So I got to the Madrid Airport around 12 and had to wait til 4:30 til Kevin arrived which wasnt bad because I had lunch and wrote 8 pages in my journal all about Berlin. Also when it was time for Kevin to get in I realized I was in the wrong terminal so I had to do a mad dash over to Terminal 6 while I was in Terminal 1. Luckily I got there in time and had to wait. I seriously wish that terminals in Europe were the same as they are in the states. It makes you feel like a celebrity. People wait outside the terminal gate and there are gates that people have to walk around. It was so great to see Kevin and have a little bit of home with me.
We took the metra to the Way Hostel which was one of the best hostels I stayed at. We got in the front door and the receptionist was so friendly. I dont remember his name but anytime he saw me he remembered mine. He told us of a Tapas place to watch the game but since we were early and it wasnt the type of atmosphere we were looking for we just had steak fillet tapas with fanta which was our choice of soda over there.
Then we wandered around to try and find 2 Irish pubs to watch the Spain game and somehow stumbled upon it. The bar Dubliners ended up being our bar that we would go to every night to watch the game and get a bucket of Heineken which is 6 bottles in a bucket. The Spain game was amazing. David Villa hit 2 goals and the place was electric with Spanish pride granted there were definitely Americans there that had never seen a football match that was not Kevin and I who know football. After the game which Spain won and the whole bar was screaming Villa's name and the cow bell behind the bar was rung. We went back to the hostel where we passed out.
The next morning we got our free breakfast of corn flakes or toast and Nutella- Kevin's new breakfast and waited around for our free walking tour which was really good. We learned about the symbol of Spain a bear eatting berries from a tree which is represented in the main square Platza del sol where protests go on and on New Years Eve for every time the clock strikes you eat a grape which if you complete means you will have good luck for the year. We also saw the palace which is the largest in Europe. The interesting thing about the palace is that it was taken over by the french who thought it was ugly and to try and get on the Spaniards good side they threw a huge party with wine and once the celebration was over the Spaniards smelled smoke and saw the palace to the ground however all the things that were inside the palace were taken out before hand which is why the Spanish have an interesting relationship with the Spanish monarchy. Next to the palace is the church of Madrid which the front is really really plain and ugly. Like you see Notre Dame and its gorgeous same with Westminster Abbey the churches that symbolize their country and then you see Spain and its a total disappointment however the back of the church looks beautiful which is why the church called Almudena is sometimes what men call ladies in Spain meaning that your ugly in the front and nice in the back which is not a complement.
Behind the Palace are huge massive gardens where the king use to go hunting however today at night this turns into the red light district and in the day in the distance is an amusement park. In Madrid near the palace is a bridge with class high walls it isnt for decoration its to prevent suicides because thats where most people committed suicide and they put an end to it when someone put a bullseye on the ground with concrete. All around Madrid there are signs on houses with numbers these numbers go back to when they use to do a census and where they heavily taxed people which is why some houses in Madrid look like they only have 3 floors however they end up being 5 because back in the day when they taxed people they would count windows .
Then we went to the newer side of Platza del sol which is more modern and has more of a french and roman look. The streets are bigger and sidewalks wider. At the end of del sol is Cibeles fountain representing Earth where if Real Madrid ( a football team) wins the league or a trophy the captain kisses the statue and puts a Real Madrid scarf on her. Then down the way there is a fountain with Apollo who represents wind and then there is a fountain of Zeus who represents water however the artist commissioned to do the project was tired and wanted to go home so when the king asked where was fire he said that the fire lies within the Madrid people for the passion and love they have for the city.
