Berlin

Two weekends ago I met up with Nick and his friend Abby in Berlin. They are both studying in Rome, and we were all unprepared for the frigid weather in Germany. Thursday night we met up at the hostel, and we went out to find a club called Weekend. We assumed that even if we didn't want to go in, there would be bars or something in the area. However, we found Alexanderplatz to be totally deserted. Maybe it was just because it was East Berlin, but it felt very "brave new world".. We decided to just call it a night and on our way back, we passed through the Brandenburg Gate and saw the Reichstag.
The next morning we started walking from Potsdamer Platz, and first saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It was a very different memorial; the varying heights and slopes are supposed to be disorienting and create an uneasy atmosphere. It has created controversy, but personally, I really liked the concept.
We then saw the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag; the amount of history these invoke is insane. We passed by some other sights- the Berliner Dom, Museum Island, Alexander Platz and the TV Tower. And of course we ate Bratwurst..

We finally made it to the East Side Gallery; a section of the Berlin Wall that artists were commissioned to work on after the wall fell. This was probably my favorite part of Berlin- again, that overwhelming history.
We crossed the river into Kreuzberg, a less sterile-feeling, busier part of town. We finally got to our final stop before going back to the hostel, Checkpoint Charlie. We didn't go into the museum, but from what we could see, it was the checkpoint to get into the American sector of Berlin.
That night, we were rejected from a couple clubs; we assumed it was because we are American, but we couldn't say for sure.. We did end up at one club, which was fun, but far from crazy..
Saturday we took it pretty easy; we went to the top of the Reichstag and saw a view of Berlin. It was probably just the cloudy weather, but it all seemed sad.. We then just walked around; we almost went into a museum, we almost went into the Berliner Dom.. We saw a small market and watched German kids street dance. They were practicing techtonique and we just sat there for a while laughing at them..
That night we went to a couple bars in Kreuzberg, including a gay kitschy one with fuzzy walls and chandeliers. We then club went to a club; it looked fun from the outside but the inside was filled with awkward people. I think Abby described the dancing as looking like the Sims. It was so true- everyone was dancing strangely on their own; no one looked like they were with anyone. So again, we sat there and laughed.
Our planes to Madrid were early Sunday morning, so we actually had to leave our hostel at 3:30am, which was not the most fun.
I didn't really know what to expect from Berlin, but it pretty much surprised me. The history is fascinating, but I'm not sure how I feel about it otherwise.. It is a huge city, so there is a chance I just didn't get to discover the really great parts. Next time I guess..