The flight to Berlin was wonderfully easy and quick, but upon arrival
things began to change. My plane-mates and I took a bus from the plan
to the terminal, where we waited patiently for our bags. I think I won
the award for longest wait time, because I waited until the next plane’s
luggage had gone through the conveyor belt. My luggage was gone, lost,
vanished.
Most inconveniently, this airport was fairly run-down, with little
help and even less signs. After asking two people, I found the baggage
help center, where I discovered that the differences between a baggage
help center and any DMV you’ve ever been to are pretty minimal.
Through it all, I wasn’t worried. I was frustrated, but never
worried. It really is a peace that passes all understanding, I guess;
I’m so grateful for it.
After waiting in line for forty five minutes, I was greeted by an
attitudinous but helpful lady, who asked me random questions and had me
write personal details down on a post-it note. She told me to call the
office at 9.
So I left, a fresh pretzel in one hand and my backpack slung over the
opposite shoulder, crossing my fingers that the airport would have the
bag at 9. I took a bus ride (on which I nearly missed my stop) and then
had a long ride on the metro to get to my hostel- Grand Hostel Berlin.
It was grand alright, but the problem with the hostel was the fact that
it was the only grand building on the block. You see, the Grand Hostel
isn’t in the best part of town, and walking up to it didn’t give the
greatest first impression. The inside completely changed my mind.
Wooden floors and walls, beautiful staircases, a neat board with
advertisements for hostel events pinned everywhere. I went to the front
desk, where I got my key and inquired about good places to eat dinner
before heading up to my room. Upstairs, I met a young guy named Chris,
who teaches English in South Korea and who travels during his time off.
We had a neat conversation about traveling and world missions. He told
me about a light show happening at the Reichstag, the principal German
government building, and I told him I would check it out.
Julio, my old RA from the university last year, was in Berlin at the
same time, so we met up for pizza (by candlelight; for a hip pizza
place, it was more romantic than we anticipated) and then went to the
Reichstag for the light show. On the way there, I called the baggage
office at the airport- they were closed.
Before we got to the light show, we stopped off for some pictures.
The show was beautiful, centered around a documentary of Germany through
the two world wars and onward. We got to sit in a huge crowd of people
along the riverside, and take pictures with the Reichstag after it was
over.
Once the show was finished, Julio went off to his AirBnB and I
planned on calling an Uber to get back to the hostel; so began the
scariest night of my entire life.
Looking at my phone, I realized I only had 8% of battery life left,
and the Uber app coincidentally told me there were none available. I
could’ve called a taxi, but they were few and far between because of the
huge crowd, and I didn’t have any cash on me. I was nearly two miles
from the Hostel, and it was around 10:30. I decided I would walk it-
after all, we had walked there and it was fine, right?
Wrong. It was fine for the first half mile or so, because I followed
the crowd and walked into the main part of Berlin, but after a while the
crowds died down and so did the city lights. After hearing Mom and
Dad’s fervent warnings of “being careful” and “making smart decisions”
playing in my head, I decided that walking through the deep, dark Berlin
at 11:00 wasn’t the best choice.
So I made a plan: go to train stations, and try to find either an ATM
or a route to get home. For the first time since I’d been there, I
couldn’t find an ATM for the life of me. What’s worse was that the train
routes were either extremely German or went nowhere near the hostel
(sketchy, distant part of town, remember?). I ran and I ran, trying to
find any sort of thing that could help, but it was dark and getting
later.
Finally, out of sheer despair with 3% batter left, I checked Uber one
last time, and praise the Lord, I found a driver. But the night wasn’t
over. The driver’s navigation system failed mid-drive, which meant he
was effectively lost. He took me through a 3-kilometer tunnel and then
turned around, and then I was effectively lost as well. I was terrified:
this man knew I was a tourist and that I didn’t know Berlin, and he was
taking me across town to a place I didn’t know. Luckily, he was
trustworthy and dropped me off 30 minutes later (I was a mile and a half
from the hostel when he picked me up.)