After the walking tour we went to get some food and then went back to the hostel where we took our own siesta. When we woke up we went to get some dinner to watch the 1st half of the Argentina game and then returned to our hostel to watch the 2nd half where we found signs all over the place that said Important Note: All Argentinians watch the World Cup; Somewhat minor Note: The receptionist is from Argentina; What to take away: Don't disturb the front desk from 20:30-22:30
Argentina won and the game so the receptionist was in good spirits. After the game we waited around the hostel for the pub crawl which was one of the best pub crawls Ive been on and to prove my point Kevin went on it twice. It cost 10 euros but the 1st bar we got free drinks for an hour- either a beer or sangria which totally didnt have any alcohol in it. Then the rest of the other bars we got a free shot. Met some great people on the crawl and both Kevin and I ended up back at the hostel at 3 which is semi normal for people in Spain. They start parting at 12 and go all the way to 4 or 5 am in the morning which is insane because then they wake up at 9 to go to work but maybe thats whats so nice about the siesta at 2 .
The next day Kevin and I went to the Palace and only had to pay 3 euros each. I love having the student discount and they really give discounts. For instance if you want to see an opera in Madrid students have a 75% discount and lets be honest in the states student discounts are no where near $3. We got an audio tour and toured the palace which surprisingly had a lot of carpet in rooms for a place that gets severely hot over the summer. Also the rooms had many different themes like oriental , french, ect but no matter what room we were in there was some intricate clock fixture. Then we went into the Armory and pretty much called it a day from there. We walked back from the palace and ran into some guys in US jerseys who apparently had been in South Africa watching the game. We heard the vuvuzalas on their iPhone and it is seriously deafening in the stands. We showed them to Dubliners where we watched the US game where Donovan scored the goal and the place erupted into the loudest cheers I probably heard so far on my journey in Europe. Kevin and I got lunch there and some drinks to enjoy the game then we went back to our hostel to take our siesta and then went back to Dubliners to watch the German game and had Nachos for dinner which the Germans won and surprisingly in a different setting than their home country they are not as crazy as they are in their own country.
The next day was art museum day and I actually got Kevin into art... well famous modern artists. We went to the Reina Sofia which we liked better and is for all modern art and named after the current Queen Sofia. It was probably the smartest day to go to the museums because it was 92 that day and all the museusms are air conditioned. WE spent about 3 hours at the Reina Sofia mainly looking at Picasso, and Dali. Then we went to the Prado and mapped out what we wanted to see and spent about a 2 hours there and skipped out on the free hours which is a plus because then its not as crowded.
After the museum we had some ice cream in the park since I slowly was getting a sore throat and just chilled out. Then we chilled out at the hostel where Kevin decided to go on the pub crawl again and we actually met someone who kindof knew our cousin and then I met some guys that only knew 1 person who went to UD and it was Jimmy Lynch who I KNEW to some degree. That night there was a thunderstorm which I missed but Kevin got wet and of course enjoyed the pub crawl again
The next morning it was off to Barcelona where we were going to take a 10:30 train. We got our tickets the day before at the train station which has a jungle inside it and a mass amount of turtles in the ponds. Anyways our train was delayed an hour because the workers had gone on strike so our train was attached to the train that was leaving at 11:30 which made our train number 17 instead of 7 also known as the 2nd to last train. But it was a fast train and we got there at 3 about an hour before the Brazil Portugal game. I'll tell you the rest in the Barcelona journey so just read on
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Berlin and the wall
Jessie and I got to Berlin around 11pm and went right to bed. The next morning we decided to take a walking tour through the city which was probably the next best walking tour I took. Our guides name was Mike and he was from New Zealand but was now living with his wife and children in East Berlin aka the bad side where we were staying too. Mike was very enthusiastic and loves Berlin but misses New Zealand to some degree. He showed us where the New Zealand Embassy was as well as where it is on a huge globe we came across on our travels as a little joke. On our walking tour we saw part of the Berlin Wall, places where the Berlin Wall once stood to show where the death strip was which was around checkpoint charlie. We saw where Hitler's Bunker was but you cant actually see it because its under 14ft of bad ass Nazi Concrete- as Mike told us. Near Hitler's Bunker is also the Jewish Memorial site which is really cool because you can interpret it in many different