His View 

Germany - Feliks' perspective

 

Hamburg 

Since Hamburg was not a huge city we decided only to spend the day there. We started off with a walk through the Planten un Blomen, a massive park. It was pretty cold outside and slightly raining but it was still a cool sight. There was a small river-like canal that ran through the park with various statues all over. We were surprised to see an ice skating rink in the middle of the park. There were a ton of kids skating around, it just seemed a little early for ice but they had it pretty well-frozen. It was interesting to see that the majority of the dogs were running around without leashes, and not one was misbehaving. Our walk took us to Reeperbahn Street, also known as the Red Light District. It wasn’t even noon yet so the place was pretty quiet but we did find a pub that was open where I enjoyed a local beer. The bartender told us a little more about the area and the activity at night. He also told us about the tunnel that was near by, Saint Pauli Elbtunnel. This tunnel went under the river and was one of the only free tunnels around of its kind. The tunnel entrance was no more than a two story tall dome that hid the enormous space inside. It was so deep that it probably took 5 minutes to walk down the stairs. Once at the bottom, we saw a narrow street to the other side. At first we were confused because the road was barely wide enough for a car and sidewalks on both sides. We later found out that they were repairing the other tunnel, so normally there would be traffic going both ways. And yes, cars were using the tunnels thanks to the oversized elevators on both sides. You could probably fit a full-sized Uhaul truck in one.

 

Once on the other side we had an awesome view of the harbor and the city skyline.  It was easy to see why this was such a busy port because there were boats, cargo holders, and cranes as far as you could see. Back on the other side right outside the tunnel was a little street vendor that had delicious Currywursts, a sausage cut into pieces, smothered in bbq sauce with curry seasoning sprinkled on top. Amazing. We then continued our journey through the heart of the city. There were the usually stores, restaurants, and gift shops. What made it cool for me were the streets themselves. Some of the buildings were really weird and some looked like they were 100 years old. They had a couple canals that ran through the center of all this. The main canal opened up into a lake/pond and at this opening is where we found a dragon. It was a statue that was on display every other year, I can't remember what for exactly, but it was huge. Our last stop in Hamburg was Miniatur Wunderland. I am having a hard time thinking about how to describe this place, but it was the biggest little model collection ever. I have put a few plastic model planes and cars together when I was little and I can still remember the painstaking task of getting all the details right: glueing all the parts together and then painting them. Comparatively speaking, my models were like stick figure drawings and they painted the ceiling of St. Ignazio in Rome; look it up. They literally had the miniature version of Sweden in there. There were so many tiny details that you could probably go there everyday for the rest of your life and see something new every time. They had entire towns, parks, countrysides, trains galore, cars that drove on the road, amusement parks with working rides, an airport with planes landing and taking off. They had Las Vegas, Area 51, random fantasy worlds, and cows scuba diving. Yes you read that right. The best part was that there was day and night. The lights went through the day cycle and when it was night time, all the little lights would go crazy. I personally liked the night time better. I wish we had an entire day to look at everything but I don't think that would have been enough. Definitely plan on being there a while to take in as much as you can. The details will blow your mind. Also, look everywhere because the builders definitely had a sense of humor and you will find some hidden gems in random places. 

 

Overall, Hamburg was cool. It wasn’t anything special to where I feel the need to go back. I wouldn't mind going through the Miniatur Wunderland again and seeing Reeperbahn at night. The city had its beautiful churches and cool architecture, but even now nothing really stands out. WiFi was pretty hard to find but the people where pretty friendly. 

 

Berlin

Berlin was one of those cities that I had read about in history books and I was really excited to see. We arrived around 10 at night and when we got to our hostel we had a moment, something like "what the?” The hostel reception desk was in the middle of a bar. This bar was packed, literally every chair in the place was taken and watching a soccer game. This hostel was part of the St. Christopher's hostel network and this was our first experience. I can tell you first hand that this hostel group is pretty well-maintained despite what you may expect from your first impression. Needless to say they give discounts for staying at their other properties, which we have used. 

 

Our first morning starts with a traditional German breakfast which consists of coffee and tea, apple or orange juice, and of course water. There are a couple different breads and rolls with a toaster nearby for those who like them warm. There were a couple different yogurts and cereals to choose from and obviously milk. The traditional part of this breakfast were the different kalbasas and cheeses that you would put on a buttered piece of bread. Honestly, it reminded me of home. I ate more than I should have. 

 

We started our tour of Berlin with the Berliner Fernsehturm, the tallest thing in the city I believe. Anytime you could see above the normal 5 story buildings, there this thing was. It was tall, really tall, but that's about it. Inside was kind of cool where they had info posters on all the tallest buildings in the world, the tallest being in Duhbi. We continued our walk toward the city center through Museum Island. Named appropriately so, there were museums everywhere. Most of the buildings looked ancient and were decorated accordingly. There were statues and monuments in every direction, along with cranes and construction sites. It was somewhat annoying because no matter what angle you took a picture from, you got construction in the background. 

