We said a sad fair well to Toni and made our way to the central train station for our night train which I had booked in advance. The train was leaving rather late at 10:30 and we arrived at the station a good hour early to be safe. We went up to the platform with the reservation and our eurorail passes and waited. There was something really strange about the stop. At the same time and at the same platform, another train was leaving for an entirely different location. We looked at the board and it said the train we wanted should arrive 5 minutes later. So we sat down and waited as the train pulled up. Both Sara and I had a nagging feeling that we should ask someone what was going on, but thinking that we had read the board correctly we didn't do anything. Then we watched as our train passed by the station and the last car on the train had the number and name for our train. Sara freaked out, but see that's the beauty of a Eurorail pass. We had marked in the day for tomorrow, because that is what you are supposed to do for a night train. As a result, we had the flexibility of taking any train that travelled from midnight to midnight the next day. I consoled Sara and we went to information services and took the next available train to Berlin. This meant that we left at 2 am and had a connection in Hamburg. So the cost of this little mistake, roughly 16 euros in reservation. The bonus, we get to say we have been in Hamburg for about 10 minutes.
We arrived in Berlin at about 8:30 am which worked out better than the 4:30 am that we were originally going to arrive at. We immediately went to the home of our next couchsurfer host Cindy and her new fiancée Alex. The graciously welcomed us in and immediately made us tea and gave us a map detailing the important sights in Berlin. We got to know them and were fast friends. We shared the remainder of the Christmas cookies we had made with Toni and took the time to calm down. We then left to go to the nearby area for a short sight seeing tour.
The first thing we did was go to the DDR museum. The museum was an interactive informational tour of the life of those under socialist Germany. They looked at school, career and media with particular emphasis on the good and the bad. For example, at least under socialist Germany, women were treated equally to men and even given day care services. A bit more progressive than you would initially think. The museum was interesting but I quickly found that the nights more than exciting events and the little sleep (a mere 2 hours) were making my head foggy and the details all started blurring together. Not to mention, I was becoming increasingly hungry as the last meal we had had was at midnight that morning. So Sara and I left the museum and went in search of food. There wasn't any reasonable cafe's so we went to the nearby christmas markets where I had a currywurst. The currywurst as we were informed by our hosts was an invention of Berlin in the time when Ketchup was a hot commodity making it scarce. Since it was so expensive to get Ketchup, the people of Berlin took to creating their own tomato based sauce and mixing in curry spices. It was delicious and definitely cheered up my day.
We wandered back towards the main station and through another Christmas market before heading back for an early night with Cindy and Alex. As we recouped and I took the time to set everything up for the next day, Cindy and Alex made dinner and offered for us to join. So we had home made Ratatouille and freshly preserved cherries from Cindy's grandmother garden. We talked about our lives and our families and ended up talking until later into the night before retiring for a long sleep.
Sara and I woke up late the next morning before heading on a tour around Berlin's more famous sights. Fortunately today was a clear day, unlike the day before which had been foggy. We started at the Reichstag and began a circular tour that followed the Berlin wall to Check point Charlie. We saw along the way, Brandenburg gate, a memorial to the persecuted Gypsies, a memorial to the Jews, a memorial to homosexuals, pieces of the wall, old soviet police stations and finally check point Charlie. See pics for details.By the time we got to Check Point Charlie we were freezing and it was beginning to get dark. We had plans later that evening to meet up with Cindy and Alex for a Christmas tradition which was similar to a White elephant party in the states. They even wrapped gifts for us so that we could participate. Since we still had two hours before our meeting time, I urged Sara to continue our sight seeing tour. So we went to see a burned down church in the more western part of the city and the elephant gates.
We then took the opportunity to wander through that part of the city in search of a different train station so that we could meet up with Cindy and Alex. Of course this was a special version of getting lost on purpose and as a result got to see a few interesting and unique parts of Berlin. We reached the meeting point on time, but due to some confusion ended up travelling separately to the party location. The party was in an office building space and was hosted by a club of people who were all speakers or travellers to Eastern European countries but they also knew German. We didn't know anybody but Cindy and Alex but everyone was inviting and the food and drink was amazing. We played the white elephant like game and Sara got Christmas socks and candle and I also got candles. We then spent the remainder of the party chatting and ultimately dancing. It was loads of fun and we spent more time getting to know Cindy and Alex.
We got home late but resolved to get up early the next morning so that we could trek to visit a concentration camp near enough to Berlin that we could get there by train, Sachsenhausen. We left the next morning a little later than intended but managed to make the 1 and a half journey to the camp. It was once again a foggy day which suited the mood of the location. Once we had stepped on the grounds of the camp, a certain weight pressed against our shoulders and a chill began seeping into our bodies. There was a strange scent that was equally off putting. Most of the camp had been destroyed in bombings during the war. Few of the actual buildings remained. However the foundations did remain, which gave the entire camp a hallow and ghosty field. Some of the remaining buildings, was the entrance check points and administration area (which had been transformed into a museum), a few of the bunkers which had been salvaged and recreated from multiple bunkers, the running track, the prison, and the gasing chambers. We took what pictures we could but before long, the cold drove Sara and I to leave before seeing every detail.
We returned a little frozen and had a quick dinner before joining Cindy and Alex at a more local Christmas market which was only available on the weekend we were visiting. The market was much smaller with many of the same booths and then it concluded with a 2+ hour concert by some local choir groups. We went to the concert and listened to the music. It was interesting to see how they interpreted some american Christmas carols and also to hear some German ones. Like my choir when I was in High school, they sang numerous African tribal songs and even a song featuring a didgeridoo. The choir was sub par but the acoustics were fantastic. There was a brief intermission with a bake sale and Sara and I tried some poppy seed cake and some other baked goods. We retired with a late second dinner and chatted with Cindy and Alex until late once again.
The next morning we headed by bus to Frankfurt! But I will save that small horror story until the next post. Overall, we really enjoyed spending time with Cindy and Alex and seeing Berlin. We were very grateful for the hospitality we received and the opportunity to engage in so much cultural exchange. There was much joy and sorrow in the trip, but it was all worth it. We are looking forward to seeing our good friend Ben on the next leg. Until then...
Adventures Await
KH
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