ways. For instance it can be the amount of Jews taken, the types of Jews, and since its dark and quiet inside the memorial and you can't tell where others are you have the type of fear that the Jews could possibly experience. We also saw the university where Einstein and other famous German philosophers and such went to school. This is also the same place where the Nazi's did the Book burning which is memorialized with empty bookcases under a glass in a square across from the university. We also went to Museum Island where there are 4 museums and you can see bullet marks left on the museum from when they attacked Berlin. Also across from the Museums is the Berlin Cathedral which is really dark ash from the war however the statues on the cathedral look new because the Nazis put the statues in the water and in special places so they wouldn't be destroyed during the war. Right near Museum Island was a little place to remember those from WWII where there is an Jew, a unidentified Nazi and regular soldier over a statue with a woman carrying her son. The building however had a hole at the top like the Pantheon which made Jessie a little happy because it reminded her of Italy but it was copying it which made her a little mad because of how many buildings copy it. Then we ended our tour by the Brandenburg Gate which is the symbol of freedom for people of Berlin and where the Berlin wall was in front of the gate. Also around that area the US, France, and UK embassy is there but more importantly is the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled Blanket over the balcony. Overall we saw a lot and had a great time but we were tired after the walk that we went to look for a place for Cappuccino, which Jessie has gotten me into. After Cappuccino Jessie and I went and got some Currywurst which is a Berlin delicacy and is indeed delicious. Then Jessie and I played with the Berlin Wall for about 20 minutes by going inside the crevices. We had a little too much fun probably but we had fun. Then we went inside the free museum which talks about everything the Nazi's did from 1939-1942
Then we wandered around and ended back up at our hostel where one of our roommates told us of an underground pub crawl which we had to do a mad walking dash to get to the first bar. We missed the first drink but we got our Piss Off stamp to get into the bars. The 1st bar we went to was a Goth bar where they played 90's music like Sugar Ray and Pink. At the bar we befriended Rodrigo and Paul who we pretty much stuck with the whole night. After the Goth bar we went to an absinthe bar where the 4 of us all did the shots together. Then we went to a secret Ping pong around the world bar where back during the war people would discuss politics but the ping pong would mute their voices. After that we went to what I call the black light bar where there was just black lights everywhere and strange rooms including the mens bathroom which we found out had a camera over the urinal . The our last bar was a Rastafarian bar where we spent about 20 minutes and then went to get Kabobs. We were planning on walking home but since we were on the other side of town and it was 3am we took a cab back to the hostel. Overall the pub crawl was a lot of fun and none of us got bad.
The next day we slept in til around 11 which is the latest the both of us had slept in. But today was a relaxing and free day. We walked towards the Brandenburg gate where there was a Starbucks. So a little slice of home while looking at the gate was just delicious. Then we went to the Reistag which is their Parliament building. On top of the building there is a huge glass dome which is circular and gives you great views of the city. While in the dome the audio guide tells you what to look for and once you get to the top there is an open hole like the Pantheon and there is a huge funnel to capture the water. This whole contraption and the dome itself provides heat for the building. That's not the only cool thing but when you finish walking down the dome you can look down to see Parliament working. The whole idea behind the glass dome and looking down into Parliament is the unification of the people and they have a say in government now.
After the Dome we went into 4 museums in the matter of 5 hours. To be honest probably not the best but it was definitely fun. They somewhat all blended and seemed to have an Egyptian theme except the art gallery which had morbid type of drawings like heads being cut off ect. However the thing that sticks out the most is the bust of Nefertiti. It was beautiful and looked like it could come alive. She had glass eyes that looked like they were real however she only had one eye due to someone taking it or losing it along the way. Overall Jessie and I were amazed at how much Egyptian stuff was at the museum. The best picture, although no one will ever see it because my camera card is gone was we found a face of a man that looked like Eric from The Little Mermaid and Jessie looked at it like Ariel; it was precious and its worth mentioning since one day I will forget and those are the only two things that stick out in my mind during those museums. After the museums Jessie and I pretty much called it a night because we had a fun filled footy day ahead of us.
