Trip to Berlin

On the 16 March we went on a Trip to Berlin. This was a very exciting event as I have never been to Germany before and was a real eye opener into another culture and country itself. We arrived late afternoon in Berlin and immediately wanted to explore the city. Despite getting lost trying to find a supermarket it didn't lower our spirits and excitement into wanted to find out more. A group of us decided to take on Berlin's nightlife and attended Matrix Club. making our way home late at night we realised how beautiful the city actually was. The feel of the city resembled London in ways but had such a different feel to it.

 

The 17th March was the start of exploring the city in daylight and although the miserable weather didn't help with the tiredness of last night I was intrigued to know what was next on the agenda to visit. The first stop was the Reichstag Dome. The amazing views both from standing on the bottom to walking along the spiralling sides of the dome. The experience was spectacular. The dome was built to increase the amount of light within it however it was a horrible day and it began to rain as we were inside. This didn't ruin the experience but made it harder to see the views through the glass sides of the dome. I would love to return in the summer or even at night because I can imagine how it could show off its beauty in another light.

After being left at the Reichstag Dome we were to make out own way to the Berlinische Gallery. Although we were startled by being left in an unknown city we managed to get to the gallery in time. The gallery was very interesting and bigger than I was expecting. As soon as I entered I was taken back by the big paintings high on the walls. They were very bright and you had to really look to find out what they were trying to show. I really liked this section of the gallery and has to be my favourite of them all because of the amount of colour and boldness. Some of the works were debatable in concept and I was not very keen on the works by Dorothy Lannone. They appeared to be very feminist and the work was not very comfortable to view. 

Left to our own devices me and my room friends decided to explore the city further. We were able to walk to checkpoint charlie and found some of the Berlin Wall left. It was uplifting to know that the wall was taken down but really interesting to see the paintings and artworks left behind. It wasn't long before we were hungry and decided to take on the culture and ordered Currywust. I instantly found a love for the food and this wasn't my only potion during the trip.

Being St Patricks day we took the opportunity to visit an irish pub. The country may be different but the celebration was not. There were so many people we had to stand outside in amongst the green of the crowds. 

The 18th March was the day that we visited the Holocaust museum. It was very upsetting to see what actually happened in detail and extraordinary how far it actually spread. I was deeply saddened and after the visit the mood was very tense and down. I feel that the museum really does open your eyes to what happened and how bad it was. I am now able to fully understand rather than just briefly knowing. 

We then made our way to the Museum Für Fotograpfie, and disappointedly we were not able to take photographs. I was not very interested in this museum due to the fact it was about photography although the first room was quite nice to see all the different cameras that Norman used. However as the works went on I was just viewing the same photographs in different rooms. The subject matter of women in nude did not really interest me and this was the downfall although I do appreciate his talent.  

Having been a packed couple of days we decided to go to a small coffee shop to relax and reflect on the events of the day. It was a nice little café and had a lot of culture which I enjoyed. 

The 19th March was the day that we were to leave Berlin however we had the day to explore what we wanted to before we left. Me and Freya decided that we wanted to visit the Olympic stadium. Having travelled the entire route of the tube we were greeted by a downfall of rain. Soaked we got to the stadium and instantly our spirits were lifted. It was amazing to see the vast surroundings and views inside and both outside. I would have loved to explore more within the place however it was raining and it made it very difficult to appreciate. The olympic pool was left to go green which I felt was a bit horrible. 

 Although Berlin was very wet and windy I have never done so much in 4 days and I loved exploring the city. I would have loved more time but it was very tiring and I am glad to be home. The hostel was also very clean and perfect as it was just next to the station.