German Language Tour

Tag

Zwei (Day Two)

by Indya Rossato

Hallo von Berlin!

I think everyone can agree the first night was sweltering hot as Germany doesn’t have airconditioning! But we were up bright and early and at the breakfast table at 6:30 am. The German buffet breakfast provided the norms but also cold meat, cheese and salad which was very different from being Australian.

After a quick adventure to reach the Bahnhof (train station) and a few extra risk assessments, we found our ICE train and we were off like the speed of light until our train was delayed and the journey stretched from 4 hours to 6 hours. Although it was not the journey we expected, we had some true cultural immersion and our eagerness got us to Berlin.

Upon meeting our guide Robert, we experienced the Berlin train system (UBahn and SBahn) and the tram lines. The complexity of the underground train system is like none other! It's definitely something you have to experience to fully appreciate and even just comprehend. You can travel to the city in a matter of minutes! In my opinion, it's very cool.

We checked into our hostel for the next three nights, the Generator Hostel, which is quite spacious until you enter the bathroom. (Frau Synnot and Frau Wyatt would certainly not agree, they have the “honeymoon suite” as Oscar calls it). The hostel is located on the East Communist side of Berlin and the area certainly gave us an insight into the lives in the 60s to 90s. Within minutes of checking in, we were off to experience Berlin.

Our guide Robert took us on a walking tour of Checkpoint Charlie, the only remaining border crossing from the Berlin Wall period, and The Holocaust Memorial which was very interesting as it is a field of concrete block open for the mind's interpretation, along the last remaining section of the Berlin Wall, Potsdam Platz, Alexander Platz und finally the Brandenburg Tor. We even had a quick stop at Bier Berlin, and even though the name suggests otherwise, some of us tried a traditional Berlin Currywurst (sausage with curry powder and sauce) for the first time.

After many kilometres of walking and many UBahns, we made it back to our hostel for dinner, which definitely brought some giggles. Now we are all cooling off for the night and hopping into bed ready for another big day tomorrow.

Guten Nacht von Berlin!