Rebekah Lucy Loves Berlin

A delayed reaction this one. But guess what? Berlin is awesome and you should go there.

Bubblegum on the Berlin Wall.

For a city with such a sad history, the beauty of the place blew my mind. I'm a sucker for a city with a bit of soul, a story to tell. Coming from New Zealand which has such a short little lifespan, it's beyond fascinating to travel to these European destinations which have survived so much and come out the other side as such amazing, vibrant, interesting cities which people desperately want to visit - and not just for epic new year's eve fireworks, but to get closer to the history (and in my case, get slightly emotional about some of that history too). Berlin may not necessarily be the friendliest place on earth, but beautiful nonetheless.

New Year's Eve party people. Heart of Gold.

Boom! Bang! Pop! Etcetera!

It would be hard to hide a history as sad and dark as Berlin's - given the notoriety of one Mr Adolf Hitler, atop who's bunker (site of his wedding and suicide the following day) I stood on the 2nd of January 2013, and that big ol' wall which separated East from West for almost three decades. What's awesome about the city is that it very much still seems to embrace it's history. Though there is no official monument to mark Hitler's bunker (rightly so, in my opinion), there is a sign nearby which explains the significance of the site. Serious chunks of the wall still exist through the city, and smaller portions of it have been repurposed for memorials and art projects throughout the suburbs.

We went to see in the new year, but I'm a geek tourist so also managed to spend some time walking and exploring. I'm a huge fan of free walking tours. Sandemans do free walking tours in 14 European cities now - operating solely on a tip basis so at the end of the tour you pay what you think it was worth. I've used them only in Paris and Berlin, but can't recommend them enough. Their tour guides are typically students of history and / or language, so they know their stuff. Use them. *plug, plug, plug.

The Brandenburg Gate.

Speaks for itself.

Swimming Pool. Mmm. Blue.

Mmmmmm, blue.

My highlights reel: being on holiday, cheap, cheap, cheeeeeeap (did I mention cheap?) wine, yelling at a taxi driver (he started it with his shushing and his "Out! Out! Out!") (I may have suggested he look in to acquiring some f'ing manners before I slammed the car door) (*cough), hanging with good humans, good looking Australians galore, cheap, cheap, cheeeeeap (did I mention cheap?) beer, epic new year's eve fireworks, salami and cheese crepe, the beautiful Brandenburg Gate, wandering aimlessly trying to find street art, finally figuring out the metro system (yay!), so much Authentic German (?) Cuban food, a cocktail called a swimming pool (oh yes) (get in) (blue) (etcetera), naturally the Adlon hotel - site of the infamous MJ Baby Dangle Incident, hearing more about the history of the wall (though, so much more to learn!), learning about the construction of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and wandering through the undulating alley ways on a grey wintery day, (and latterly, being able to use the word 'undulating'), beautiful buildings including the Berliner Dom, Humboldt University, the Neue Wache, and the Französischer Dom, taking approximately one billion photos (as I do), quality reading hours, misunderstanding the train timetable and getting to the airport with 35 minutes before our flight was due to depart (cue: much running), and watching LP vomit in to those little airplane vomit bags for the duration of the return flight (may she rest in peace) (kidding) (she's much better now, thanks for asking).

The Berlin Wall.

Französischer Dom. Beautiful.

Making sure LP was getting the top of the wall in the photo. She wasn't.

Inside the Neue Wache. The oculus is directly above the Mother and her Dead Son so the statue is exposed to all of the elements, which represents the suffering of civilians during World War II.

Berliner Dom.

Berliner Dom. I'm in love.

I'll definitely be back. For East Side Gallery. And White Trash. And sunshine. See you soon Berlin.