 

The rest of the walk was pointing at all the cool buildings and statues all over the city. There was something to look at on every street and a plaque to read on every corner. We walked all the way to Charlie’s Checkpoint, just barely south of the city center, which is now a decent size tourist attraction and museum for the Berlin Wall. The fence around the museum facing the street had images of the wall as time progressed which was a good recap of history. Even though there was not a single piece of the Berlin Wall in its original place, they did have a piece on display, It was neat to see the bricks on the ground representing the wall. They also had a replica of a checkpoint booth where you could take a picture with some actors dressed as US military - very touristy but still a good place to check out. Since we were a good distance from the hostel, we started backtracking but got lost on purpose on our way. We ran into some really interesting architecture and sculptures, one being a giant ball with random items attached to it. It was pretty fun to take the long way back. 

 

The next day we decided to check out the real Berlin Wall Memorial that was north of the city center and it was worth it. There was a huge part of the wall that was still up and a beautiful memorial for the people that lost their lives there. I would recommend checking this out versus Charlie Checkpoint; it was much more well-done and does not have that tourist feel, minus the tourists there. Our next stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I saw a couple of pictures online but still had no idea what to expect. At first it was a little confusing because I was not sure what I was looking at. My first thought was that it was a bunch of concrete blocks arranged perfectly, I didn’t get it. As I looked around the area I started to see the size of the area these blocks where taking up. Then I started to notice people walking down the rows and disappearing. These blocks were perfectly arranged in a grid, something like 2000 of them. From the top they where different heights but the ground was not even. There were dips and hills but you couldn't tell from the top. The weirdest part was walking through the middle. There could be people walking next to you or in front of you and it was ok but if you made a turn and took a couple of steps, it was almost silent. You could look all the way left, right, straight, or behind you and not see a sole. Very weird feeling for you to be in a tourist area and then in a matter of a couple of steps be alone. 

 

Right by the memorial was the Brandenburg Gate: big, tall, lots of tourists, and it looked like they were getting ready for a concert on the other side. Pretty cool to look at for a couple of minutes. Right next to that was the Reichstag building, where they have the glass dome on top. You need to reserve an appointment to get up there so we just looked from a distance, don’t think we missed anything. 

 

Overall, Berlin seemed like an old city that was doing some remodeling. There were cranes and construction areas everywhere. The statues kept you looking left and right and the buildings just added to the experience. I know that Berlin has a lot more to offer that we didn't get to do and I would like to come back to check it out some more. WiFi was kind of hard to find and the people were medium friendly. 

 

 

Munich

So far on the trip we’ve only done solo walking around, so we don’t always get to know the story behind the things we see. In Munich we decided to try a walking tour. This obviously took a lot of time from just walking around the city and discovering random sites, but it was well worth it. We met the tour guide at Marionplatz, which happened to be right in front of the city hall. The tour guide began our 3 hour journey with the history of this building and the importance of beer to the city of Munich and Bavaria. Apparently the city hall has a couple of different restaurants and a handful of pubs inside. There is a law that allows people the right to have pint of beer for breakfast and lunch during working hours. Also, the construction workers are allowed to drink up to five pints of beer during work. He stressed again and again that they are not a bunch of alcoholics, but that beer has played a major role in their history. When the Swedish army invaded Munich, the people paid them with beer and gold to leave. Beer was used in an attempt to put out a fire at the opera house. A king was overthrown because he tried to raise the price of beer, which was the first Beer Revolution, and there were many more. There were monks making beer something like 600 years ago and a tax record that described them as “tax-cheating drunk monks.” The guide had really good stories and facts that otherwise would have been missed. The walking tour of the city was very informative and because it was so good, we decided to use the same guide to take a tour of Dachau the next day. 

 

Dachau was one of the bigger concentration camps that were built by the Nazi party. It started out as a prison for 10,000 people and held around 60,000 at its peak during WWII. The entire tour took about 4 hours and again was one of the best history lessons I’ve ever had. There is not a real way to describe the feeling you get when you hear about the horrors that happened at this place. There is not a real way to share the experience of the images and sites you see as you walk through the museum. The whole place is a giant emotional scene out of a movie that is almost impossible to believe. I only have a few things to say about this place. You have to do the guided tour, no matter your background, religion, political views, or gender preferences. Come with an open mind to listen; there was a lot more happening than I had previously thought. And remember your experience, reflect on it, and share it. At the end of the compound you walk through the actual gas chamber where thousands of innocent people were murdered. Right outside this building is a statue that reads “honor the dead, warn the living.” Our guide said something that really stuck out to me. I’m not sure if he was quoting someone but it went something like this: People are capable of incredible things, we can paint beautiful arts, compose symphonies, and love unconditionally. At the same time, people are cable of murder, rape, and genocide. 

 

Overall, we didn't explore the city of Munich as much as the previous stops but the walking tour of the city and Dachau were some of the best experiences I’ve ever had. WiFi was a little scarce but most restaurants had a password that you could ask for. Also, there is a law  in Munich that every pub has to have a publicly-accessible bathroom.