Berlin

We arrived in Berlin pretty early in the morning (I think it was around 6am) but German efficiency means everything in the train station was already open so we were able to get our Welcome Berlin cards (for unlimited travel) and find out how to get to our hostel. We stayed in the Meinenger Berlin hostel in a dorm with 3 other girls. Was an OK room and near a metro station which is always a bonus.

We headed back to the main station (which is totally awesome- clean and big) and had some tasty pizza for breakfast (nutritious, I know) while planning our first day in Berlin. Our first port of call took us past the Parliament, which looks really cool from the outside (though sadly we didn't have the time to go in), and onto the Brandenburg Gate, which is symbolic for its East/West divide of the city. Its pretty weird there, loads of tourists and yet not so long ago it was part of the divide of the city. We then continued our stroll to the Siegessaule, the Victory Statue (via the scary underpasses). We took the 9 bidillion steps of the spiral staircase to the cramped, crowded top. The view was worth the effort though :D

We headed back to our room and chilled for a bit (the night train does take a lot out of you energy wise). After relaxing for a while we headed out for dinner. We ate in a little Italian place near Checkpoint Charlie which was oddly formal and prompted Laura to remark it was like our first date. lol. The food was tasty and reasonably priced (always a bonus- not like the free salad which wasn't too fab). We then headed onto Checkpoint Charlie, a museum based where the American Checkpoint was on the Berlin Wall. It has loads of fascinating info on escapes, personal stories, political aspects of the wall and other such likes. It puts a lot of perspective on Europe and its recent history. If the wall hadn't came down I wonder how much harder a trip like this would have been. Almost impossible maybe. I am glad we came to Berlin before continuing for the chance to learn more about how the countries we visited fitted together politically.
We slept pretty late, but the tasty 50 cent breakfast we got made up for it, which we ate on our way to the East Side Gallery. This is the largest stretch of wall still standing in its original place. It's pretty cool, although there is a lot of new graffiti allot of the original graffiti is still clear which gives a good insight into peoples attitude's to the wall when it was up.

Brockhursts are an uber tasty, cheap meal. Love them!! We then headed over to Alexanderplatz and went up to the top of the TV tower, where we had expensive daiquiris (not like the usual kind but OK I guess). But the view was cool, and no stairs required due to the super fast lift :D The area around the TV tower is really cool, lots of pretty buildings which we didn't get to see due to the time of night but still admired from outside. We then went to Potsdammer Platz for one of the best eating experiences ever. The Hagen-Dazs Cafe!! The most amazing chocolate brownie explosions. Soooo awesome. Chocolate chip and vanilla ice cream over bits of brownie, smothered in chocolate sauce. Man I want some just thinking about it now!!

We impressively made it up for 10am the next morning (impressive given how much we suck at early morning rising. It often involved a 20 minute debate over what time to set our 5 alarms for). We dumped our cases at the train station we were leaving from and headed to Charlottenberg Palace after writing postcards. It was so sunny when we got there we opted to sit outside in the sun for a while :D

Inside it was spectacular. I loved the way some of the rooms were decorated. I could definitely see myself living in a palace (as long as I also had cleaners). They were strict about visitors though, especially about photograph taking, which kinda took away from the experience a little bit. When we finally left we found ourselves in the middle of a storm!! So we found our way to somewhere we could eat indoors, Andy's diner. We had pizza and non-alcoholic cocktails. After dinner we got a few bits and pieces for the upcoming train journey.

We arrived at the station and realized we had forgotten to buy stamps for our postcards. While we were getting some in the newsagents this guy overheard our accent and started talking away to us about when he lived in Scotland. Turns out he was a Brazilian, who was now working in Germany but had lived in Clydebank a few years ago. We chatted with Kaiser for a while and he gave us his details in case we were ever stuck for somewhere to stay in Berlin. The station itself, by the way, is so freaking dodgy. Its full of drug users, drunks and people begging and felt so unsafe. We were glad to get on the night train.

Or so we thought. It was horrible!! No electricity which means no lights or toilets. And no head room. So the choice was sitting in the dark or standing in the dark. Not fun. In our room was 2 polish women who said nothing to us (well one laughed cruelly when I hit my head) and 2 Irish guys travelling as a group of 9 who chatted to us for a bit before finding their friends elsewhere on the train and getting a bit drunk.

The train wasn't so bad once we actually fell asleep and we arrived in Krakow. Although we couldn't get into our room straight away they were nice and let us use the showers. (Night train means sleeping in your clothes, and Krakow was freaking roasting!!). The Hostel Yellow was really cool, laid back and our room was really big and airy, verging on luxurious considering what we paid for it.

Wandering around in the sun took us to Walwet Hill, where the cathedral and such likes is located. We got the tastiest ice lollies (we were really hot and thirsty so they tasted especially good) and we soaked up the sun in the courtyard. This is one of the things I love doing best. Museums and such likes are all good and interesting, but I really love just wandering around a city and taking in its atmosphere.



For dinner we got hot dogs. Now, here that would be a sausage inside a roll. Not in Poland. It was also filled with cabbage, beetroot, sweetcorn, onion and peppers. A crazy combo that tasted OK, although there is only so much cabbage a person can eat in one go!! We followed up with chocolate chip and mint ice cream while waking back to the main square. (Food here is so cheap!! All the above mentioned food as well as drinks during the day cost a grand total of £7.50. Bargainous!!)

