So my trip to Berlin has been a little bit of a bust. To start, my Airbnb was a bit farther out of the main core area than usual. It took me almost 40-45 minutes from central station to maneuver down to Neukolln, supposedly a hip and trendy area of Berlin. I’d read all about it and said it was the new area–I just didn’t realize, that when they said new, they were meaning, it will be really hot in about 5 years. Getting there too, usually I get things almost to a T when catching trains, not getting turned around, etc, and every platform I came to, the train I was supposed to get on was just pulling off. Needlesstosay, it was annoying to get to the airbnb, and then once there, the owner had trouble buzzing me in, so I had to call her 4 times before she let me in properly (hello–don’t buzz for a split second, there’s no way I can catch the door!)
Then, I had to lug everything up 4 flights of big stairs to the apartment. But, once there, it was really nice. She had decorated it nicely and it was spacious and comfortable–and not shared. I actually thought it was a share when I rented it (I’m 99% sure it said share), so it was a nice surprise that it wasn’t.
I explored Berlin and saw the new Jewish Memorial site, well new to me since I haven’t been to Berlin since 2002. I was able to see the Brandenburg Gate finally as it was behind scaffolding as well before. I walked miles around the sites, and saw the Berlin Wall again, went to the DDR Museum to see life in East Berlin, did a walking tour through the city, ate great food, and the Jewish Museum. Bad luck continued with a torrential downpour of rain and sleet, it was miserable!
Also, the big dome that you can register to go in and see of course was closed for 5 days.. the exact period that I was there.
I did get to have a reunion with a couple of ladies I met back in Peru in 2013, and we had a great dinner and catch up. The great thing about traveling around the world is all the people you meet to reconnect with in various places around the world all over again!
