Berlin of Contrasts

We were travelling the next day and I had a fever of 39 degrees. I called my insurance in order for the doctor to prescribe me something and my insurance police didn't cover me as it did before, due to Venezuela's situation and the charges in foreign currency which meant that I was (am) practically without insurance. So, I dedicated myself to drinking water and taking atamel. A three hour journey to Warsaw and then another 8 hours to Berlin meant an overall cost of 28zl for the train (6 euros) and 10 euros for the LuxExpress bus from Warsaw. Yes, just 16 euros to get to Berlin from Krakow and two nights in the Happy Go Lucky Hostel for 23 euros (quite cheap for Berlin). The hostel was very well located - right opposite a train and metro station. Breakfast wasn't included but the bedrooms and bathrooms were very clean. The only bad thing was that there were two old men in our room who (not to judge anybody) made everything a little bit uncomfortable.

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My travel companion Fran, behaved as a perfect gentleman (although he isn't always) and had all the patience in the world with me when I had to stop to rest due to flu (I didn't have a fever any more, thank God).

It was a very peculiar trip. We had to meet our friends from Akropol who had already been travelling for 8 days and adjusting to a group who have already been sharing the same routine for days and who have anecdotes and everything that happens when you travel in a group is complicated, despite us being very close friends. We started the day with a Free Walking Tour at 11am. Of course, our friends arrived late but at least we were able to reach each other. Our guide (whose name I don't remember) was an interesting guy and told funny jokes. He started off by summarizing Berlin's history a bit and telling us how the word makes reference to a swamp. He went on to the Napoleonic wars, the revenge Berlin took with Paris until finally getting to the pivotal moment; the one we all know of: The Second World War. It was quite a historical tour. They took us to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, an area filled with blocks of all heights and sizes and that takes on whatever meaning you want it to. They took us to the place where the Hitler's bunker is found and here, gave us an explanation as to why there are neither any signs of the place nor any kind of tourist spot (in order to stop it turning into a place of adoration for the crazy man). We walked nearby the wall. He explained what the Scar of Berlin consists of. We went to Tolerance square which is opposite two precious churches belonging to different religions and then to a lovely little square where there was a library full of hammocks and bean bags. You could pick up a book from any of the shelves there. They carried out a significant book burning here and remember it with a rather elegant memorial: a little window in the floor through which you can see an underground bookcase with empty shelves.

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It was quite a productive tour. Next, We went to eat some sandwiches (Berlin is too expensive to get us any more luxuries) and then went to the East Side Gallery. We took our time looking at the Graffiti and walking through it, taking advantage of the beautiful day. We ended the day eating Currywurst (nothing out of this world) and finally went back to rest at the hostel.

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Early the next day, we went to the Jewish museum which is found in a corner of the memorial I spoke about before and is free. It's quite a small museum but it's interesting. One of the things that stuck my attention the most was that there was a section dedicated to 8 Jewish families. Eight randomly picked families. Eight families like any other with their dead family members and with those surviving. It's a different way of bringing us closer to the issue: It wasn't just almost 6 million dead Jews but also those who lost their families, those who disappeared; dreams shattered.

Some of the group broke off and did a paid Alternative Tour. It was 12 euros (I believe) and it was with the same guide from the Free Tour, so I suppose they had quite a good time getting to know Berlin's peculiarities - the city of graffiti. My friends from Venezuela, Dora and Berlin arrived and we tried (without success) to find a Venezuelan restaurant but we went very far and never found it. We went to one of the squares we hadn't seen yet (the one with the giant Primark) and then we tried to get into the Parliament but we weren't able to do this either (we thought we had a reservation but the reservation was never confirmed) and ended up walking through the Saint Nicholas neighbourhood which is quite nice but doesn't have too many attractions. At night, we went to the club, Habanna where I danced like I hadn't done so in a long time; my music, our music. I didn't need to be drunk, on the pull or even in a big group - Just the music and two great friends. However, I was conscious that it wasn't the typical party from Berlin and that we could have experienced a different night. However we had a lot of fun, Venezuelan style.

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The Spaniards of the group left that day and left me with my compatriots and the next day, we did everything I did on the first day again; this time with a Chilean guide. Yes, I did the tour twice and I should know much more about Berlin's history but the truth is that I have forgotten nearly all of it. It's not my favourite city but it's a great city, with people who are used to being free, ruling over any government. People who carry a burden because they allowed what happened to happen and carry on to remember it but not to suffer it. It has a past but it has built upon it and is today, a newly independent and free country, vital in modern Europe.