Day 8: Berlin

Today was our first day to sleep in! What a refreshing feeling to finally just wake up when our eyes open. That happened around 11am, so we got to our feet and took off for day 3. Our first stop was Schloss Charlottenburg. A huge, gorgeous castle from the 1700s, it was made for Prussia's first Queen, Sophie Charlotte. There are huge gardens in the back that were very innovative for her time and almost everything has been remodeled after damage in WW2 to make it appear as it did in Sophie's time. Walking through the gardens was really peaceful and Brandon got to use his sweet camera to take some artsy pictures.

After the Castle, which was pretty far southwest of town, we came back into the center and saw the Topograhie of Terror, the previous grounds of the Nazi Secret Police, happening to run right next to a remaining chunk of the Berlin Wall (an implement of the later Communist era). The juxtaposition of the two distinct--yet in many ways similar--dictatorships was striking. We were hard pressed to find something cheap and unique for dinner, but since we were starving, we ended up at a Pizza Hut. It was well advertised, so I guess that's what happens. It filled us for the rest of the day as we made our way to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. As you approach, you can see large gray stones that are set up in perfect lines, varying in size from ankle high at the entrance to more than 10 feet tall in the middle. The ground slopes in addition to an independent impression of slope from the height of the stones. As one walks between the stones, people on alternate paths flicker past your view, a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. There are many other significant aspects of this unique memorial which was a somber, humbling exhibit to experience.

That was all we had on the schedule for the day, so we stopped by a Starbucks to see if the internet could give us more suggestions. (They also had Frappucino Happy Hour so we got some drinks for 50% off!) We saw that Beyonce was playing in Berlin, but decided we probably weren't fans enough to even bother checking on tickets. But we did make our way out to the east side of the city and saw o2 World, the venue where she was at, since it happened to be right across from the East Side Gallery, a long stretch of the Berlin Wall which remains standing. Original art and new citizen art adorns the wall, making it a sort of art museum and very cool to see. We even got to leave our mark.

Now pretty far East, we came back to the center and watched a bit of the large crowd around Brandenburger Tor, assembled for the Firmenlauf (Business Run) before returning back to the hostel around 9. We watched some Big Bang Theory to remind us of home and fell asleep.

Day 7: Berlin

Well, posting last night was a bit difficult as Brandon's overzealous use of the umlaut caused some formatting problems...such a negative first experience with the blog will put him on hiatus for a while, but maybe he'll be back blogging before the trip is over... he is pretty good at it ;)

This morning started bright and early at 7am. With the sun shining through our window, we arose and prepared for our first full day of Berlin. We had tickets to see the Bundestag Dome at 8:15am, so departure was set for about 7:40. We arrive just on time and were very officially escorted to the top of the dome for a guided audio tour. Spectacular views and fascinating history, this stop was well worth the early wake up call. Still a little chilly, we stopped by briefly by the Brandenburger Tor, an icon of Berlin, before we headed back to the hostel to get some extra layers. However, it appears that Berlin, for us, will be der Stadt des Schlafes (the city of sleep). We ended up taking a nap to recharge before heading out and tomorrow will be our first day without setting an alarm-- I think we are both looking forward to that. After our nap, we left to see the Stasi Prison outside of town. The metro trip went faster than we expected so we got to walk around the little town of Hohenschoenhausen, finding a supermarket (with Havana Club!) and a little cafe where we enjoyed a 1/2 a grilled chicken and bread. It was really delicious! The English Tour of the Stasi Prison started at 2:30 so we walked over to catch that, and what an experience it was. The place is huge and completely fenced/walled in. They did a great job of really letting you feel what it was like in the prison with completely accessible doors, beds, lights, etc. and a tour guide who gave us tons of information about what the isolating experience was like for a prisoner. I can't imagine being held there for any length of time.

After that, around 4:15, we went back into the city and walked around a market, which we found out was an African Festival, reminding me much of my time in South Africa last summer with the Women's Glee Club. We also found a bar at the festival that was selling Havana Club Rum, Brandon's favorite Rum from his Cuban tour with the Men's Glee Club. So in the middle of Berlin, we found an intersection of my trip to Africa, his trip to Cuba, and our trip together. That, and the Rum and Coke was great.