While we were there the international folk festival was on. There was an elaborate puppet theatre which used ABBA and Queen songs with their own Polish lyrics to tell a story that had something to do with Angels. Then we saw "Elastic", a Belgian mime/comedian/magician/juggler. He was so funny and had such an expressionate face. We then watched a performance by the Polish Theatre of Dance called "The Battle Between Carnival and Lent". It was dramatic music intertwined with techno/dance and modern ballet, narrated by people on stilts who also controlled audience and artists movements (it started on four small stages which the dancers moved between and then became one big stage for the finale). The whole thing was amazing, totally enthralled you from start to finish. I especially loved the classical music to techno dance music changes that took place, along with the way the dancers interacted with the audience. And all for free!!

We had a long lie and longer showers before packing up and checking out. With a bit of palaver with our cases we got them into left luggage at the station and jumped on the bus to Auschwitz (after having breakfast which led us into the most awesome shopping mall- no idea how we didn't discover it the day before).

Just as we arrived at Auschwitz the sun disappeared and storm clouds took over. It felt appropriate for what the whole place stands for. The whole experience is one I am glad we did, but I am in no hurry to repeat it. As Laura said: it was horrific and before now I didn't really know what horrific was. Now I do.

Horrific doesn't even begin to cover it. What my brain did let me imagine was harrowing but I can't comprehend what those people went through. It was less than 100 years ago, so recent history, and it terrifies me that it happened at all. What mankind does to each other for differences that some people believe to be evil or inhuman is soul destroying. And I am not trying to be dramatic. There is no need for that. Differences should unite us, and yet often they tear us apart.

The displays in the cabinets and bunk houses that make up the museum were simple,informative and effective without over dramatising what happened, it let the facts speak for themselves. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully process what happened but I will always remember. One of the quotes I read said (in effect) that those who forget will see it repeated. Everyone should see Auschwitz so that those who died there did not do so in vain.

(We didn't take any pictures in Auschwitz for what we felt were obvious reasons, though most people there seemed to take loads, which I can sort of understand but at the same time can't. Sorry if that makes no sense.)

Its hard to move on from such a downer, but I think since I have the freedom to do so I have to. So sorry for depressing you.

We got the bus back which took forever, I think we saw almost all of Poland on the way back for the night train!! Though some of the passing scenery was beautiful!! We got back and did some window shopping before getting train food and making our way onto the train.

The cabin, which had lights but less headroom than before, we had 4 Americans (Laura and Jared from Ohio, Alex from NY and a guy from LA whose name we didn't catch). They were really cool and while chatting we discovered they were returning to Prague, where they are attending summer school, after spending the weekend in Krakow. The conductor came round to get tickets and to warn us to lock the doors and keep our passports on us when we were sleeping, as there are Banditos around!! Way to go to freak us out late at night on a train we can't get off!!

I loved Berlin and Krakow so much!! i will definitely be returning to both at some stage in the future!! This has been a lot longer than I expected so I'll wait a few days before doing the next one.

Things to remember

Berlin-

German efficiency

cool traffic light dudes

lots of street signs and directions to things

cheaper than Scandinavia

bear statues (like the Edinburgh cows)

shadows=sun=smiles

the city of nipples (on statues, top of telephone boxes etc)

city of contrasts: history and now

the badness of the night train to Krakow

Kaiser and his funny handshake

the funny Irish guys

Krakow

cheap to eat and drink

cabbage

roasting hot!

awesome atmosphere/buzz

they love the popes, in particular JP2 since he was born there

easy to navigate

the cool, massive shopping centre

the horror of Auschwitz

the fun Americans on the train to Prague

the performances in the international folk festival

me falling on my ass on the bus

weird almond pastries

teaching the Americans Scottish words like manky

the train announcers during the night in the station we "rested" at (resting is what night trains do, we think something to do with scheduling)). These particular announcers were loud, in Czech and English and giving useless information an hour and a half to late to no-one in particular!

Quotes

"Its like a date"....."so what do you do?"

Laura to me in the Italian restaurant

"That's what you would look like pregnant"

Me to Laura about her money belt erection (under her dress) which

provoked excessive laughter

"Why would your condoms need hair? I mean hair need condoms?"

Me to Laura after she thought she saw a sign that said hair condoms.

"We have a lot of conversations about condoms, but never about their actual use"

Me to Laura after we saw a poster of a strawberry with a condom in it

"The saying, "I'd rather have a bowl of coco pops" is timeless"

Laura to me, over our daiquiris in the TV tower

"Oh My God! My heads shrunk!! I didn't even know that was possible!"

Me to Laura in the Carlottensbergen when I realised my sunglasses were to big for my head all of a sudden

"I wonder what happens if I put that in there"

Laura

"That's how Adam and Eve conceived"

Me

Laura to me(about putting some food into some other food it doesn't normally go with, in this case chips in her pasta sauce)

"I look like a red bike?!! Aah Meg White, that makes more sense"

Me to James after I asked if he remembered what I looked like

"Show me your sole"

Laura to me about my feet, that always somehow get dirty

"Bandito"

The train conductor