Berlin Part IV: Funkie Freshh

I don't know if I can describe's Berlin's atmosphere.
The dirt, grime, graffiti, and expressions of art work made the city amazingly beautiful.
There was also a childish love of the city. It was fun and funkie and beautiful.

The buildings had a serious aspect of it, but they were so beautiful. In a sense it did not feel like they belonged in the city,
but at the some tie they fit perfect like a puzzle.
Berlin's streets gave an insane feeling.








































The last night in Berlin, Grace and I got nice Italian food. I got a lasagna. It was delicious! And the food was inexpensive, thank goodness!






The last night there was relaxing. I think it was stressful, but a relaxing weekend. Probably because we had our own hostel and we did not have to worry about not showering and roughing it out. haha, but I am proud to say I made it through a city that did not speak English and was able to see everything I wanted to and more.







Walking out the doors of the Generator I wasn't anxious to get back to Ireland. I wanted to see more of the city. The backpack on my back, and the map in my hand, made me want to explore the city even more.

Berlin Part III: Sachsenhausen

Grace and I were troopers yet again.
We woke up at 8am and had our free breakfast.
We took the tram to Alexanderplatz and the train to FredricksberB and than another to Brandenburgh. We met our tour yet again in front of Starbucks. At this point we were pros getting around the city.

It was €12 to Sachsenhausen (sach-en-house) Concentration Camp which was the last stop on the train. We had to buy the ABC train pass.

First They came...

I feel that I have to write a new post on the camp because it is something that I cannot describe. It still is so unrealistic to me. There was a few points during the tour where I almost got sick because I cannot believe someone could treat a person the way they did. I thought about my Grandpa. He was in World War II, and although he never talks about the bad parts of the war, he did tell me he liberated some camps.

The place barely had any trees growing and there was barbed wire along the edges of the place. The train we took was the exact route that the prisoners would have taken. We walked on foot to the camp.
It was an uneasy feeling to see houses around. I could not imagine living there. There were houses right outside the camp as well. People were outside that day maintaining their lawns. It was uncomfortable.
The camp was something that I cannot describe.
It was a place that I could not walk again. It was too upsetting.

"First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist..."

To know that human lives were slaved and starved on the land that I was walking on was unbearable and implausible.
There was not a bone in my body that could imagine how many lives were lost. I still cannot comprehend the Holocaust.

"Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist..."

So, I don't think that I can write anything here, but I have some pictures that don't do justice to anything.

"Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew..."

"Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me".

-Pastor Martin Niemoller

Berlin: Part II- No Carb Left Behind

Saturday March 19th


Our plan for the day was to get the tour that left from the hostel and see the beautiful city but of course the tour left without us once again so we had to find our way to the middle of the city.
Nobody ever checked to make sure we had a ticket. It was so strange. I don't know if we ever needed one for the tram, or if it was free. But thank goodness nobody ever checked.

The map that I purchased in the airpot was a bit useless. It looked like a pink ballerina exploded on it. So, we were off with a small map from the hostel in search for the center of the city.
Luckily, many people came us to us and asked if we needed help. Thank goodness for them. Most spoke a bit of English. We hopped on the tram and too it to Alexanderplatz. From there, we took the train to FedricksBurb and then the underground to Brandenburgh.



Tis description sounds so much easier than it was. Every time we got off a train we were lost and there were a tons of new faces walking by us with a direction. We had a direction but it was so much harder to get around.








The tour met right outside Starbucks and it was free!
Their center square was beautiful! There were people and horses everywhere. Flags were flown from different countries as well.


On the way we fell in love. There was a Dunkin Donuts!



The tour was amazing. It was about 7 hours. We saw all the sites in Berlin, The wall, Hitlers Bunker..etc. We saw where the book burning took place and also a Holocaust memorial.
Our tour guide was from London (and adorable) and he knew so much about the city. It was amazing.






(below) Holocaust Memorial



(Below) Berlin Wall



I ran to get some pieces from the wall. Our tour kept walking so I ran with my backpack and swiveled through some people and then ran back across the street and we caught up with the tour.


We had lunch in a wonderful place with adorable wallpaper.










(below) Book Buring


Saturday March 19th.

Our tour guide Leo recited a quote at then end of that site. He said

"Wherever they burn books, in the end will also burn human beings." - Heinrich Heine





When the tour was over, we headed to a market right across the way. It was a beautiful day! We were very lucky.

We of course got lost on the way back because we had to take the bus to our hostel because the train was closed due to road work. So we turned right and found ourselves down a sketchy road and we quickly turned around after we brought sweets in a video store and we found our way back to the hostel.
We ate burritos that night. Didn't come anywhere close to Molè Molè, but for that moment, it was amazing. We also had crêpes.




The bread is unlike any place I have been to. Everything was fresh. It is cooked in the morning and you can smell it throughout the train stations. It made my mouth water every time. The next day I purchased a pretzel and it was probably the best € .80 I have ever spent in my life.

Off to the hostel we went for nice hot showers.



In many ways it was crazy to look up and see flag flown that is not our own. I don't know how weird it is to say, but I guess it was just a constant reminder that we were in a different country. It reminded me to enjoy the time I had there because I don't know if I will ever be back.



"Berlin is always changing. Yes! Paris will always be Paris, but if you come back to Berlin in 10 years it will look completely different".
-Leo

Berlin: Part I- Tschüß

March 18- 20th weekend

We departed Dublin at 9:50 am.
We had to take the bud to Dublin and 4am. I don't know how we didn't collapse. We were so tired. But we flew into Schönefeld Airport.

Flying into Germany the first thing that amazed me was the scenery. It was so much different that Ireland. All the houses were clustered and it looked like a city with much history.

When we first arrived, we had to take to train to get to the Generator Hostel. Not too many people spoke English so we had to point and ask a few, but we finally found out train.



When we arrived the Generator was just around the corner. The room we get was private and we had our own bathroom and shower. It made the weekend so much more exciting.



Of course we had to get dessert.




We headed to the hostel to make it an early night. We were exhausted.

St. Patrick's Day

March 17th, 2011

St.Paddy's Day.

I cannot believe the difference it is from NY to Ireland. Ireland has a parade in every city or town that might last an hour or two.. but in NYC it seems as if it goes on all day.

People start drinking when they first wake up and they drink until they fall asleep.
It was a good day though.
We went to the parade in Limerick and then we stayed in the house.
It was a nice day none the less.. not a drop of rain hit the pavement.
We were probably the only ones wearing green and Coner had is whole face painted.
We also didn't eat anything special on the day. It's crazy the difference in celebration.