Let me begin by saying, THANKS DAD! Honestly, Berlin could not have been done without you.
Riana and I left Thursday afternoon for the airport at around 5:45 and were through security by 6:05. Lets just say, we have never had it that easy. Everything was just going really well, and I knew that this was going to be a great trip. We flew EasyJet from Barcelona to Berlin SXF. Here is the trick when flying an airline like EasyJet, usually the flights are not full and you can sit two in a row, keeping the middle seat open which is what Riana and I did. Riana and I put all of our stuff in the middle seat, because lets be honest, who would want to sit in the middle seat? We somehow got away with this to Berlin and on our flight back! I watched Limitless on my iPad and I actually really enjoyed the movie, but this blog is not for movie reviews, it is for my travels...so...here we go...
We arrived in Berlin Thursday night and arrived at the famous Adlon Kempinski Hotel (http://www.kempinski.com/en/berlinadlon/Pages/Welcome.aspx). The hotel was beautiful and had so much history to it, something that I really enjoyed. Not only was it the hotel that Michael Jackson held his baby out of the window, yes, Cally and I actually googled which window he held his baby out of, but it is also famous because of World War II. It is located right by the Brandenburg Gates, a beautiful site to see as well. If you travel to Berlin, I would suggest just taking a look at the hotel, even if you do not stay here, the lobby itself is beautiful. Carly was waiting at the hotel for us (wtih room service, yum!). She arrived in Berlin at 9am on Thursday, but do not worry, she kept herself very occupied. She worked out, had a coffee in the lobby, and went to the spa-- where she swam (on a noodle) and sat in the steam room!
We woke up at 7am on Friday morning because we were being picked up at 8am for a whole day of touring (and met Cally and Perri who came with us too!). We started off at Sachenhausen. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous to see a concentration camp because I did not know what to expect. The day was gloomy, and when we arrived to the camp, we were the only ones there. I think that us being the only ones at the camp made it even more erie. Our tour guide, Johan, walked us around the camp. I could sit here and write about the horrific things we saw, but I think that if one has the opportunity to travel to a camp in their life, they should. I do not think words can describe what we saw, and that everyone's experience at the camp is different.
From the camp we were taken to the Reichstag to a special lunch at Kafer, the restaurant located on top of the Reichstag. The restaurant was beautiful and quite the experience. We thought it would be an hour lunch, but it ended up being a little over two hours. The views from the restaurant were beautiful and after lunch we walked around the Reichstag before returning back to the car. We were then taken on a tour of Berlin to see parts of the Berlin wall, museum island, and then ending at the Jewish museum. We were all a bit run down from the day, but we still walked through the museum. I suggest you use the audio guide for the museum if you are not traveling with a tour guide. The Jewish museum was huge and had a lot of interactive exhibits. From the Jewish museum we returned back to our hotel. We reached our hotel and saw that they were setting up a red carpet! What I was unaware of (and honestly cannot believe a celeb obsessed girl like myself) was that it was the Berlin film festival. The Adlon was hosting a party for the festival, so I immediately went to my room and began googling which celebrities could be in attendance at the party. After dinner, we sat in the lobby until 1am waiting to see someone. Unfortunately, we think all of the big names, like Angelina Jolie, went through the back door, but hey, maybe we saw the next Martin Scorsese or Liam Neeson.
We ate dinner at one of the hotel's restaurants, Uma. We also did one of the most American things at dinner, we were offered the cake from the family at the table next to us, and at first we politely declined, but then as they were leaving they offered us their leftovers and well, we took it. After another three hour dinner, we returned back to the lobby to stalk. Cally and I watched every person walk out of the party trying to see who we could recognize. We could have fooled Carly saying we saw any actor, as she really did not know too many people. That is okay, we still love her!
The next day we woke up and went to the Holocaust Memorial. Once again, words cannot really describe the memorial. It was very well done, but each person's experience is different. The memorial was designed to have your own interpretation and I honestly believe that. It is definitely a place worth stopping at. After, we did an audio guide of the information center downstairs. It was so well done, and very informative. From there, we walked around the city of Berlin. After a nap and a stop at the steam room, we went to dinner at Bocca di Bacco. Good food. Eh service.
So far, Berlin was my favorite city to travel to because of all the history. I actually feel like I did something and learned something on this trip, which was important to me. I know I have had the opportunity to travel a lot and I appreciate all of the trips, but I think that the history surrounding the Holocaust is so fascinating and interesting, so for me, I enjoyed Berlin. It is different than stopping at all of the Jewish Quarters in the different cities. Berlin is a city, growing up, I never thought I would go to, but I am happy I did, and will definitely be back one day.
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