First Full Day in Berlin

Berlin Excursion -
Friday, November 5, 2004

Excerpts from my travel journal:

5 November: So it's like the next day now - Friday 5 November. I couldn't sleep for shit the night before - seriously. I went to bed at 9-ish hoping to do some serious sleep catch-up and THAT didn't happen. Instead, I woke up at 11pm, and then continually about every 20 minutes. I think I drifted in and out of consciousness, but whatever, when it was finally 6am, I was thrilled, because the hotel gym was open and I decided I may as well start the day out right. The hotel gym was pretty awesome, as it actually has even a swimming pool with those jets that give you swimming resistance, a massage room, saunas, a sweet workout roo w/ an all-purpose machine, treadmills, cycles & ellipticals. Anyways, I worked out, knowing full well I wasn't going to be eating healthy food. P'shaw! I then had a nice breakfast at the free buffet, so I had the energy to prepare for my first actual day exploring Berlin. As part of my tour, I got a free pass to one of those Double-Decker Hop On Hop Off Tour Buses - which is pretty damn handy and can serve as your mass transit for the day. So I rode along on it for a while, until the Brandenburger Tur/Reichstag stop. I wanted to get the Reichstag visit out of the way, and boy am I glad that shit is over. The wait is long because the Reichstag is still an actual government building and there is plenty of security to protect it accordingly. Hence, every 15 minutes or so, a group of people is let in to start security processing, then you wait again. And wait. And what started out as a surprisingly sunny day (surprising because before I left for Berlin, the forecast was cloudy and rainy the entire time - I sure can pick wonderful travel times) got cloudy, windy, and cold. It was actually supposed to be rainy, so the sunny skies were tricky. Anyways, after waiting for about an hour, I finally got in. I have to say, it was an amazing architectural sight, the new dome of the Reichstag. And the view, both internal and external, were awesome, but that wait blew big ones. It's highly recommended that you follow advice and get there early so you beat the rush. I did get lots of cool pictures though.

Anyways, after that - Oh wait, I forgot to say that I first went and saw the Brandenburg Gate. You know, it is impressive, but it almost is quaint. It's big, don't get me wrong, but it didn't seem to meet my overblown expectations. I mean, this is the symbol of Berlin's and Germany's reunification! Maybe I was just tired. But my blase-ness aside, it really was incredible to see the Tur for myself. Also cool is to see the cobblestone shape in the streets that mark where the Berlin Wall used to be. Yep, you can't find the Berlin Wall as it was except for like 1 or 2 places. Guess they don't want to remember all that....So let's rejoin me after leaving the Reichstag (some history here: this building has been through tons of crap, burning down by Hitler but blamed on the Communists; bombed the shit out of during WWII - hence why it needed a new dome; wrapped by Christo for some art work).

I got back on the tour bus and rode it the rest of the way around the loop. It goes by all the major sights, including the Charlottenburg Palace, Potsdamer Platz (Wow!), KaDeWe, Kurfurstendamm (I actually think that is the most beautiful German word, for some strange reason), the museums and the music theatres, Checkpoint Charlie (near which is one of the remaining wall stretches), hell, if it's Berlin-related, I saw it from the bus. I started to get Extremely Tired on this bus ride though, and kept yawning like crazy. By the time I got off at Under den Linden (another pretty German phrase), it was freakin' cold and windy. I had to walk back along Unter den Linden, which is a nice boulevard of shops and stuff. Not as nice or exclusive as KuDamm, but still nice. I grabbed a snack of Bratwurst (as it was about 2pm now), and then it started to sprinkle rain. Thankfully, I had just bought a new real nice rain jacket, so good on me! Out came the hood, and all was well. I got back to the hotel and to my room, where I chilled and watched the AquaDom, which is simply fascinating. It's awesome for what it is, for all the fish, but my favorite, it's fun to watch the people in the lift that travels up the middle of it as the end part of the Berlin Sea Life attraction. It's a People Aquarium! This thing really is amazing to see, and I love that I have a view of it. I actually like that my room faces inward, as I can people-watch, fish watch, and get nice people-noise through my balcony door. Do fish even sleep? So I read some magazines, watched some people, then realized I needed some sleep, so I took a 1 hour nap, which was marvelous. By the time I woke up, it was around 6pm, and dark. I wanted to go to the Fernsehturm at night, so here I went.

The Fernsehturm is the Berlin TV Tower, and the 2nd highest structure in Europe. It has an observation platform 205 meters up, which is pretty damn high if you ask me. Well, I went up. (Thankfully, the elevator is enclosed, so you can't see outside. Otherwise I'd freak out.) It's fast too! Your ears pop a lot going up and down. The view is incredible and I took some pics, but hunger called, so it was time to find dinner. I searched around Aleksander Platz, but didn't find much but stores and the rail stations. But I do think that this was the area in Bourne Supremacy where Matt Damon kidnaps Julia Stiles. It's the only place that has a train setup like that. You could get killed if your ass isn't paying attention. Anyways, I was heading back to the hotel to eat something there when I found an Atkins' dieter's worse nightmare: the KartoffelHouse Berlin (Potato House for English speakers). It was VERY good. Especially the potatoes. After that meal, I made my way back home, and now here I am, chilling on the balcony, writing in my journal, and thinking I'm going downstairs for another drink, as I had the one HefeWeissen from the mini-bar already.

The First Exploration of Berlin

Click here to view an easy-to-see-all-the-pictures-at-once slideshow (~3 MB) of the images below.

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