Beautiful Berlin, Beers and Bikes

The crew at the Brandenburg Gate.

The end of Ramazan is marked by the Sugar Bayran which means school's closed for a few days and we are off to Berlin with Sarah and her sister Anna. We had found an apartment via HostelBookers.com in Mitte,  East Berlin. It's was huge place that was cheap and a stones throw away from the center of E. Berlin and the famous television tower. A evening flight puts us in our new pad around 2 AM, but are excited to see the city or at least the bar downstairs...'The White Trash".

The White Trash Bar.

We are overwhelmed, the place is far from closing and has an atmosphere of a fancy dive bar.  A hipster, happening place. It's dark wood interior light by neon and candle light is a breath of fresh (stale) air and we breath it in with delight. There is little like this in Turkey.

The first full day in Berlin, we wake without plans but discuss a lot of ideas. We are shocked to find a cafe across the street with bagels, loxs and croissants. I guess a sign that we've been in Turkey for a long time! It's a bit of an overcast day so we decide to walk the streets, take in the city and try out some new photo poses. This city is under a new awaking. It is very culturally diverse. As for urban development, the cheap rundown places are discovered by artists who take advantage of the low rent and depressed living conditions until the developers catch on and the neighborhood becomes desirable for its potential. It seems now is that turning point in E. Berlin and the evidence of art is everywhere, from small galleries on every street to a great display of graffiti. The graffiti seems to have its own respectable place, found not defacing the public but rather embracing the underpasses and allies, beautifying the city. One girl we met said ten years ago Berlin still showed many signs of WW2 such as bombed and bullet ridden buildings. Also she mentioned that many of the communist built structures built remained intact until a few years ago. A lot has change since the wall has fallen. Now Berlin's architecture is very modern and innovative, while trying to emulate the structures built prior to the war.

Make a wish!

The fountain in Alexanderplatz.

canals running along Museum Island.

  Amazing! But wow we were hungry! Berlin is a great place to have an appetite. We wandered into a street with a selection of good eats under a railway overpass and stop in for a bite. Sausage, potatoes, cheese plates and of course great beer.

Dark or light?

Typical German lunch.

Happy Hour.

Our rides for the day.

 After lunch we ended up in the Kulturform and decide to go to the Bemaldegalerie which hosts an extensive collection of European painting from 1300-1800. Now all that art makes a person thirsty so we took the underground tram back to Mitte  for happy hour. Since the fall of the Wall, East Berlin has had a cultural expansion embracing the foods of its new tenants and the selection is fantastic. Tonight we stopped for Vietnamese food.We have not had Asian food for over a year, a luxury we acquired living in Seattle.
Delicious!


We called it a night for tomorrow we ride....


We have reserved bikes with The Fat Tire tour company for a full day bicycle tour. This is a great way to see the city. Our tour includes the Berlin Wall, Check Point Charlie, Bebelplatz (site of the Nazi book burning May 10, 1933), Museum Island, Jewish Memorial of WWII,  Hitlers Bunker, Watch Tower of no man's zone, Brandenburg Gate, and lunch in the Tiergarden's brew house...and so much more.

Gary with the 1969 TV tower behind him.

Enjoying the ride!

What is left of the wall is behind us.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews in Europe designed by Peter Eisenman. 

 

 

 

Lunch in the beer garden!

                                                                The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche was bombed in the war and in 1963 the built the modern bell tower next to it (on the left).

Gary in front of The Reichstag.

Some fine German brew along the canal.

And it was so much fun the next day we did it again..sort of...we rented bikes and went solo biking all around Berlin. Oh sure we got lost this time, but we made our way and had another great day. Sunday it was time to head home....but... the 2 o'clock flight was on a 24 hr. clock (military time) so when we got to the airport we discovered we had missed our flight by 10 hrs and couldn't get another flight for another 12 hrs! Oh crap! Well, we re-booked,  took care of business, and headed back to the city. We spent the afternoon by the canal, grabbed some dinner and headed back for the red eye.

A bit sad to leave but hopeful to return. Berlin is a great city!