In Between

After my trip to Poland/Germany my next exciting event was that my mom was coming to visit in a few weeks and we would be going to Budapest, Hungary for a weekend getaway. 

Between that time I went to Chinese New Year with some friends at Trafalgar Square where they celebrated the year of the sheep. We watched the Flying Lion Dance and bought little paper dragons because they were adorable and everyone had them. 

I also went away for the weekend to Manchester and went on a day trip to Dover to see the White Cliffs. I don't think that I went to the right location to see the cliffs because I didn't find it all that special.

Katy, Kylie and I went out in Shoreditch, our favourite place to go out. Kylie decided to move back to Canada in April and we all hadn't gone out in a long time so wanted to make sure before we got too busy with visitors coming.

My mom came for almost two weeks at the end of February and unfortunately I had to work for most of her visit but she managed to see some sights during the day and we would get together after I was finished work. The first weekend she was here I took her to Notting Hill and Kensington Garden/Hyde Park. I had been to Hyde Park in October and searched (almost) the entire park trying to find the Peter Pan statue but gave up because it was so cold out. This time when I was with my mom I made sure we found it, and here's the proof!

Potsdam

 We had really seen all of Berlin (or all that we wanted to) so for our last full day in Berlin, we took the train to Potsdam which was about a 30 minute train ride. Potsdam was the residence of Prussian kings until 1918 and is the largest world heritage site in Germany. Today, it is the capital of Brandenburg and is famous for being used as a conference after WW2 as Berlin was being rebuilt. We didn't really know much more than that, and just spent the day wandering around looking at the beautiful buildings and were so fortunate it was such a gorgeous day.

After we got back to hostel in Berlin, Sarah was going to meet up with a friend from work that was also in Berlin for some drinks. I had heard that the nightlife in Berlin was pretty crazy so thought it may be fun to experience. We went out to an American Bar, and then to a nightclub called "House of Weekend" which you take an elevator to the top floor to get to. Basically you are allowed to do anything in the club (smoke, drugs, etc.) - it really was a different experience but we had fun! It was a good end to our trip.

Katy, Lauren and I stayed later so spent our last half day in Berlin just taking it easy and of course we had to have some Curry Wurst for the last time before going back to London. This will definitely be a week I will always remember and so glad I had such amazing travel buddies!!

Berlin Wall

For our second day in Berlin we were able to catch the guided tour that we tried to get the day before. It worked out well because now Sarah and Mall were able to come with us. Our tour guide was English but was getting his doctorate in history at one of the universities in Berlin so was really well informed on the history of the city, and there is a lot of history in Berlin! We started off in front of the "Hotel Adlon" which I didn't see the significance of, but apparently it is one of the most famous sites in Berlin. In the picture, there is a man standing on the balcony, and that is the exact balcony where Michael Jackson dangled his infant son 'blanket.' 

Wearing hats that Lauren's Nana knit 

I didn't take many pictures during the tour because I really wanted to listen to what our tour guide was saying and had already taken pictures of the main sites yesterday. We passed by Museum Island, the TV tower, and Checkpoint Charlie. We also visited the site where Hitler committed suicide which is now a parking lot and unmarked as it was feared it would become a shrine for neo-nazis. Our tour ended at the Holocaust Memorial and Museum where he briefly talked about it and said that it is really something you need to experience on your own and not during a tour so we headed back there at the end of the day. 

Something that I had been looking forward to since arriving in Berlin was the East Side Gallery, an international memorial of freedom that is 1.3km long. Artists from around the world were selected and able to paint a section of the Berlin Wall after it's fall. As you can notice on the pictures the paintings have been (arguably) ruined by graffiti and erosion but are slowly being restored. I only put up a few of my favourite ones. 

This painting is referred to as the "Fraternal Kiss" and one of the most famous paintings on the wall. It depicts two German  politicians embracing, reproducing a picture that captured that moment during the 30th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany.)

Such a beautiful moment with the sun shining through the gate.

This was my favourite painting on the wall, the colours and design were just so amazing.

Thierry Noir, a French artist who claimed to be the first artist to paint on the Berlin Wall.

As previously mentioned, after the East Side Gallery we made our way back to the Holocaust Memorial. There is a total of 2,711 concrete slabs, all different heights in the memorial. From the front you can't tell how high they actually get, but some of the slabs are up to 5 meters high. Walking through the memorial really makes you think. I looked up the meaning from the architect who designed the memorial and he stated he wanted a place where it can be grasped "what loneliness, powerlessness, and despair mean" After walking around the memorial we went into the Holocaust Museum that is right beside it which was brilliantly done.

This trip had definitely been emotionally exhausting from all of the Holocaust/WW2/ Cold War museums and experiences we had. I have also learned that travelling the way we did is so physically exhausting as well. We treated ourselves and went out for dinner and had a huge beer.