When I got back, I found my suitcase right next to the bed. Needless to say, I fell straight asleep.
I woke up early the next morning to start the adventure, and this day
was a turnaround. It was Sunday, which means most shops were closed,
but I managed to find a cute bakery for my first breakfast and a
McDonald’s to supplement that breakfast (I get a little hungry in the
morning, okay?). My first stop was the old SS headquarters, now a pile
of rubble, and then Checkpoint Charlie, the American crossing into West
Berlin.
Checkpoint Charlie was very cool, with the original checkpoint still
standing and a sign, English on one side and Russian on the other,
standing next to it. Nearby was the line on which the Berlin Wall used
to stand.
I then continued walking and saw a beautiful church and concert hall,
an old university, statues and beautiful gardens. I somehow stumbled
into the parking lot of a Mercedes-Benz racing club, too. By 9 AM, I had
walked three miles.
I continued that trek onto the Brandenburg gate, where I met up with
Julio once again. We saw the gate in all its beauty, the American
Embassy, the Reichstag in daylight, and the memorial to the Jews killed
in the Holocaust. All of it was beautiful and deeply historical- right
up my alley.
We then went to Museum Island, where the Berlin Cathedral and
multiple museums housed in Greek and Roman style buildings were located.
The cathedral was stunning (especially the view from the top) and the
museums were extremely interesting.
The first museum was modern art and antiquated sculpture, neither of
which I’m very interested in but I wanted to feel like I was a part of
the culture. Most of it was incredibly intricate and detailed. The
second was phenomenal: ancient near east architecture and remnants, like
the Ashur Gate into Babylon, a Roman marketplace, giant statues, and
animals carved out of boulders. The top floor was centered on the Middle
East, so the rugs and jars and artwork served to highten my
anticipation for Morocco.
And the view from the top of the Cathedral was well worth the climb.
We left the island and ate at an Italian restaurant owned and run
entirely, and ironically, by Turks. Pizzas in Germany are huge,
delicious, and cheap, so that’s what I ordered. Julio had some other
food and a beer, and after he let me try it, I decided it was the very
first beer I’d ever liked (I still prefer water.)
Julio left and I continued on towards a giant fair on the other side
of town that we had seen earlier that day. Unknowingly, I walked into a
huge environment fest, streets lined with tables of farmers,
ocean-savers, organic-lovers, and save-the-environment-ers. It was busy
and fun and interesting to watch.
Afterwards, I began to head towards the spy museum I had heard so
much about and really enjoyed walking through a century’s worth of spy
history, reading stories and watching videos when I wasn’t taking
pictures of spy equipment. The museum was more about spy
technology, and
where that technology was going, which was very interesting- everything
was extremely high tech. In fact, at one point, I stood in a simulator
that would read all of my movements and allow me to choose different
options based on my movements.
I left the museum and decided that 9 hours of walking had been a full
day- over twelve miles- so I began to head for the hostel. I picked up a
snack from KFC on the way (it’s much better across the pond) and walked
while eating delicious chicken nuggets.
On the way to the hostel, I found a very neat outdoor museum called
the Topography of Terror, which outlined the history of Germany after
the Great War, all the way up through revolution and freedom from Soviet
occupation of East Berlin. There was at least 100 meters of the wall
still intact, and there was plenty of material to read- I loved it.
I walked back, completely exhausted but overjoyed at the incredible
day. A short pack, a few phone calls, and some conversation with new
hostel friends later, I was asleep.
I woke up at 3:30 AM for that same metro ride and bus drive from a
few days before. Despite having another disappointing experience with
Berlin’s airports (do they only hire people who are already frustrated
when they come to work?) I flew off for Budapest.
Berlin was a success.
--
Follow Hunter as he studies business in Germany at
https://heartoverseas.wordpress.com/
For more internship and study abroad opportunities within Walton College,
visit
http://walton.uark.edu/global/index.ph
