Today I set off bright and early for Berlin! On the way, (I've been doing euro rail for transport) I took the train. But unbeknownst to me, we also had to take a ferry! All of a sudden, there was an announcement, that the train would be boarding this ferry. It was only about a 45min trip. Now, I've been on a ferry, and I've been on a train, but I've never been on a train on a ferry! So this was pretty cool.
Once in Berlin, I found a hostel relatively close to the train station and had a hot hike there in 70° weather. It was one of the first times I've truly seen the sun this trip! With it being early afternoon, and only a few days in Berlin, I wanted to get site seeing right away. Near my hostel happened to be the Berlin Wall Memorial and Museum. The Museum was closing by the time I got there but I was able to snag some maps.
It definitely took me longer to see this portion of the wall than I anticipated. But it was much more complicated than I ever knew. There were technically three walls. An inner, a touch sensitive one, and an outer. It started out as barbed wire, but that wasn't enough, so it expanded continuously over time until it came down. Also, it's amazing to see my perspective of history change over time. I always thought of the Berlin Wall being close to WWII times, but it didn't come down until 1989. However when you're like ten learning about this stuff, everything seems ancient just because it's before your time. But now that I have a better perspective and understanding of time and history, it's crazy to think about how recent this all is.
I definitely learned a lot, and this opened my eyes to the breadth of history that Berlin has to offer. After walking this section, I headed back towards my hostel as it was starting to get dark. I picked up some groceries on the way and started back.
That night, some people I had met at the hostel and I went out to a park to hang out and drink some beers. One girl was from australia, one from canada, and a guy who worked at the hostel. It was quite strange to drink in public; I felt like I should be getting arrested. But I also felt free, independent, and responsible to have the freedom to do so. The park was on the river next to a museum, and had music with couples dancing. It was a very European sight to see. We didn't stay out very late as everyone was tired, so headed back to the hostel.
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