Then in a spur of the moment decision, we decided to ride the train out to the Olympic Stadium where Jesse Owens beat Hitler's best runners in the Olympics in the 1930s. So much history there to see. We rode the train back in to the middle of the city to what is supposedly the best Currywurst in Berlin, a turkish-german fusion dish found almost exclusively here in Berlin. As the sun set, we walked through the massive park which used to be the Kaiser's hunting grounds in the center of the city. It was incredibly beautiful; we got to see the sun set over the victory column and nightfall on the Brandenburger Tor. After walking for over 2 hours straight, we welcome our return to the hostel and even more so, our chance to sleep in tomorrow morning.

Day 6: London to Berlin

Herzlichen Gruessen aus Berlin meine Damen und Herren. Brandon here. I decided to try my pedantic hand at this whole blogging thing for tonight. How hard can it be, right? Feel free to vote for your favorite blogger at the end of the journey. The winner eats the majority of a giant Chocolate bar that we bought today at Schokowelt (Chocolate World). We had an early morning--as is so common on the Brandon Cory Trail of Tears Experience--and flew out of London's Heathrow Airport. We landed in a cold and rainy Berlin; this has luckily been our first day of bad weather. We got right on seeing the sights and went to explore Alexander Platz, which is a large area with a big beautiful church and a tall spire that overlooks the city. We then went to the DDR Museum which takes you through the life of the East Germans living behind the iron curtain. I sat in a Trabi and saw a lot of german nudity (evidently those pinkos loved to skinny dip). It was a very cool museum and we learned a lot. We were cold and a little wet, so we came back to the hostel for a few minutes and before we knew it, it was 9:30pm. This extra-hour time change snuck up on us. So we went and enjoyed a traditional Bavarian meal at Loewenbraeu. Schnitzel and Weissesbier Dunkel, I tell you, it does not get much better than that. With full stomachs and...heavy heads, we returned to our hostel for the night. Oh, one more thing, Mary said "gracias" to our waiter tonight. Seriously, she doesn't even speak Spanish! This was hilarious to me and got a great look in response from our waiter. We are having a blast, and I hope you are enjoying traveling along side us. I know Mary has been keeping you well informed. Now we must be going; tomorrow morning is another very early one. Guten Abend.

Day 5: London

This morning was very similar to yesterday-- breakfast at the hostel, then off into the city.

 Our first stop was Big Ben. We got out to the Tube station right at the base of the clock, which was so impressive. It really is massive! We strolled around that area for a bit, taking a ton of pictures and video. We also saw a few war memorials along the Thames, which were quite nice.






We then headed southwest to see the Changing of the Guard. Boy was that an experience! It was not at ALL what we expected. First of all, we thought it started at 10:30. It didn't. We asked a local, who said it actually started at 11:30. Well, at 11:15 a troop of guards marched in and just paced for 15 minutes. Then another troop came in with a band. They did some business at the other side gate, and then, much to our surprise, the band came out and played a medley. Not just any medley, 3 songs including Grease and the Olympics Theme (the third and final one we didn't recognize). It sure was strange to hear that at this ceremony which we thought was going to be serious and quick. Eventually they marched off and the first troop left and the second troop went into Buckingham. All in all, it took about an hour! So after that, we walked over to Westminster Abbey and just saw it from the outside since it was over $20 to get in. Next we stopped for lunch at a place called Frankie's and got some pretty good food for a decent price. That was right near the National Galleries, so we stopped by the National Portrait Gallery. 3 floors of just paintings of people! And we got to see the official portrait of HRH Catherine. :D

After that we went on to Churchill War Rooms, which is a make-shift bunker near Downing Street (the home of the Prime Minister). That was one of the coolest museums I've ever seen. Much of the furnishings and such remain today exactly as they were left all those years ago. The museum was creatively and interactively designed, making it a really enlightening and enjoyable experience.

Now today we were done with plans around 5:30, and seeing an advertisement for the musical "Book of Mormon", we decided to go check it out. We made it out to the theater and discovered there were no tickets left for tonight. We continued walking around the theater district (which felt a little like Time Square) and saw Her Majesty's Theater, which is where The Phantom of the Opera premiered over 11,000 shows ago. In a spur of the moment decision, we got tickets to tonights show. It was really great! The music was fantastic and it was so cool to see the show in the theater that it originated.

