Road Trip: Berlin

A short 5 hour drive from our flat in Katowice is Berlin, the capitol of Germany. Once we hit the German border, the driving became fast and focused. Most of the highway is three lanes and it's a three lane system that actually works.

   The slow lane is composed of trucks and two horse trailers loaded with two horses being pulled by either a Subaru Legacy or a Mercedes wagon. Camp trailers are also common and are pulled by your typical car, heck we even saw a Smart car pulling a small trailer and there is a reason it was in the slow lane. The middle lane is for us commoners cruising in the 130 km/hour range and the fast lane is for the frequent Ferrari and Porsche whom made 130 seem like standing still.

   New York is known for being up all night. Berlin is known for being up later than New York. And when walking on the lonely morning sidewalks (of a city composed of 3.5 million people) you will have no doubt that it is true. A very trendy and electric city, I was amazed by how the new architecture melded so well with the old. The train stations are extravagant and the statues that populate the city seem to welcome the modern day.
  

Modern Berlin Architecture

   We arrived hungry so the first thing that we did is ride the train to Hackescher Market and found a plate of currywurst. A traditional dish of a steamed sausage dressed in curry ketchup and commonly or perhaps always served with frites (french fries). Curry ketchup is also a wonderful accomponiament to burgers and brats and lends just a bit more exciting flavor to the palette. If you've never tried it, curry ketchup can be hard to find in the states but this recipe is a wonderful alternative: Curry Ketchup.

   After lunch and a delicious bier on a somewhat rainy day, we decided that we would see the most by traveling on foot. I may have sworn that Troy told me that this was the United Nations Building so I may have told my dad all about our visit to the United Nations Building, in which he kindly went along with. And which Troy said what in the heck are you talking about. Well, the UN building just so happens to be in New York City... This building is the Reichstag which houses the German Parliament. The building is topped with a glass dome that provides a 360 degree view of the city.

Reichstag

   One block south of the Reichstag building stands the Brandenburg Gate. It is the only remaining gate that was once a part of a series of gates in which Berlin was entered. In 1961, the gate became impassible with the rising of the Berlin Wall immediately adjacent to the gate. When the wall fell in 1989, the gate symbolized freedom and was restored between the years of  2000 and 2002.

Brandenburg Gate

   Just another block south is the Holocaust Memorial. I have no photos of the monument as there is no way to portray to you the feelings of loneliness, being lost to the world and being lost to yourself through the lens of a camera. Full of controversy, the arrangement of concrete slabs took form in 2003 as a memorial to the murdered Jewish people of Europe. It is unlike any other place you will ever step into.

   Although excited to get in a trip at some point to our favorite German city, Munich, Berlin was also a wonderful city to visit. There are some differences that made us miss Munich even more; the biers are half the size, the brezels (pretzels) are not sandwiched with a good 1/2 inch of butter and the eis (ice cream) didn't quite compete. Berlin is very similar to a visit to Chicago and there is a Haagen Daz and Dunkin' Donuts on every block.

   The market we went into to get some wine for the evening was much larger than a market in Poland and the produce was 10 times more beautiful. And look at what we found! I haven't seen it anywhere again since we left that store and I was so enamored by it that I failed to notice the other flavors in the large Milka display. But seriously - awesome! It was pretty great and if Berlin held my heart anywhere, it was in this bar...

   Beings the drive isn't too far, I have a feeling that we will return to the city as there are a few things that we missed. The LegoLand Discovery Center which looks like something that the Lego fanatic and the Duplo fan in my house would adore. We also ran out of time to visit Schloss Charlottenburg, the largest palace in Berlin. And if you're going to be there anyways, I have a feeling a person might as well also visit ChocoWorld - a land of Ritter Sport. Need I say more.