Berlin

I'll start first with the trip Northeast to Berlin with Jim and my Grandparents. We met up with Richard (my exchange sister's father), who kindly let us stay in his apartment. That night, we got to go out to dinner to a Turkish Restaurant called Hasir with Maien, and got to see the famous mall KaDeWe. I think together, had we pooled all our money, we might have been able to purchase a pair of socks. It made the Champs-Elysee look downright affordable. We didn't have much time to stroll around; it was nearly closing time.

After dinner, Maien, Jim and I stole off to a birthday party for one of Maien's friends, where we met a bunch of Australians and New Zealanders. As the party drew to a close, we had to run between patches of yellow glow emanating from the lights lining the streets of nighttime Berlin so that we might make it to the next subway train in time. We caught the subway with a few minutes to spare, and surfaced later at Alexanderplatz, devoid of all the commotion it's normally filled with during the day.

We waited for a tram, only to come to the conclusion that it was delayed indefinitely. Waiting at the corner of the square was a taxi, which we proceeded to place into our employ; the middle finger earmuffs of the driver not seeming to impede conversation. The driver of the silver Mercedes stowed her ultrabook in its case as we climbed into the plush leather seats, and with a push of the button, our fare began to roll up in the rear view mirror. The car weaved through the maze of streets to the beat of what I can only assume to be Juno Reactor, bringing us ever closer to our destination. The awesome music combined with the propensity of the driver to stop no longer than absolutely necessary made it feel like a chase scene from an action movie.

After we left the taxi, it speed backwards down the street for half a block before peeling off for a place to collect its next fare.


In the morning, we were treated to a big breakfast by Richard and Andrea. The next day we boarded the Hop-on, Hop-off tour bus to at Alexanderplatz to grab a whirlwind trip through Berlin.









The Weltuhr and Fernseherturm at Alexanderplatz (Alex to the Berliners).







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The Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall)










"More Walls to Tear Down" just past checkpoint Charlie.










(Blurry) Curry at the Wall










The Boxers










An Obligatory Picture of the Brandenburg Gate


I would have liked to make a more thorough investigation of the city, but Jim and I have class schedules that really only allow for weekend trips, and when it came time to leave, we hopped off at the enormous Berlin Hauptbahnhof and boarded our ICE for the 6 hour return trip.