I went to visit my very good friend in Berlin for my long weekend. She studied in Berlin two summers ago, speaks German fluently and was my guide for the long weekend. I was able to fly despite the wildcat strike by the air traffic controllers. When I first got to Spain two months ago, I flew to Lisbon due to general strike in Spain. What luck I have with strikes! However, if my flight was an hour later, flying would have not been an option at all. Made it to Berlin without my bag, but at least I made it.
Germany bleeds Christmas. It’s absolutely lovely with all of the Christmas markets selling handcrafted, wooden ornaments and toys, star lights, chocolates, warm wear, jewelry and many other fun treasures. While it was cold and I could never wear enough socks, it felt so much like Christmas. I was walking in a snow globe. We shopped at the Christmas markets, stopping for Glühwein or brats when we needed a break and soaked up the atmosphere. St. Nicholas could have walked around the corner and it would have been no big deal.
Berliner Dom (German Cathedral)
We saw some sights including the East Side Gallery, a .62 mile-long section of the wall intact and a memorial of freedom. It brought the whole trip to life for me:
We went to Checkpoint Charlie and the museum, which gave a history of the wall and highlighted all the many ways people tried to cross the 12 foot-high Berlin Wall. We saw the exhibit Hitler and the Germans. Nation and Crime at the German History Museum. The exhibit is the first comprehensive exhibition on Hitler. It seeks to demonstrate how Hitler was able to rise to power by giving a history of Hitler as well as German culture during that time.
Reichstag, the parliament building
What a worthwhile trip — fun, enlightening and connecting with my friend from Kansas City was so wonderful. The last night we ate schnitzel and drank it down with a German lager.
We then went to the top of the Fernsehturm TV tower, had a specialty cocktail and saw the lit up skyline of Germany. We overlooked the Christmas markets we had wandered through during our trip. I know I will be back, but the last day of a trip is never fun, when you have to say goodbye to a city and a friend. However, we will have the memory of our trip in Europe for a long time to come.