We woke up at 11 and had lunch in the park before we were off to see the Germany, US, and England game. Jessie and I wanted to experience the World Cup adventure with Germans where the Germans go which was Olympic Stadium where the World Cup was played 4 years ago as well as the Berlin Olympics. We got on the train just in time... well Jessi got on and literally put her body through the door to help me get on the train which was pretty much the last train to get to the stadium on time. The train ride was getting crazier with each stop but it got extremely crazy 2 stops away from the stadium where the train cars ended up being like sardine and all you heard was vuvuzelas doing da da da daa daa daa da da da daa Deutchland. At that stop it took them 3 tries until we could finally leave the station. Once we got off the train we ran with all the other Germans to the stadium and we should of definitely had some brewskies before we got in because everything was overprices. Then when Germany lost it was sad because angry Germans are not fun. We ran into 2 fights 1 over spilled beer another for no apparent reason. Then we had angry german screaming at the screen 1 sounded like a smoker german and then the other who was behind us decked out in everything German Flag sounded like a Gollum Screaming German. Thankfully we didnt go back on the train we stayed for the US game where practically there was a small group of Americans who all came together and stood together to watch the game versus Slovenia where there was an even smaller group of Slovenians. They were the first to score the goal and a man with the Slovenian flag proudly ran in front of the Americans. But in the end America came back and Donovan saved the day and although the game was tied we should of been 1 up for the infamous goal we didnt receive because a man was possibly offsides.
Then we went back towards our hostel and watched the England game over there which they lost. I did better and was not upset. So overall the game day ended up being 2 losses and 1 tie although should of been a win. Overall it was a fun footy day and felt like we saw good football. I am referring to soccer but I call it football because thats what everyone else calls it over there.
The next day was probably not my most proudest moment. To sum it up I really wanted to enjoy it the best way possible since it was the Gay Pride Parade which is attended by many Berliners. I wanted to get buzzed and watch it but I had a little more Prosecco then wanted. Lets just say we walked in the Parade and all I remember is the YMCA. However when I felt better at night I had the best dorm conversation ever albeit it went till about 2 in the morning but it was hysterical. To set it up it was Jessie, Shubrah, and I all from America, Daniel Hussey and his passed out friend with an umbrella from Australia and another random Australian Johnny. The conversation overall was between the girls and Daniel. Daniel kept calling Americans Wankers and then gave me the nickname buckets, he was going to marry Jessie in Italy so Jessie was his wife and then Shubrah he kept messing up her name. Bottom line the best line of the night came from Johnny who had the best 1 liners and would speak at random times. So I asked Johnny when he came in if Americans were Wankers and he replied " Everyone masturbates now and then" You probably had to be there but it was a fun night which Jessie had to leave at 4:30am to catch her flight back to Italy. I also had to pack up because I had to leave around the same time the next day and was moving to a hotel.
The next morning Shubrah and I went to Sachsenhausen which is a concentration camp near Berlin which was the model for all the other concentration camps. We had a guide that was from the same company that did our walking tour take us through the camp which is pretty much destroyed. There are outlines of where all the bunkers were and there is a mock up of what one of the living spaces would of been. Then we saw the place where they executed people with either the showers or a "doctor examination" which was where the person was put up against a wall to what he thought was to check his height but behind him was a Nazi officer pointing a gun at his neck. They found this was the easiest way to execute people and then they would either bury the bodies or put them in the ovens.One thing that is different from Sachsenhausen than other concentration camps is that after the war the Soviets used it as a special camp where they kept prisoners inside barracks but they just stayed inside the barracks all day. People say that the Soviet special camp was worst than the concentration camp because they didnt do anything.
