Ich bin ein BERLINER

Berlin is really a city on the rise. From the ruins of WWII and the communist divide, the city has quickly transformed itself into a hip, fun-loving, historically interesting place. That's what I was told, and more important, that was what I experienced.

Let's be clear: Berlin is sprawling and massive and really hard to wrap your head around by just reading a guide book. Trip Advisor is no help either, so as with most cities, we just began walking, in order to get a sense of the city. As it happens, the east side is now the trendy interesting place to visit, and in our three days there, we never even ventured West.

 

Day 1:

My Dad stayed in Amsterdam for an extra day to take a course with Merriman, so my Mom, Sister, and I had the city to ourselves. We checked into our hotel -- THE HOTEL CIRCUS -- having read that it was the number 1 rated place to stay on Trip Advisor. Starting from Heckstermart, we crossed the River Spree over to Museum Island and took a quick glimpse of the Berlin Cathedral, which was just as impressive as the Florence Duomo, the standard by which I judge European churches. From there we went to Gendenmarkt, and had hot chocolate on the square. We went further South to the Topography of Terror exhibit and caught our first glimpse of the decaying wall, or at least what's left of it. After a brief walk to Checkpoint Charlie and Potadamer Platz, we meandered from the Brandenburg Gate down the Unter der Linden back to our hotel, after which we met my Dad, had fried chicken at a place called HENNA, and called it a day.

Day 2:

In the Reichstag

The next morning, Gabe flew in and met us at Breakfast, and the whole family plus Gabe took a cab to the world famous Berlin Jewish Museum. I have in the past commented on my views of Jewish-centered tourism in Europe, and the museum was no exception, as one would expect. Most striking was the architecture, designed my Daniel Liebeskind, which was modern and impactful. I found the actual exhibits confusing and overdone, but visiting that museum is really a must. For lunch we sampled CURRYWURST, and in the words of Rickey Stevey, the curry quickly got the worst of us. That afternoon we went to Reichstag dome, which in addition it's coolness for me, as a politics buff, was also really impressive architecturally. Please visit Wikipedia for my articulated thoughts. That night, we met a family friend, Sam C., and went to the Prater Garden, and though I broke my cardinal rule and had schnitzel, I must admit that it was really good.

Day 3:

We again hit the streets by foot early in the morning, and visited the New Synagoge in Berlin. We then went REALLY south to Kreuzberg to sample Berliner Turkish cuisine, and despite the fact that the waiter forget our entrees -- no joke -- we really enjoyed our meal. Gabe and I meandered back, planning our trip, and the whole family has Japanese food.

My final thoughts on Berlin: I really enjoyed Berlin for all the above it has to offer, and in part because the buildings and topography remind me a lot of Washington DC.

Coincidental run in with Sam C. in Kreuzberg