*It was the summer before my senior year of college and I was about to be studying abroad on a ship for an entire semester. I was expected to be in Hamburg, Germany by September 9th, for disembarkment of Semester at Sea. So I decided why not make a little pre-trip out of it and see where the cheapest flights would take me? It turned out, the best option was to fly from Newark to Ireland first, and then buy a separate airline ticket from Ireland to Germany. In Germany, I would end up taking a 2 week road trip around the country.*

 

 

Over the two weeks I spent there, Germany was quickly becoming one of the best places to travel solo; it was the perfect place for me to gain some confidence before branching out to other countries and continents that I would be traveling to during my semester abroad. 

 

Berlin was the place where I got to meet with my very first Semester at Sea friend! After driving the 2.5 hours from Dresden to Berlin, I picked up a complete stranger at the airport. Well not a complete stranger, Mack and I made a bunch of plans after meeting on our study abroad facebook page, when we learned we’d be in Berlin at the same time. We had a blast walking around the city and quickly became friends. Here’s some things we got to see: 

 

*Note my phone was stolen later on in the voyage, so many of my Germany pictures are lost. Some of these photos are from the internet

Day 1: 

 

We stayed in a cute little airBNB in the Moabit neighborhood and became quick regulars at the restaurant across the street named Licktblick. We ate both lunch and breakfast here and I would highly recommend it if you’re in the neighborhood. I remember the service being wonderful and the food prices very affordable (pictures below are from google earth). 

 

*images above belong to google maps

 

CheckPoint Charlie

 

 

CheckPoint Charlie is one of the most visited spots in all of Germany. It is known as the former crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991). Many people died here trying to escape East Berlin for West Berlin because they did not want to live under communist rules (explained further under Berlin Wall). 

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

 

 

After an initial design contest starting in 1994, the Memorial of the Murdered Jews was debuted in May of 2005. The memorial is in memory of the six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust. 

 

I remember weaving in and out of the gray pillars and being both in awe of the architecture and struck by the seriousness of the location in which I was standing. We wandered over to the museum and took the time to read the stories of both victims and survivors. Visiting the memorial is not an enlightening experience, but I believe it is imperative for any visitor passing through Berlin. 

 

Brandenburg Gate

 

The city of Berlin was once home to a Prussian capital city and the Brandenburg gate once acted as the entrance and led to the royal palace. It is the only one of 14 original gates that is still standing today. Over the period of Germany’s history, the gate has acted as a symbol to many different things. 

In 1806 French military commander Napoleon used the gate as the site to his victory parade after a successful invasion. 

In 1933 the gate unfortunately became a symbol of Nazi Germany and Hitler hung his red flags over it. The gate stood throughout WW2. 

‘Brandenburg Gate was also used to separate Communist East Berlin and the Federal Republic of West Berlin. The public could not visit the gate for almost thirty years.’

 

Since 1989 the gate has been rebranded as a symbol of unity. Once the boundary between West and East Germany was removed, citizens were able to pass through the gate and the country was no longer divided. 

Day 2 

 

East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery is the longest section of the original Berlin Wall still standing. The portion stands at 1316 meters long and has been transformed into an open air gallery. After the wall was dismantled, artists from all around the world gathered to paint murals of political statements or changes they hoped to see in the future. Today it is one of Berlin’s most visited tourist attractions and considered one of the country’s heritage protected landmarks. 

Oberbaumbrücke Bridge

*image property of JumpBerlin.com

 

During the Cold War, the Oberbaumbrücke Bridge acted as one of the only crossing points between West and East Berlin. It was heavily armed by guards and was yet another symbol of divisions between the two sides. During World War II, the center of the bridge was blown up and had to be rebuilt. 

 

Today, the bridge acts as a major pillar of transportation for cars, pedestrians, and the city’s oldest subway line. 

 

During my time in Berlin the bridge was under construction, so it was hard to get a grasp for how impressive the structure is (hence my lack of picture taking). But just over five years later, the bridge can be seen in its full glory.

 

Klunkerkranich Bar (pictures from google)

*image property of Trippin World

*both images property of rooftopguiden.se and Trippin World

One of the coolest rooftop bars I’ve ever been to was the Klunkerkranich Bar. The bar itself is located on top of a parking garage and overlooks a portion of south Berlin. We had an awesome time at the bar and during our afternoon there was a huge wine tasting happening… We both left with two full bottles in hand. The vibe is super laid back and I enjoyed how artistic the whole atmosphere was. 

At the end of my two days here, I thought Berlin was such a cool and trendy city. I would have LOVED to spend a little more time here (I know I actually say this about every place that I’ve been), there are so many cool bars and restaurants to try. But we had to make our way to Hamburg to meet up with the rest of our study abroad program and prepare to board the ship we would be spending an entire semester on.