In Love With Berlin: Part 2

The second day in Berlin I went to Kreuzberg. I was glad I signed up for the eco-shopping tour because it forced me to start the day early (11 am). There were so many people at the train station and it was easy to figure out. I also loved looking at the city since the train was above ground. After transferring trains, I got off at my stop and met with the girls doing the tour (after I walked in the wrong direction and had to walk back). Walking through Kreuzberg by foot was amazing because it was so artsy. I could not help but take so many pictures of the “it’s so Berlin” art. Notice the black bear on the frog’s stomach; the bear can be found everywhere in Berlin because it’s the city’s symbol. What I loved about walking in Berlin was that even though it was Friday, there were people walking their dogs and biking and it seemed like a non-weekday. With art everywhere, even in the least expected places, it was so Berlin.

 

Around 3 pm, I took a quick train ride to see the Berlin Wall, specifically the East Side Gallery. This is what I saw after getting off at the station.

 

Walking along the East Side Gallery was one of the most inspiring and special parts about my trip to Berlin. The mural art was bright and colorful, and many had quotes or were politically motivated. The Spree River runs parallel to the East Side Gallery and I was walking towards the East Train Station. There were so many other tourists walking along the wall too, and it seemed that they found the experience to be just as special as I did. Considering this, I was grateful to have done this solo because I took my time. Feeling so inspired, I thought, could the day really get any better than this?

 

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Well, it did! My next stop was the Brandenburg Gate. As soon as I walked up the steps from the train station, I saw the gate in front of me and the Television Tower (Fernsehtrum) behind me. This meant I was surely in central Berlin (Mitte). It was dark by now. The buildings were grandiose on this street and reminded me of being in a big metropolitan area like New York City. Berlin is after all one of largest cities in Europe. As I walked to the gate, it became a pedestrian only area, as shown by all the people behind me in the picture. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one taking a selfie.

I went to the Television Tower afterward, but will save that for the next and final post on Berlin. Friday had been an amazing day because I explored so much despite the time constraints.