My first full day in Berlin was just that.. a FULL day.

Obviously I met up with my buddy Ashley, who I met in Brussels, and we had a jammed pack plan for taking on Berlin.

First things first we both had to get on the train and meet in the middle of our hostels because we were about 30 minutes away. Thanks Jesus for the train.
Once we met up, we got back on the train and head to a bike rental place, which we ended up finding a super cheap one run by an old Asian couple that had a store that basically looked like they were trying to sell all their old junk... at discount prices...

We got our bikes, and because Ashley had gone on the bike tour the day before, she was now my tour guide. Lucky for me she wanted to do everything again because on the bike tour they didn't have time to stop and take pictures.

Our first short stop was to the oldest church in Berlin, grant it everything here is very old, but because it was all destroyed in one way or another, its all been rebuilt, or fixed. We stopped and looked at the church and then we stopped and fumbled around the big fountain there as well, while also getting a great view of the TV tour. All sites in a little triangle of the same area so you just have to basically turn and snap a photo, turn and snap. 

We rode on and sat with some big fellas, and rode on some more to Museum Island. There they had the most beautiful cathedral, which we decided to venture in the following day, and the Altes Museum.

So we rode and rode some more until we came to the hotel where Michael Jackson held his baby, Blanket, over the balcony! member that?! and people went nuts.. but also we saw Brandenburg gate which was really cool! We snapped some pictures, people watched for a brief moment, watching people blow giant bubbles and the horse carriages go by, the people on the bike tours, and all sorts of characters walking around. Then we hopped on our noble steeds and headed off!

Rode to Reichstag, where they dome on top is transparent to show that they people of the transparency in government and a way to show that the government didn't want to hide things from the people.

We took a water break and stalked up before we scampered off again to go see the astonishing memorial for the murdered Jews. This memorial was HUGE. made up of 2,711 solid concrete bricks all different sizes, it was like a labyrinth walking though. Absolutely amazing. Ashley and i were taking photos and just felt bad smiling in them because it was such a heart breaking thing to be around, knowing that millions of Jews died for being in the sites of a delusional psychopath.

On a more upbeat note, we then stopped at Check point Charlie! you had to pay to take pictures, so I just decided to stand on the side and take one... just as good in my book!
grumble grumble... that's the sound our stomachs made and we decided that we needed to stop at Lidl, my favorite, super cheap grocery store, and grab some salami, cheese, rolls, pre-made salad, chips and lollies (that's what these weird Aussies call any kind of candy, except chocolate, that's just chocolate.) and some canned wine to spice our our magnificent picnic we were going to have in the park.

We rode around for a bit trying to find the perfect spot in the park, of which people liked to nude sun bathe... and for some reason it was only men that did that.... FREE WILLIES! (i feel like maybe someone already destroyed the lovely whale movie title and made a porno out of it now that i decided to use that name.. yuck.)

 

We found our spot and enjoyed a nice lunch that filled us up for basically the rest of the day, until I needed ice cream, but I always have room for that... its a gift of mine, to always have room for something sweet.

We finished and got back on our bikes and rode to the Victory column, the Berlin Wall, was held ever so lovingly by a bear and then stopped by a really eerie spot. The spot where Hitlers bunker was found.

When they found Hitlers bunker, they found all the bodies inside. They all took cyanide in the bunker to commit suicide, and even the kids! Their mother thought that her children would be better off dead than live in a world without Hitler. How insane and brainwashed!!! after that when they found the bunker they attempted to blow it up, but the bunker was so strong that when they tried, the roof of the bunker lifted a bit and then fell back down, not damaging a thing! Because they it was pretty indestructible, they decided to simply take the roof off, fill it up and turn it into a parking lot. so really there is just a gravel small parking lot there now, but the bunker stills lives underneath it all... freaky.

Lastly we rode back to the square where they had a street market, got some ice cream and sat by the fountain and called it a day.. a very very long, exhausting, sun filled day that i would trade for the world..

As far as if I like Berlin? its okay.... much too spread out for me. I really like being able to walk everywhere and have lots of little markets and nice things like that. I love the history, as horrifying as it is, and the beautiful architecture, but I don't know that I would make this a main place to stop in the future.