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| Me at the Berlin Wall |
After our morning nap early Sunday, Pauline and I set out to see the Berlin Wall before her shift started at "O2 World". We saw the part of the wall that has been turned into a gallery of sorts- that is, the remaining part of the wall has been reclaimed by artists and is like a series of murals. It was neat to see how different artists decided to use the space allotted to them. Seeing the wall up close also really cemented in how freaking crazy it was that that thing was running through the city for so many years.
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| Me and Pauline (repping Canada!) |
When Pauline went off to fulfill her duties as an "O2 Angel" I explored the nearby area and eventually found my way to a little bakery/cafe where I enjoyed a mocha while catching up on my last France days in my journal. Pauline was off at 5pm, and we went back to her place for dinner with her parents before she had to head back to Leipzig. We had a yummy vegetable dish with zucchini and squash and stuff, and some seriously amazing lamb. It was really sad saying goodbye to Pauline!! We had picked up right where we left off, really enjoying each other, and it sucked to have to part ways so soon. Summer 2016 may be our next opportunity to hang out. She's a busy girl!!! Maybe I'll have to get back to Germany before then if she can't make it to Canada. ;)
Last night my schedule finally linked up with my bestie's. It was super excellent chatting with Kirst. Also had a good chat with my mummy. I got to bed by midnight, but still wasn't able to wake up at 8:30, like I meant to this morning. Luckily I still found time to do everything on my list even though I didn't leave the apartment til 10am.
My day started off with a wild goose chase in search of a post office. Despite early frustrations I was eventually victorious in shipping my Paris souvenirs off to Lisa in Amsterdam. I'm gonna have so much more room in my bag now!!
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| Berliner Dom |
Next I successfully negotiated the transit system and reached "Museum Island". My original plan had been to go to the Neues Museum, but admission was quite hefty, so I instead hit up the slightly cheaper "Berliner Dom" and I was so glad I did! It was a beautiful cathedral, and I had the opportunity to climb the 267 (whew!) stairs up to the roof for a pretty sweet view of Berlin, fog and all.
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| Beautiful Dom |
After the Dom I walked to Brandenburg Gate and took that in. Right near by is the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe- grey concrete slabs of differing heights. It's a different memorial from any of the others I've seen so far, and I think the idea behind it is that when you walk through the headstone like rows they just seem to go on forever forever, and they loom above you. Thought-provoking, to be sure.
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| Brandenburg Gate yo! |
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| Jewish Memorial |
I made my way to the "Topography of Terror", a free exhibit in the former SS headquarters detailing Hitler's rise to power, as well as his fall. This exhibit featured not just Jewish, but other ethnic political and otherwise victims of the Holocaust more so than any other exhibit I've seen. I think that's important, and I'm glad they gave that care in creating the exhibit.
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| Checkpoint Charlie |
After walking through there, I made my way to "Checkpoint Charlie"- the most famous checkpoint from the times of divided Berlin. I also visited the Mauermuseum- the wall museum, that intriguingly was inaugurated before the wall even came down, and was a constant source of information for various events conserving the wall, from demonstrations to escape attempts. Probably the most interesting parts of the museum were the ones that detailed how people made it out of the GDR, or campaigns put on to reconnect families split up because of the east/west split. The English translations were kinda shitty, but other than that it was a neat place to visit.
It was dark when I left the museum at 5:30ish. That's definitely the crappiest part about traveling in the fall. I killed some time at Starbucks, and found a place I wanted to eat dinner at right near Pauline's place.
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| My farewell to Germany dinner at Mecker-Etz |
"Mecker-Etz" is one of the oldest establishments in that area, and it's been family owned for 4 generations- which is a pretty big deal when you think about it. I got a harsh stare down from a table of old beer-drinking German men when I walked in. Not the most tourist friendly place, I gathered quickly. The waitresses were fine though. I had a Berliner Pilsner (so authentic) and off their Pauline-approved German food menu I got a meatball with fried potatoes that was to die for. Served with a yummy mustard and little side salad too.
I got back to Pauline's place around 8:30, which is right when Beate and Hagen were leaving to meet a friend for dinner. So I had the place to myself, and spend the evening catching up on journalling ad watching "Inglorious Basterds" for the first time. What a good movie!
When Pauline's parents got home, we had a farewell drink together of "Cuba libre" which is what they call rum and coke. It was so nice to just hang out in a real living room and have some friendly conversation. Before we knew it, it was 1am! So I said goodbye to Hagen, since I wouldn't be seeing him again, and we all went to bed.
