Berlin:
We were technically in Berlin for 3 days, but the first day (this past Saturday- it's Tuesday now..) was basically spent traveling from Amsterdam to Berlin. I met this really nice lady on the train who asked me why I liked Amsterdam so much and was happy with my response filled with a ton of facts I had found interesting about the city itself. It was a 6 hour train ride, and with the exception of that one lady sitting next to me for 30 minutes before getting off at her stop, I had the row to myself to spread out for the rest of the 5 and half hours. OK, quick suggestion.. DO NOT BRING A SMALL SUITCASE WITH A BROKEN HANDLE WITH YOU ON A SELF PLANNED EUROTRIP. It's really difficult to maneuver your way in certain train stations...
Well by time we arrived in Berlin, it was about 7:15/7:30 pm? Thankfully, our hostel/ hotel was literally right outside the station. We arrived in "Berlin Hbf", which is a HUGE station and very modern. For some reason, the three of us were really exhausted so we just checked in, went back to the station and grabbed food. That night was kind of uneventful but we deserved a break.
On Sunday, I didn't really wanna be up and about super early, so I lazed around a little bit, while Courtney and Adam went on a free walking tour at 11. I went on the same company's free walking tour at 2 pm, which was nice. I had to find my way to the Brandenburg Gate, where the tour met at. It was a fairly simple walk, which was nice and I got to grab a quick bite to eat before the tour started. Another suggestion: BRING CASH. BRING CASH. BRING CASH. A lot of places that I have mentioned thus far mainly take cash and it's difficult to buy food with a card. DONT even think about using an American Express card, that would be a mission and a half. Anyway, I digress.. The free walking tour ( New Europe Tours) was really great. My tour guide led our group to see the gate (obvs), the hotel where MJ dangled his baby from the balcony (that by chance is right next to the gate), the Holocaust Memorial (which has a free museum underneath), the place where Hitler's bunker was (and where he had committed suicide with his wife), Checkpoint Charlie (total tourist spot), part of the Berlin Wall, one of the oldest Nazi buildings to still be standing (even after approx. 70% of Berlin was destroyed due to bombing back during/ after WWII), and a couple of historical plazas. We even saw the university that Albert Einstein had either taught or studied in.
SN: Hitler's bunker is obviously no longer there, we were literally standing where it used to be.. which is now a parking lot of a residential area.
I met these three nice British ladies and hung out with them during the tour. It was cool to meet new people, even if they were from where I'm currently living. They gave me general tips about England and must sees back in the UK. After the tour, I went back to the hostel to reconvene with Courtney and Adam, but then set out on a mission to take out cash from the only bank in Germany that wont charge me ridiculous extra fees, since it's a partner with Bank of America. I'm not gonna lie.. after watching this insane video during study abroad orientation back at UCF, I was terrified to be at an ATM alone. Thankfully, these two women walked in not even 2 minutes after I had walked into the bank ATM section. It was a mother and daughter in law from California and we chatted for a bit as well. After leaving the bank, I went to this bar that was kinda underneath the bridge right near my hostel. It was really quaint and nice (although cold). I tried a couple of the Berliner Pilsners, then headed to grab food and go back to the hostel.
Monday morning, I got to sleep in again, because my Third Reich Tour was at 2 pm. It was a much colder and windier day than Sunday. The tour met up at the same spot. It was interesting though, because upon arriving, I almost instantaneously met two other Floridians and hung out with them the rest of the tour. We went to see the Reichstag Building, a few memorials for those groups of people who died in the Holocaust: the gypsies, the homosexuals, and the military, the Nazi Propaganda Ministry (obv it is no longer that, but we went to the building), SS and Gestapo headquarters, the New Synagogue (which was saved during Kristallnacht), the Jewish cemetary and the Otto Weidt's museum (he saved a bunch of Jewish people during the Holocaust). The tour was pretty interesting and had a lot of cool stories. It did pour A LOT. Thankfully, one of my new friends had an umbrella so the three Floridians huddled together whenever the downpour would begin. There were more tours offered and a lot more to see: the underground scene, the concentration camp nearby, East berlin areas, etc. I just chose the Third Reich tour, because my dad and I had gone to one in Munich (we had also gone to Dachau) last year, so I wanted to see the differences in tours and how the focus was a little different. After the tour, one of the Floridian friends I had met and myself went to go souvenir shopping and to grab dinner together. We had one of the greatest conversations ever. I love meeting new people and I think that's definitely part of the experience of traveling around the world. I've met people from America, UK, different countries of Europe, Australia, Singapore, China, and many more places. And that's just from the past two weeks.. that definitely doesn't include all of the people I've met on the Exchange program. After my new friend and I parted ways, I went back to the hostel to shower and do laundry (never know when I can do that for that cheap again). I kid you not.. it took 3 hours to do. It was the worst. But at least it was done. Courtney waited with me downstairs in the "kitchen for guests" where the laundry machines were for my stuff to finish. We met this American guy and British guy that were doing their laundry too and we just all chatted about our experience abroad and Eurotrips in general. It was pretty interesting. Afterwards, there was nothing too exciting, except packing and dreading waking up in 3-4 hours.
Now I'm in Prague and will write all about these next few days.. eventually!
