Berlin, Day 2

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Berlin, and hello to Prague.

We had an experience waking up today. We set the alarm to wake us up at 7:30AM before going to bed. The alarm goes off, and I get up and get ready for the day. I finish getting ready, and look at the alarm clock. It says 8:20AM. I know I’m slow to get ready in the morning (the earlier, the slower), but there was no way it took me 50 minutes this morning. When Laura’s done getting ready, I grab my watch to put it on… and it says 5:20AM. Laura grabs her watch, and comments that she thought her watch battery died. Her watch said 5:20AM. Apparently our alarm clock didn’t keep accurate time and was very fast. Great. So we ended up trying to sleep for a few more hours to catch back up. Not a good way to start the morning.

At any rate, here’s what happened today:

- We left the hotel and had breakfast at a local coffee shop chain. I had a pastry that was topped with cinnamon and a hot chocolate.

- Walked around Potsdamer Platz and found Hitler’s bunker site. We also learned a bit about bunkers during World War II, the underground, and life in a Berlin divided by the Berlin Wall.

- Hopped on a train to Oranienburg, then explored the city.

- While exploring, we found out that there was a festival/carnival/boat race competition going on. We walked around there for a bit, watch some races, did some good people watching, and ate (I had a grilled bratwurst and French fries). Interesting things during our time at the festival: the boat racers used a drummer beating a drum to keep their rhythm. Also, we loved the eclectic mix of American popular music and techno pumping out of the speakers.

- Walked to and visited Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Learned a lot about the atrocities that went on there. An amazing, yet depressing, experience.

- Walked back to the train station (and saw a Westie on the way), then got on the train back to Berlin. More fun happens: Laura got into a conversation with a random drunk guy on the train. Of course, Laura had no idea what the guy was saying. She said it sounded like he was speaking a mix of German and English. All she got out of the conversation was: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Beatles, “Yellow Submarine”, “She Loves You Yeah Yeah”, and Michael Jackson. He also liked to show off his Beatles tattoo. The guy’s lady friend kept slapping him the whole time he was talking. After Laura, he started talking to yet another random drunk guy, and it was like the two completely understood each other.

- Got off back at Potsdamer Platz… and the entire street was trashed and there were street washing trucks everywhere. Apparently the Gay Pride parade went through.

- Walked around Stadtmitte and ate dinner at Maximilian’s, where I had Allgäuer Kasspatzen mit Röstzwiebeln (Bavarian noodles baked over cheese and onions). So good! The onions were like the onion straws we can get back home, and the cheese sauce (I have no idea what the cheese was) was delicious!

Now we have to wake up in the morning, grab breakfast/brunch, then it’s time to check-out and get to the train station in order to leave for Prague. One city down, four more to go.

Hopefully I’ll be able to update while in Prague! (This post was actually posted at 10:43PM Berlin time)