to see some familiar faces, and while Göttingen isn't quite as impressive as Berlin, it's hard to imagine a more adorable town. Joy and I spent all day wandering around the narrow streets admiring the architecture.
At one point we asked to climb to the top of the old church tower but were told that we couldn't because we'd disturb the birds who were nesting there! We were allowed to climb about half way up though, and wandered around the rest of the church. Outside, it seemed like any other church but inside was decorated like something out of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory - then, ironically had the following sign (not very Wonka of them at all...):

Later on, while wandering around the quirky little town of Gottingen, we found these signs... I'm not sure exactly what they mean. No child zone?

After Göttingen, our next stop was Munich. To get there, we had originally planned on taking the train but when we found out that it costs 100 euro, we had to find another option. Patricia recommended that we try to find a "carshare" which is basically organized hitch-hiking, usually with a small fee for gas. She searched the website for us and found a girl who was heading to Munich and still had seats available. So, for 20 euro each we went on what was the most terrifying drive of my entire life.

At this point I'd already driven on the autobahn (German highway) - Patricia had taken us from Berlin to Göttingen. This time, though, I found out what all the fuss was about. Our driver averaged between 180-200 km/hr which is 110-125 mph. I tried to convince myself that I had messed up the conversion in my head, that there was just no way she was driving that fast, weaving in and out of traffic, dodging semis, in a construction zone where the lanes were extremely narrow... and it wasn't even just the speed that was the problem - she was an awful driver. Every lane change felt a near-death experience, and then every once in a while she would let out kind of a squeal when she did something especially terrifying, like narrowly avoid being merged into by a semi truck as the passing lane was ending or get distracted and almost run into the center divider. To make things worse, the whole time she was driving she was also sending text messages, playing with her stereo, digging around in her purse, eating - at one point she actually peeled a banana and ate it while driving 125 miles per hour AND talking on her cell phone.

I was in the backseat actually praying for my life, and every so often she'd catch a glimpse of my terrified expression in the rearview mirror and turn around in her seat to make sure I was doing alright. Um, of course I was not doing alright. The woman was turned around in her seat asking me if I was doing alright while driving at a speed that would be considered 1) a felony and 2) legally insane in the state of California!!!

Needless to say, I was incredibly relieved when the four hour car ride was finally over. When we stopped for gas, I seriously considered refusing to get back in the car. I was terrified the entire time and at some points on the verge of tears. It might sound silly to someone who wasn't there, but I actually felt like my life was in danger.

I keep thinking that I'll be able to tell the story and laugh, that thinking about it won't make my heart race. As of now, it's still too soon!

Munich. Oh yes, eventually we arrived in Munich (alive, thankfully!) and went to meet our couchsurfing hosts, German twin brothers named Tom and Jerry! They were both very odd, very shy but we ended up having a great time. Also (and this was not explained to me before we arrived in Munich), there wasn't quite enough space for us, so I slept in a hammock that Tom hung across the bedroom. It was one of those hammocks that closes up on you, so I felt like I was sleeping in a caccoon!
Munich was my least favorite city that we visited, except for the incredible beer. Joy and I loved a beer called Augustiner, apparently it's the Pope's favorite! Other than the beer though, I just didn't like Munich that much... It was huge and overbearing, filled to the brim with tourists and everything was expensive. Since we didn't have much time, we spent all of our time in city center. It's possible that the less-populated areas are more interesting, so maybe I'll give Munich a second chance some day, and I'll definitely just take the train next time. I'm sure that Munich would grow on me eventually - it is a beautiful city but it just couldn't live up to the amazing Berlin!

We were in Munich for just two days and then headed to a small town called Heidelberg. The only reason we went there was to catch the shuttle to the airport, but we ended up loving the town. We got in just in time for lunch at a great little Indian food restaurant (it had been way, way too long) and ordered everything extra spicy. It was extra spicy which left us with stomach aches but it was definitely worth it.

Heidelberg is another adorable University town, but a little bigger and more crowded than Göttingen. There's a beautiful castle overlooking the town, and a river running parallel to the main street. Coincidently, we arrived on one of the three days per year in which the city puts on a fireworks show over the river. I wish I could say that they knew we were coming, but it was just a nice coincidence.

Our shuttle didn't arrive until around 2 AM, so we slept for a little while in the McDonalds in front of the bus stop. Have you ever slept in a McDonalds? I wouldn't recommend it.

After I awoke from my McDonalds nap and convinced myself that no, I did not actually want a Big Mac, we took the shuttle to the airport to catch our flight to Croatia. Since our flight wasn't until noon and check-in wasn't until 10, we slept in the lobby until they let us check in. I think we might be the first people in history to show up at the airport 10 hours early for a flight. That was our strategy though, to sleep in McDonald's and the aiport to avoid paying for a hostel. It worked out fine, and after only a tiny bit of sleepy grumbling, we headed to our romantic island getaway.

To be continued :)

Oh, but first - one more thing!