Berlin

[p.s. I think I'm on a roll]

So, we arrive in Berlin and I'm excited to see a couple key things in my very short time in the city. Before travelling, I do a little bit of research on the city just to get an idea of places, streets, sites, monuments, whatever that I might want to visit once there. And then once I arrive, like I said in my Stuttgart post I map out the rest of my trip (literally) and take it from there. I like having a plan of attack.
Unfortunately the weather was cloudy and grey the whole time we were there, and while that made me feel better that the TV tower was closed due to construction, I still would have wanted to see more after waiting in line at the parliament in the crazy wind and cold (the doormen must have loved the people sneering at them as they kept the doors shut until the last possible second). Even though there were
no public tours of the parliament building itself, there was free access (would recommend if you visit) to the glass dome roof, in which you walked up in a spiral pattern and could get a great view (given clear weather conditions) of the city all around. I still enjoyed the cool architecture, and guessing where I should have see different things pop up according to my panoramic guide. I like seeing that sort of thing.
I did a little bit of shopping (naturally), and of course most the stores were the same as all over Europe, so I wasn't too impressed by anything. I went in the German equivalent of LaFayette (again nothing too different) and walked by stalls that were being set up for the Christmas markets.
I got the see remnants of the Berlin wall (one goal), visited Brandenburg Gate (again, a goal) both during the daytime and again at night, and saw Checkpoint Charlie (ditto).




Anyone else hear classical music?




I also went to a little museum called The Story of Berlin (on recommendation). It's a great set up. A really interactive museum. Well done. Lots of sounds, colours, lights, things to touch, move and feel...but when you're in the exhibition all by yourself (seriously, no one else was there), maybe it's the subject matter, but I was really creeped out. Hearing different sounds coming from different rooms and seeing flashes of light from my line of peripherery was really really scary. I walked through that place pretty fast.
I also tried my hand at riding the subway system, and ummm...are all the subways starting to look very similar to each other or what? Or maybe I was missing the TTC enough to think the Berlin subway walls were very similar to those in Toronto.
C'mon...imagine a different colour, font, and you'd think you're in another city! The subway sign for the Checkpoint Charlie stop, just steps away from:





A little bit more dingy than the other ones I've ridden, but depending on the line, there were some really nice cars.






errr...can someone help me out? Which TTC station is this?




I was a little disappointed with Berlin. I'd only been to two cities in Germany before this trip (Munich and Stuttgart), so that's the kind of expectation I had of a German city. Oh, and all that historical stuff about the wall too. Bottom line, I was expecting something rich with culture. Sure there was a lot of culture there, but it was a lot more
Americanized than I was expecting. I understand now that they rebuilt the city and tried to change a lot of it around, but honestly, I saw one too many Starbucks Cafes and Subway eateries.
After a tiring two weeks of traveling, I headed back to Neuch (via Charles de Gaulle in Paris) and resumed sedentary life...until my next adventure.