Berlin
Thursday July 13, 2017
The overnight train from Munich to Berlin was a disaster and I regret it so much. The reservation system on German trains is so weird, and the seats we initially chose said they were available but obviously not when someone came and claimed it for himself. We had to move a carriage or two down, where a bunch of eight or so guys had settled in with a lot of beer and even a funnel. We shifted again, right down to the end where the bike carriage was and that was much better, until a bunch of idiots got on and talked the entire night. It made me so angry and sleep deprived. How can these people be so inconsiderate? The bus ride from Zurich to Prague was far more tolerable.
It was rather wet when we arrived in Berlin, and the accommodation wouldn't let us check in until 2.30pm. We managed to leave our bags inside and went out to explore the city. We went to Potsdamer Platz and the Sony Centre, which was really nice because it was all indoors. We found a dessert place and I had a massive serving of dark chocolate and vanilla ice cream with cherries, very much like a Black Forest cake, but it was too much and I didn't finish it.
I was exhausted from the lack of sleep and after checking in, I had a solid nap. We resumed our wanderings of Berlin, going to Checkpoint Charlie, Gendarmenmarkt, Museum Island and up to the New Synagogue where we had dinner.
Yesterday, we visited the Jewish Memorial, Brandenburger Tor, the Berlin Wall Memorial, Alexanderplatz, the Computer Game Museum and the dome at the main parliament building. We had a few hiccups along the way with some mistaken place names and failings in checking the opening hours, but we did a lot in the day. I had been desperately trying to find a place that sells Schwartzwalderkirschetorte - Black Forest cake - but I had had no luck, and I was getting desperate. Theo called upon Twitter to see if someone knew and we went out to KaDeWe, a massive department store with a gourmet food hall. I didn't quite get my cake, but I got a slice, and that was good enough.
Overall, Berlin was okay. A few things didn't quite go our way but the city does have some really nice sights and I could see myself revisiting someday. We have been a bit inundated with war-related things and weren't too keen on seeing more, but it is so integral to Berlin's history.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:28pm on Thursday July 13, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 
Munich
Sunday July 9, 2017
It was slightly awkward checking into our accommodation in Munich; the rooms were above an Indian restaurant and had no visible reception or office, but instead it turns out the restaurant itself had the keys to our room. It wasn't quite ready for us, but that was fine, we dumped our bags and wandering around the area. We headed east towards the river and Maximilianeum, and dumped our laundry at a serviced laundromat, then followed the river south towards the Deutsches Museum. The river walk is really nice and green, and with the sun out, there were plenty of sunbathers on the rocky “beaches” by the river. We cut across to the city centre and walked around the Viktualienmarkt and Marienplatz, and went up St Peter's church for some great views of the central square. We ended up by Odeonsplatz and the Hofgarden, before heading back to pick up our laundry and have a quiet evening.
The next day, we were off to the middle of nowhere, southern Germany. We took a train to Immenstadt and then a bus to Alpsee Bergwelt, the home of 3km "rodelbahn" - an alpine coaster that snakes down the side of a mountain. It's self-controlled so you dictate the speed you're going, to a max of 40km/h, but it's incredibly fun and exhilarating. Having the track so long means it's actually a decent length of time too!
On Saturday, we covered more of Munich, visiting the massive Bavaria Statue, heading up to Konigsplatz and the museums where there was actually a music concert, then east across town to the Munich Residenz, another famous palace in Europe. We even made it to the Stadtmuseum, which had an exhibition about Munich's history. It had started to pour by the time we finished, so we headed for dinner nearby - I got the Bavarian specialty, roast pork knuckle!
Our last day in Munich was actually spent far away from Munich, at Neuschwanstein Castle, famous for being the inspiration behind Walt Disney's logo and castle at Disneyland. Our tour guide was a quick talking Italian with a semi-American accent, and a rather abrasive personality, but he told a good story about the castle's history and the circumstances of King Ludwig II and Robert Wagner. Theo and I opted to walk around the lake instead of going into the castle; it's insanely busy inside and you don't really have the chance to walk through at your own pace; you have to follow the pace of everyone else, and that was too reminiscent of my horrible experience at the Vatican museum. The German countryside is pretty, even on a cloudy day. By the time the tour group was ready to depart, it had started storming.
After a long train ride back to Munich, we mulled around the central train station before catching our overnight train to Berlin.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:03pm on Sunday July 9, 2017 :: 0 comments ::