After some initial apprehension about my choice of accommodation in a suburb out of town called Kreuzberg, described as 'edgy, filled with graffiti, and dog shit', as soon as I arrived at Jetpak Hostel, my worriesnvanished and I was so glad I had chosen it. I dumped my bags in my room and sat down at the table in the lounge area and was immediately greeted by an over friendly Canadian, Spencer, offered a glass of jäger by Peter from Sydney and was soon doing shots of some German liqueur with a Swedish girl named Goldie! Talk about an action packed first 5minutes!
Before arriving in Berlin, I really didn't understand the hype. A rich history, some crazy techno nightclubs and a lot of abandoned places to break into.. Surely a few days would suffice, and without the people I met and the place I stayed, I think those few days would have been enough for me. However, at the end of a week, I was still hesitant to leave this wonderful city and the amazing friends I made here.
There was a lot of partying. Tresor, an underground bunker, filled with smoke and strobe lights that flashed in time with the music in an otherwise pitch black dungeon. Chalet, filled with house music and a little courtyard with a fire to take a break from the constant doof doof of the music, and lots and lots of cool little bars that are scattered along every street in the cool area of Kreuzberg. Everyone loves to party in Berlin (just like me) but for once I found myself truly overwhelmed, on night one I was ready for bed at 4am and everyone looked at me in shock, night 2 I left at 7am and strolled home in broad daylight, and I was the first to leave... I simply couldn't keep up with crazy Berlin! Probably partly because I strongly avoided visits to the businessmen in Gorlitzer Park, who seemed to be quite busy fuelling the late night party animals of Berlin.
I also did a lot of sightseeing even amidst the rain which decided to follow me from Amsterdam, and even walked an hour from a kreuzberg to brandenberg gate before partaking in a 3 hour walking tour all in pouring rain, safe to say I was fairly drenched by the end! On the one sunny day we had, (I even wore a t-shirt!!! ) I made the most of every second and went sightseeing like mad with my 2 good friends Dan and Glenn. We climbed to the top of the Berliner dome, went to the reichstag, had a picnic in the teirgarten, went to checkpoint Charlie and the remnants of the Berlin Wall and even went to a museum!
I made so many friends staying at such a small hostel which was so social and loved finally having good friends to hang out with. I ended up becoming part of a little trio with an American girl called Christine and a Canadian guy called Dan. They were both such lovely, kind and intelligent people, it was so lovely to spend time with them, getting coffee, exploring and mostly feasting on delicious food like Indian feasts, Spanish tapas or coffee and cake while having discussions about wine,art & literature, and for the first time in my life, I felt extremely mature and cultured. Apart from feasting and chatting, Dan and I also went on a day trip to Potsdam in some more rare sun, (there has only been 3 days of it the entire trip so far!) and I am so glad I went. My next desk neighbour at work, Phil, the travel guru recommended that I went there and it was a great decision ( I even sent him a postcard to prove I took his advice!) The royal family used to live in Potsdam, just an hour on the train outside of berlin. The entire town is filled with beautiful cobblestone alleyways and really transports you back to a medieval time. Sansoucci gardens are the real heart and soul of this town with rambling gardens which stretch for miles filled with fountains, multiple palaces, a vertical vineyard and some beautiful estates. It was lovely strolling around and soaking up some much needed sun before my dear old friend the rain came running back and drenched me again, just to remind me how much I hate the sun...
The food was incredible and this was probably partially to do with the fact I ignored every single type of traditional German food, except for the incredible kebabs which I was very surprised to learn were actually invented in Berlin! I treated my taste buds to all sorts of cuisines- Thai (which will never live up to Clover), Korean (which didn't tickle my taste buds but was interesting, Indian (the table was too full to fit drinks on), kebabs which come in a box (go gluten free!!) and last and certainly not least, Spanish tapas. If this restaurant is any indication of the food to come in Spain, I have certainly made the right decision to spend the majority of my travels there. This restaurant was so amazing, I came back twice within my week in Berlin and was blown away both times. The smoky chorizo cooked in cider, patatas bravas toasted with paprika and lathered with a delicious aioli, warm goats cheese drizzled with honey that melted in your mouth, and so much more.. I was in food heaven, and best of all, it was all gluten free. For a mind blowing feed and a glass or 2 of wine, I was more than happy to pay the 12 euro it cost. Cheap and cheerful Berlin, this was my most expensive meal!
I was sad to leave Berlin and the beautiful people at Jetpak, I will definitely be back during this trip, I finally understand what everyone is talking about, there is something about berlin which captures you.. It has been my favourite stop so far!
No comments:
Post a Comment