Weekend in Berlin, Germany

I visited Berlin Germany in November of 2018 as part of a 2 week trip that was designed around the cheapest flights I could find on Ryanair. During this period of time, my main goal was to collect stamps and get a small sample of a lot of countries.

I flew first to England where StoneHenge on my birthday was intended to be the great kickoff. From London, I flew to Berlin because the flight was affordable.

This was during my budget backpacking era and I was in my mid-twenties so I was bringing and taking as little as possible. This meant staying in a party hostel. The hostel was fine. They offered a free beer upon arrival and I was sleeping in a room full of rowdy college-aged frat types. They were nice company, but they did snore.

There was a healthy mix of people in my dorm, but mostly folks from England who had likely been tempted by the cheap flights like I had.

I didn’t go to any night clubs or parties while staying in Berlin, but it has a big reputation around the world. There are lots of prestigious nightclubs that are exclusive and hard to get into. A lot of my friends at the hostel told me about their experiences.

While visiting Berlin, my hope was to visit a Beer Hall and experience some history. I will say that Berlin is not really a beautiful place. It is a city rebuilt during the war and there are reminders of Germany’s dark history all over. The reminders are noticed and talked about. None of the history is hidden. 

For one of my activities, I visited East Side Gallery. It is a permanent open-air gallery on the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall. The wall stays there as a reminder, but the new art helps bring beauty to the area. Artists have decorated the walls with political themed artwork.

On this trip, I also visited the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp in Oranienburg outside Berlin. This visit was very sobering but important. This year theme of World War II has been a popular theme for Oscar nominees and movies like The Zone of Interest and Oppenheimer. Both important reminders of the atrocities that were every day life during World War II.

Another must visit location was the memorial to the murdered Jews. I visited this memorial on a free walking tour that started at Brandenburg Gate. It included Checkpoint Charlie, The Franzosischer Dome and a memorial all of the books burned during Nazi occupation. As a librarian, I think about the pile of books buried in a hole to recognize and remember this dark period. Censorship is evil and controlling. It’s important to continue to fight for equal access to information.

Anyway, soapbox done for now.

On a lighter note, I also visited a nice viewpoint of the city from a hotel that I no longer remember. I also got several pictures of bears that were all over the city. I didn’t eat a lot of special food on this trip, but I did enjoy the currywurst as a novelty.

My beer hall adventure happened to coincide with Thanksgiving back home. I visited Hofbräu Wirtshaus Berlin. It’s located in a very central location in Berlin. The beer stayed cold up til the very last sip.