After the camp Shubhar and I went to the Berlin Dome and sat through part of a mass so we wouldnt have to pay admission price and see most of the church anyways. We both had pamphlets to tell us what to say and we started writing on them to decide when we wanted to leave and talk about how we had no idea what the priest was saying. He looked like a judge and all I could make out was blah blah blah but in harsh tones. So we finally decided to leave and I wanted to keep the pamphlet for my scrapbook but when we were leaving the man guarding the door took the pamphlet out of my hands because we were leaving and didnt have any more to give to anyone so he gave mine to the someone else which made me dash out of there because I didnt want him to look at the back and look at me. Once we got out of the cathedral Shubrah and I started cracking up hysterically because we couldnt believe what just happened and wondered what the person would of thought when he looked at the back.
After the cathedral we said our goodbyes as I trekked back to the hostel and to my hotel which was 20 minutes away. I got a doner Kabob for dinner and then returned to my hotel to watch the Ivory Coast vs Brazil game where Brazil dominated. Then I took a shower and went to sleep to get ready to go to Madrid in the morning
Then we wandered around and ended back up at our hostel where one of our roommates told us of an underground pub crawl which we had to do a mad walking dash to get to the first bar. We missed the first drink but we got our Piss Off stamp to get into the bars. The 1st bar we went to was a Goth bar where they played 90's music like Sugar Ray and Pink. At the bar we befriended Rodrigo and Paul who we pretty much stuck with the whole night. After the Goth bar we went to an absinthe bar where the 4 of us all did the shots together. Then we went to a secret Ping pong around the world bar where back during the war people would discuss politics but the ping pong would mute their voices. After that we went to what I call the black light bar where there was just black lights everywhere and strange rooms including the mens bathroom which we found out had a camera over the urinal . The our last bar was a Rastafarian bar where we spent about 20 minutes and then went to get Kabobs. We were planning on walking home but since we were on the other side of town and it was 3am we took a cab back to the hostel. Overall the pub crawl was a lot of fun and none of us got bad.
The next day we slept in til around 11 which is the latest the both of us had slept in. But today was a relaxing and free day. We walked towards the Brandenburg gate where there was a Starbucks. So a little slice of home while looking at the gate was just delicious. Then we went to the Reistag which is their Parliament building. On top of the building there is a huge glass dome which is circular and gives you great views of the city. While in the dome the audio guide tells you what to look for and once you get to the top there is an open hole like the Pantheon and there is a huge funnel to capture the water. This whole contraption and the dome itself provides heat for the building. That's not the only cool thing but when you finish walking down the dome you can look down to see Parliament working. The whole idea behind the glass dome and looking down into Parliament is the unification of the people and they have a say in government now.
After the Dome we went into 4 museums in the matter of 5 hours. To be honest probably not the best but it was definitely fun. They somewhat all blended and seemed to have an Egyptian theme except the art gallery which had morbid type of drawings like heads being cut off ect. However the thing that sticks out the most is the bust of Nefertiti. It was beautiful and looked like it could come alive. She had glass eyes that looked like they were real however she only had one eye due to someone taking it or losing it along the way. Overall Jessie and I were amazed at how much Egyptian stuff was at the museum. The best picture, although no one will ever see it because my camera card is gone was we found a face of a man that looked like Eric from The Little Mermaid and Jessie looked at it like Ariel; it was precious and its worth mentioning since one day I will forget and those are the only two things that stick out in my mind during those museums. After the museums Jessie and I pretty much called it a night because we had a fun filled footy day ahead of us.
We woke up at 11 and had lunch in the park before we were off to see the Germany, US, and England game. Jessie and I wanted to experience the World Cup adventure with Germans where the Germans go which was Olympic Stadium where the World Cup was played 4 years ago as well as the Berlin Olympics. We got on the train just in time... well Jessi got on and literally put her body through the door to help me get on the train which was pretty much the last train to get to the stadium on time. The train ride was getting crazier with each stop but it got extremely crazy 2 stops away from the stadium where the train cars ended up being like sardine and all you heard was vuvuzelas doing da da da daa daa daa da da da daa Deutchland. At that stop it took them 3 tries until we could finally leave the station. Once we got off the train we ran with all the other Germans to the stadium and we should of definitely had some brewskies before we got in because everything was overprices. Then when Germany lost it was sad because angry Germans are not fun. We ran into 2 fights 1 over spilled beer another for no apparent reason. Then we had angry german screaming at the screen 1 sounded like a smoker german and then the other who was behind us decked out in everything German Flag sounded like a Gollum Screaming German. Thankfully we didnt go back on the train we stayed for the US game where practically there was a small group of Americans who all came together and stood together to watch the game versus Slovenia where there was an even smaller group of Slovenians. They were the first to score the goal and a man with the Slovenian flag proudly ran in front of the Americans. But in the end America came back and Donovan saved the day and although the game was tied we should of been 1 up for the infamous goal we didnt receive because a man was possibly offsides.