We were technically in Berlin for 3 days, but the first day (this past Saturday- it's Tuesday now..) was basically spent traveling from Amsterdam to Berlin. I met this really nice lady on the train who asked me why I liked Amsterdam so much and was happy with my response filled with a ton of facts I had found interesting about the city itself. It was a 6 hour train ride, and with the exception of that one lady sitting next to me for 30 minutes before getting off at her stop, I had the row to myself to spread out for the rest of the 5 and half hours. OK, quick suggestion.. DO NOT BRING A SMALL SUITCASE WITH A BROKEN HANDLE WITH YOU ON A SELF PLANNED EUROTRIP. It's really difficult to maneuver your way in certain train stations...
Well by time we arrived in Berlin, it was about 7:15/7:30 pm? Thankfully, our hostel/ hotel was literally right outside the station. We arrived in "Berlin Hbf", which is a HUGE station and very modern. For some reason, the three of us were really exhausted so we just checked in, went back to the station and grabbed food. That night was kind of uneventful but we deserved a break.
On Sunday, I didn't really wanna be up and about super early, so I lazed around a little bit, while Courtney and Adam went on a free walking tour at 11. I went on the same company's free walking tour at 2 pm, which was nice. I had to find my way to the Brandenburg Gate, where the tour met at. It was a fairly simple walk, which was nice and I got to grab a quick bite to eat before the tour started. Another suggestion: BRING CASH. BRING CASH. BRING CASH. A lot of places that I have mentioned thus far mainly take cash and it's difficult to buy food with a card. DONT even think about using an American Express card, that would be a mission and a half. Anyway, I digress.. The free walking tour ( New Europe Tours) was really great. My tour guide led our group to see the gate (obvs), the hotel where MJ dangled his baby from the balcony (that by chance is right next to the gate), the Holocaust Memorial (which has a free museum underneath), the place where Hitler's bunker was (and where he had committed suicide with his wife), Checkpoint Charlie (total tourist spot), part of the Berlin Wall, one of the oldest Nazi buildings to still be standing (even after approx. 70% of Berlin was destroyed due to bombing back during/ after WWII), and a couple of historical plazas. We even saw the university that Albert Einstein had either taught or studied in.
SN: Hitler's bunker is obviously no longer there, we were literally standing where it used to be.. which is now a parking lot of a residential area.
I met these three nice British ladies and hung out with them during the tour. It was cool to meet new people, even if they were from where I'm currently living. They gave me general tips about England and must sees back in the UK. After the tour, I went back to the hostel to reconvene with Courtney and Adam, but then set out on a mission to take out cash from the only bank in Germany that wont charge me ridiculous extra fees, since it's a partner with Bank of America. I'm not gonna lie.. after watching this insane video during study abroad orientation back at UCF, I was terrified to be at an ATM alone. Thankfully, these two women walked in not even 2 minutes after I had walked into the bank ATM section. It was a mother and daughter in law from California and we chatted for a bit as well. After leaving the bank, I went to this bar that was kinda underneath the bridge right near my hostel. It was really quaint and nice (although cold). I tried a couple of the Berliner Pilsners, then headed to grab food and go back to the hostel.
Monday morning, I got to sleep in again, because my Third Reich Tour was at 2 pm. It was a much colder and windier day than Sunday. The tour met up at the same spot. It was interesting though, because upon arriving, I almost instantaneously met two other Floridians and hung out with them the rest of the tour. We went to see the Reichstag Building, a few memorials for those groups of people who died in the Holocaust: the gypsies, the homosexuals, and the military, the Nazi Propaganda Ministry (obv it is no longer that, but we went to the building), SS and Gestapo headquarters, the New Synagogue (which was saved during Kristallnacht), the Jewish cemetary and the Otto Weidt's museum (he saved a bunch of Jewish people during the Holocaust). The tour was pretty interesting and had a lot of cool stories. It did pour A LOT. Thankfully, one of my new friends had an umbrella so the three Floridians huddled together whenever the downpour would begin. There were more tours offered and a lot more to see: the underground scene, the concentration camp nearby, East berlin areas, etc. I just chose the Third Reich tour, because my dad and I had gone to one in Munich (we had also gone to Dachau) last year, so I wanted to see the differences in tours and how the focus was a little different. After the tour, one of the Floridian friends I had met and myself went to go souvenir shopping and to grab dinner together. We had one of the greatest conversations ever. I love meeting new people and I think that's definitely part of the experience of traveling around the world. I've met people from America, UK, different countries of Europe, Australia, Singapore, China, and many more places. And that's just from the past two weeks.. that definitely doesn't include all of the people I've met on the Exchange program. After my new friend and I parted ways, I went back to the hostel to shower and do laundry (never know when I can do that for that cheap again). I kid you not.. it took 3 hours to do. It was the worst. But at least it was done. Courtney waited with me downstairs in the "kitchen for guests" where the laundry machines were for my stuff to finish. We met this American guy and British guy that were doing their laundry too and we just all chatted about our experience abroad and Eurotrips in general. It was pretty interesting. Afterwards, there was nothing too exciting, except packing and dreading waking up in 3-4 hours.
Now I'm in Prague and will write all about these next few days.. eventually!
Because I haven't uploaded any of my other Berlin pics from my phone to my computer... Oh, well. You can see a few on insta: anitababii
P.S. That's the view from the rooftop of our hostel (taken the first night after dinner)
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