Berlin, Germany

Stormy weather

Awake and having my usual power breakfast of hallowe'en-sized M&M's with water. But today, I also have the option of pretzels and apple juice. No, I cannot take care of myself. Yes, it's a wonder that I am not dead in a ditch somewhere.

I'm finding that I can get by on very little money here. 10 euros for a tour that lasts most of the day, 2 euros for a donner kebab and another few euros here and there for drinks and transportation. The rest of the time is just spent walking around, absorbing my surroundings.

Haven't been eating much here for some reason.

The weather hasn't really been that great since my arrival. Grey and a little chilly, but not enough to make me want to stay inside. I think I will just take it easy and lounge around somewhere. This is exactly why I decided to spend a week here, instead of just 3 or 4 days like everyone was recommending. I like doing nothing - and taking my time at it, too.

Ben, the tour guide from yesterday, put it best: Berlin is a city full of students and politicians. So spending half a day in a bar or cafe isn't unheard of.

Of course, there is 16% unemployment here and a city debt to match that of New York City, with only about 40% of the population.

Went down to the reception area and found a Japanese dude (Kima) behind the desk. He told me that I'd have to switch rooms tomorrow, before noon. Currently, I'm in a double room, but I will have to move into a single, just two doors down from where I am, so no big changes.

After buying a cup of coffee from the hostel, I walked toward the Fernsehturm (TV Tower), near Alexanderplatz. It's the tallest structure in Berlin and is pretty much visible from where ever you are in the city. I used it for navigation all the time, since I was so good at getting lost.

This tower is a throwback to the communist days, when East Berlin was trying to show that the commies too, could build large, sophisticated structures.

Walked to the base of the tower (keep forgetting I can go up the damn thing!), through Museumsinsel (Museum Island) to Unter den Linden.

A walk under the limes

Unter den Linden translates to "Under the Limes" as the road is lined with lime trees. Used to be some riding path to a hunting ground, way back when. I'll spare you the history lesson, as you can get a better one via Google. It's a nice walk, though the view has been somewhat obscured by Karl Lagerfield.

Ampelmann

One thing I've noticed here in Berlin that I find very strange, is the lack of homeless people lining the streets. I mean, for a city with such a high unemployment rate, you'd expect to see at least a couple of vagrants here and there. When I brought this up with a local that I met, he merely smiled and pointed out the vast number of sausage stands in the city, then walked off. Very nice.

This is East Berlin's Ampelmann, who is something of a mascot for the old city. You will not only see him on stop lights, but on t-shirts, candies and a host of other tourist crap.

Stasi

Just off of Unter den Linden are the Stasi Archives. They were the German version of the KGB and did all sorts of surveillance on its people, during communist rule. Today, they are defunct, but their records are still available for viewing. So as an East Berliner, you can actually order your file to take a look at what dirt they had on you.

One of the more disturbing things is that the file also indicates who fingered you. Lots of times, these informants were family or close friends. People you'd never expect.

Unfortunately for me, the entire archive was in German, so I spent all of 5 minutes in there, looking at stuff. Above, you will see a photo that has what looks like pickling jars in it. Again, I couldn't read anything, but I remember watching a Discovery Channel special on the Stasi and how they not only collected photos and information on people, but also their scents. I believe those swatches of fabric hold the olfactory essence of some individual.

Potsdamer Platz

After the Stasi Archives, I was at a loss for what to do, and it was barely 1pm. I decided to walk over to see "New Berlin" - Potsdamer Platz in Tiergarten (a region which has a huge-ass park, like Central Park in NYC), despite the fact that it was a long trek and I was tired already.

Potsdamer Platz is home to a trio of mega-developments (L to R in the above picture): the Daimler-Chrysler building / Dailmer City, the Beisheim Centre and the Sony Centre.

I went first to the Sony Centre, beause it had a huge TV screen in its courtyard and I like TV. Upon entering the courtyard, I was immediately hit with a multitude of stimuli: the flashing screen, classical music streaming from hidden speakers, flecks of water hitting my skin (from the fountain) and the smell of gourmet food from the surrounding restaurants.

My first thought was of how much this place resembled Yebisu Gardens in Tokyo. If you've ever been there, you'll know what I mean. It has a similar overhanging thing from the top and just the way everything is arranged...it's very Tokyo-ish. Don't know how else to explain it.

This was one of the few times I found myself wishing I had come on this trip with someone else. Would have been nice to just sit here, buy a drink and shoot the shit for a while. Instead, I pressed on to the other buildings.

Didn't go into the Daimler Building, but went into Daimler City, which was nothing more than a huge shopping complex. I got the hell out of there pretty quickly. Just outside was a conveyor belt sushi place. I was tempted to give it a try, being that I hadn't had anything besides red meat and beer to eat for the past few days, but decided against it in the end.

Passed by the Beisheim Centre, which had an observation deck and all, but I was so tired from the walk here that I just settled for a photo. The red brick building was reminiscent of something you'd find in Chicago.

One of the things I love about Berlin is that shit is on time. Waiting for public transportation isn't a crap shoot like it is in Toronto. Sometimes the TTC comes, sometimes it doesn't. Everything here is timed down to the minute - though how they do this for buses, I have no idea. It's not like they can control traffic.

I mean, we have bus schedules here as well, but in Berlin, they actually mean something.

I got a little disoriented while walking between the three big buildings and kept finding myself in the same spot as before, like this was some twisted episode of the Twilight Zone. About the 4th time around, I gave up panicking and started snapping some photos of stuff.

You know the Smart Car we have here? It's a crappy little box of a car, but in Berlin, it looks like something I'd actually drive.

Also saw an interesting-looking yellow building. It was some museum for musical instruments, which was probably all in German and coupled with the fact that I don't care about musical instruments, made for an easy decision to keep walking.

I finally found the U-Bahn (subway) terminal and went home. Thought about walking back, but then common sense kicked in.

The subway is weird here. It has zones (like in Vancouver) and works on the honour system (like on GO Transit). You also have to validate your ticket in these little machines before you get on the subway and press a little green button on the door if you want it to open. If you don't press it, the doors don't open and you miss your stop, while everyone on the train stares at you, like you're an idiot. Guess how I know this.

My stop

My stop is Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, and it's literally a 10 second walk to the door of the hostel. If you ever find yourself in Berlin and want to stay in Mitte (the center of Berlin), make sure you stay in the Circus Hostel. It's absolutely fantastic. There are actually two hostels by this name, within walking distance of each other. The one I chose is the smaller, quieter one. Which is the way I like things.

The set up of the hostel is such that you never really see anyone, outside of bumping into them while walking to the bathroom (and if you have an en suite, then you probably won't see anyone outside of the reception area). If you really want to be around people, you can hang out in the reception area and watch some TV, use the net, eat/drink/smoke something or just sit and read.

Went back to my room and took a nap. It's funny, with the time difference here, I'm 5 hours ahead of everyone in Toronto. So, while I am all tuckered out from a day of walking, people back home haven't even started eating lunch yet.

When I woke up, I finished off the remainder of the postcards and set out for some currywurst. There was a stand right near the hostel, off of Tor Strasse (Gate Street). For about $5 CAD, I had currywurst (hotdog with curry powder), fries and a Berliner Pilsner that I couldn't finish. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but here, I don't have much of a choice.

After that, I went to a nearby internet cafe to check some email and started to look at hostels in Prague, my next destination.

Grabbed a salad at the Turkish place where I usually go for donner kebabs and went home, into the arms of Eva Cassidy.