A Weekend in Berlin

Hello everyone!

So in Belgium there is a bank holiday on 21 July, but since that was a Thursday we ended up getting the Friday off too. I decided to make the most of my weekend and went to Berlin! I'd never been to Germany and, if I'm entirely honest, it had never hugely interested me. I'm not sure why, it's just that German culture doesn't excite me the way Spanish or Italian or French culture does. However I did a translation all about the fall of the Berlin Wall and found it fascinating that such a shocking event happened so recently. So, of course, I had to go!

Being a typical tourist at Brandenburg Gate!

 So I arrived on Thursday afternoon and went straight to my hostel to get checked in and throw my bags down. I didn't really know what to expect at the hostel as I've never stayed at one, but it was really nice! There was 12 people in our room (which I think was quite a lot, but it was fine!) and we had 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, an area with sofas and a huge balcony. 

So in the evening of the first day I just explored Berlin a little and then got an early night as I was so tired and wanted to go to an early walking tour the next day.

The Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - this consists of 2,711 concrete slabs of varying sizes that are laid out in a completely random pattern to make you feel really disorientated. It was very powerful.

 So the next day was Friday and my first full day in Berlin! I went on a free walking tour in the morning which was so incredibly good. It lasted around 2.5 hours and the guy that gave the tour was just amazing; he knew so much about the city's history but also related everything to modern society. So for example, he was explaining that so many Germans voted for Hitler because he offered something different and they were angry and scared following World War I. Voting for somebody out of fear - kind of like what happened with Brexit, no? And what is happening with Donald Trump in America too. So I really enjoyed the tour and learnt so much. I also met a lovely American guy who had been travelling Europe alone for about 3 months and we decided to go and see the Berlin wall together. 

Me and my new pal at the wall

 So it turns out that the wall is a lot further than we thought it was. After walking for like 45 minutes we finally got there, but it was definitely worth the walk! It's a couple of kilometres long (I can't remember exactly how long, sorry!) and is all decorated with the most beautiful artwork. It's not authentic stuff from when the wall was up, of course, but it's still really lovely. 

After that, things went a little bit wrong... We decided to get the metro back to the centre as we were tired of walking. Nathan still had two tickets that he'd bought the previous day but hadn't used yet so we jumped on the metro. Three plain-clothed ticket inspectors asked to see our tickets, so we handed them over, thinking nothing of it. WELL it turns out tickets in Berlin only last for one hour after you buy them, even though there is no sign anywhereeeee to tell you that. We assumed that as the tickets need to be validated, they're valid from then onward for one hour. So we were asked to get off the metro at the next stop, which I didn't think was an issue... Turns out they gave us a 60 euro fine each!!!! We argued and argued, as I really think it's ridiculous to fine tourists who so clearly made a genuine mistake, but they weren't having any of it. But never mind, onward and upward! 

After that we went to the Holocaust Museum which was incredible but so moving. It tells the stories of so many people who died at concentration and extermination camps during the Second World War. But the scary thing is that after spending hours reading all these stories, we'd barely scratched the surface. I don't the scale of the Holocaust ever really hit me until we sat watching a projection of the names of people who'd died; so many of them were only children. It was really upsetting but I'm glad I went. 

So that evening I hung out at the hostel with some people I met and we just had some drinks and played games in the hostel bar. Then we got pizza and sat on the balcony for hours, it was a really nice evening. 

Translation: Why? Why does the hatred of one frustrated and badly educated person have to cause so many victims? Why is all of France's courage and hope met with another bloody blow? Why France? Why so many innocents? Why? But please, don't make the mistake of voting for Le Pen!! Be strong.
A tribute to the victims of the Nice attack.

So, onto Saturday! I had another early start as I decided to go and visit a concentration camp (I had a fun-filled weekend, can't you tell?). I went with an organised group tour with some girls that I met the day before on the walking tour, so we all got the train to the concentration camp and then had a guided tour of the place. It was, of course, very emotional and just shocking that this really used to be used as a concentration camp; I still can't wrap my head around it. Something really suprising that I learnt there is that the buildings that used to be used to train Nazis are now used to train German police! Everyone was really shocked and its quite a controversial choice but I can understand where they're coming from in a way - everyday that the police officers train, they are reminded of what can happen when power gets into the wrong hands.

"Work will set your free" - these are the words on the gate as you walk into the camp. People entering the camp thought that this meant that if they worked hard they would be freed. It reality, it was a sick Nazi joke meaning that if they worked hard enough they would die and be 'freed' by death. 

I then spent Saturday night at the hostel with all my new pals drinking wine and gin which was great! Overall, it was a really great weekend and I had soooo much fun, even if it cost 60 euros more than planned ;) 

Adios mis amigos!

Emma