Spring Break II: Berlin

From London I flew to Berlin to meet my old roommate Jessica! We took the subway back, decorated with window stickies of the Brandenburg Tower, and with neon patterned plastic seats--very artsy. Jess had class the first day I was there, so I had time to wander around by myself.

I went first to the "Topography of Terrors" exhibit. It is the location of all the old Nazi buildings, now reduced to some foundations and a museum.

I then wandered up towards the Brandenburg Tower. As I approached, I noticed a mass of people and realized there were police cars everywhere and that the main street was blocked. I joined the crowd and walked around until I heard some English being spoken. I asked what was going on and they told me apparently one of the Clintons would be leaving the hotel right in front of the Brandenburg Tower. So I waited a couple of minutes and then... Hilary Clinton came out! She looked very put together and handled the crazed "I love you!"s of some weird fan very well. 

The next day, Jessica and I went walking through most of the major attractions. 

We went to a main, artist-enhanced section of the wall: 

We ate Curry Wurst (not something I would like to eat every day, but worth a try!)

We saw the very interesting Holocaust Memorial:

The stone squares start only about knee height, but as you walk towards the center the ground drops and the stones get larger so you are immersed in a cold, shadowy place. It was very eerie. And the floors slope in all sorts of directions so it looks like it's rippling.

Then we went to Museum Island which has this gorgeous structure, unfortunately I don't know the name:

All in all, I thought Berlin was very clean. The people were very nice. The nightlife was fun. Everyone spoke English. There are tons of monuments and museums and public art pieces.

I enjoyed it!