Then we went back towards our hostel and watched the England game over there which they lost. I did better and was not upset. So overall the game day ended up being 2 losses and 1 tie although should of been a win. Overall it was a fun footy day and felt like we saw good football. I am referring to soccer but I call it football because thats what everyone else calls it over there.
The next day was probably not my most proudest moment. To sum it up I really wanted to enjoy it the best way possible since it was the Gay Pride Parade which is attended by many Berliners. I wanted to get buzzed and watch it but I had a little more Prosecco then wanted. Lets just say we walked in the Parade and all I remember is the YMCA. However when I felt better at night I had the best dorm conversation ever albeit it went till about 2 in the morning but it was hysterical. To set it up it was Jessie, Shubrah, and I all from America, Daniel Hussey and his passed out friend with an umbrella from Australia and another random Australian Johnny. The conversation overall was between the girls and Daniel. Daniel kept calling Americans Wankers and then gave me the nickname buckets, he was going to marry Jessie in Italy so Jessie was his wife and then Shubrah he kept messing up her name. Bottom line the best line of the night came from Johnny who had the best 1 liners and would speak at random times. So I asked Johnny when he came in if Americans were Wankers and he replied " Everyone masturbates now and then" You probably had to be there but it was a fun night which Jessie had to leave at 4:30am to catch her flight back to Italy. I also had to pack up because I had to leave around the same time the next day and was moving to a hotel.
The next morning Shubrah and I went to Sachsenhausen which is a concentration camp near Berlin which was the model for all the other concentration camps. We had a guide that was from the same company that did our walking tour take us through the camp which is pretty much destroyed. There are outlines of where all the bunkers were and there is a mock up of what one of the living spaces would of been. Then we saw the place where they executed people with either the showers or a "doctor examination" which was where the person was put up against a wall to what he thought was to check his height but behind him was a Nazi officer pointing a gun at his neck. They found this was the easiest way to execute people and then they would either bury the bodies or put them in the ovens.One thing that is different from Sachsenhausen than other concentration camps is that after the war the Soviets used it as a special camp where they kept prisoners inside barracks but they just stayed inside the barracks all day. People say that the Soviet special camp was worst than the concentration camp because they didnt do anything.
After the camp Shubhar and I went to the Berlin Dome and sat through part of a mass so we wouldnt have to pay admission price and see most of the church anyways. We both had pamphlets to tell us what to say and we started writing on them to decide when we wanted to leave and talk about how we had no idea what the priest was saying. He looked like a judge and all I could make out was blah blah blah but in harsh tones. So we finally decided to leave and I wanted to keep the pamphlet for my scrapbook but when we were leaving the man guarding the door took the pamphlet out of my hands because we were leaving and didnt have any more to give to anyone so he gave mine to the someone else which made me dash out of there because I didnt want him to look at the back and look at me. Once we got out of the cathedral Shubrah and I started cracking up hysterically because we couldnt believe what just happened and wondered what the person would of thought when he looked at the back.
After the cathedral we said our goodbyes as I trekked back to the hostel and to my hotel which was 20 minutes away. I got a doner Kabob for dinner and then returned to my hotel to watch the Ivory Coast vs Brazil game where Brazil dominated. Then I took a shower and went to sleep to get ready to go to Madrid in the morning
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