I went to Berlin this weekend. It was a long weekend, as Germany had Monday off for a public holiday, so Matt and I took off Saturday morning and headed Northeast. It was about a 6 hour train ride, but it didn’t seem too bad at all. First off, we were in a train compartment, which let us have a lot of leg room and ample space for our bags and such. It was actually really comfortable. Those trains also have power outlets for every seat, which is a HUGE plus in my book. I’m kind of an electronics nerd…anyway, it was a good ride. I’ve decided that I’m going to pass a lot of my train time by reading some classics. So far, I’ve finished Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe. Next up is The Count of Monte Cristo. It’s been great getting back into reading again. It had been altogether too long.
Well, I also had my first hostel experience that Saturday night, as we stayed in the A&O hostel in Berlin. It was a 8-bed room (4-bunks), with all guys. We locked our luggage in a locker, and had a communal shower facility and restroom on the same floor. That said, it was clean, newly renovated, and altogether very nice. On Saturday, we visited the Brandenburg Gate, the Tiergarten, the Reichstag (Germany’s Capitol Building), a Holocaust memorial, a remaining portion of the Berlin Wall, the Victory Column, and Checkpoint Charlie. That was all after noon! Anyway, my favorites were the Victory Column, with its great views of the city and suicide staircase, the Reichstag, a very impressive capitol building, and Checkpoint Charlie, just for the historical significance, as not much is there anymore but one little building. Patrick Weber would be glad to know that while in my Hostel bar, I teamed up with a South American named Andrea (a guy) and kicked some butt at a game of foosball. It wasn’t the same level of competition as back home a Jim’s Tap, that’s for sure. 
On Sunday, Matt and I got up early and hustled over to the Sachenhausen Concentration Camp, which was just outside the 
reach of Berlin’s transit system. I can’t even describe what kind of a place it was. It was well preserved, and a great museum and site, with no entry fee at all. Being able to walk through that place was like walking into another world. It was altogether incredibly interesting, but everyone that was there wished they would never have had to learn of such a place. I took pictures, and I can tell you more if you wish, but it just doesn’t seem like the sort of thing to share here. I felt bad even taking the pictures, but I guess it seemed that I took them for the right reasons, with the right perspective, I don’t know…It was just a sad, sad place.
The afternoon was spent checking into our new Hostel, the All-In Hostel (only 10 Euro! - awesome.), and bumming around town. We went to the fairly new Jewish Museum which, in stark contrast to our morning trip, had very little coverage of the Holocaust. That said, I guess that if I was Jewish, I would probably not like to be singly identified with our nation’s darkest period, though, either. It was pretty interesting, and was fairly informative about may Jewish customs of which I was previously unaware. We took pictures of the big TV tower, and happened to go into the Berlin Dom (pronounced dome), and that was one of the most magnificent sights I’ve ever seen. Combine St. Joseph’s Cathedral with the SD Capitol Dome and an ornamental pipe organ the size of Kansas and you’d be three-fourths there. 
You’ll have to see the pictures, although I’m sure they won’t do it justice.
I had really hoped to see the Blue Man Group, as they have a permanent theater here in Berlin, but the Sunday night tickets are 50 Euros, at the cheapest. Well, since that’d be 60-65 US Dollars, I just can’t do it. Although I really want to. Tomorrow we’ll get up and ride the train home to Stuttgart, just in time to go back to class on Tuesday. I think tis trip was good for me, as I was ‘broken in’ to the whole hostel experience and got a glimpse of what my three week travels post-Stuttgart are going to be like. I’m excited, just hoping that my money lasts until then.
Berlinnin’ with the Best of ‘Em,
Chris
Checkpoint Charlie
The Reichstag
They have a marker running in the ground that marks the former position of the Berlin wall.
This is a memorial for all of the Jewish people killed during the Holocaust.