Again, we got back around 10:30 and are now just wrapping things up. Today was the last day here, so tomorrow we say goodbye to foggy London town and hello to Berlin! Can't wait to test out our German skills...or whatever. :) We'll let you know how it goes.

Day 4: London

Sorry for the delay in posting! We had a late night last night so we went to bed. But I'll update you now!

We came downstairs for breakfast--a nice free meal of Coco Crispies and Toast-- and were on our way into the city by 9am. First stop: British Museum. We saw a bunch of cool stuff, including exhibits on "Coins and the Bible" and "Pompeii and Herculaneum". It was really big and cool and, best of all, free! We stuck around until 1pm then found a nice little cafe right by the museum and got 2 sandwiches for only 7 pounds ($10, essentially), which is quite cheap!

We kept on trucking to Freemason Hall, and got there just in time for the 2pm tour. They showed us their grand lodge which was huge and beautiful. So cool to see. Then we went back to the Temple Church and actually got to look around inside. The Knights Templar built that church and it is beautiful inside. We also got to see a legal preceding in the Royal Courts of Justice... something about a bike and vehicle collision. It was confusing and sounded a little scripted at first, but it was neat to see- and yes, the lawyers still wear the gray wigs! Finally, we stopped by Samuel Johnson's house, the dictionary maker. Cool to see from the outside, but we didn't pay the money to go in. By this time it was only about 5pm. We stopped for a quick snack and to plan what to do until 9:30, since we had commitments at that time.

We decided to take the Tube west for Little Venice, a neighborhood surrounding the Royal Canal with longboats, thus resembling Venice. It was nice and quiet and fun to walk along the canal and just enjoy the peace for a bit.





Around 7:30 we went back into the city center to wait outside the Tower of London, as we were registered guests to observe the oldest continually running military tradition in the world: The Ceremony of the Keys. There were more people there than we expected, but it was still special; we got to see the real guard say, "Halt, who comes there?!" It was so awesome.



By the time that was over, it was 10pm so we went back home and got a pizza at our hostel. We wound down, tied up loose ends, and went to bed. Now for today's news!

Day 3: Dublin to London

Another early morning here in Euro-land. We got up at 5:45 to get the airport shuttle by 6:30. Check-in at the airport was absolutely line-free and security went much faster than expected so we were ready at 7:10 for a 9:40 flight. Whoops! Better to be early than late. We were served a surprise breakfast (pastrami on a croissant) and decided that American aviation companies are cheap. We got to London and purchased our day pass for the transportation and hopped on a bus. We underestimated how long it would take to get to our hostel but we finally arrive around 1:45pm. We settled in briefly and then hit the streets a

gain. We went straight out of town to the Freud Museum, the house where Sigmund Freud lived at the end of his life. Then on our way back into town we stopped at Abbey Road and took a few pictures. Drivers on the road were not pleased with the amount of tourists stopping in the street, but too bad. It's Abbey Road. Then we continued back in and stopped at Sherlock Holmes' House, 221b Baker St. That was neat to see, but we didn't spend money to go inside. Then we went to the "downtown" area, if you will, down by the Thames. We meandered around, trying to see the Temple Church, but became quite lost. The Temple Complex is expansive and we walked completely in circles until we finally found it--closed. So we will return tomorrow. We went further east to the Tower of London to check it out before we go in tomorrow. And then there are all the bridges. The most beautiful one was the Tower Bridge. Unfortunately, London Bridge was severely disappointing. Just a boring cement structure. Lame. Oh well. For dinner we stopped at a little Pizza place along the Thames, right next to Shakespeare's Globe Theater, which we later infiltrated. It was "locked" to public, but we were able to see inside a little bit due to poorly guarded doors. The ride home on the Tube was short and sweet and we made it back to the hostel around 9pm to settle in for the night. Now with drinks in our hands, we bid you goodnight.

Day 2: Dublin

We got into Dublin just before 5am and met up with a nice couple from Ohio in the airport. They offered to give us a ride into the city with their rental car, which was so nice. They were very fun. Crazy to experience driving on the left side of the road!

We got into the hostel to drop off our luggage, but we couldn't check in officially until after noon. So off we went onto the streets of Dublin at 7:30am. We meandered past all the monuments along the River Liffey and eventually made our way to the Guiness storehouse for our tour and free Pint. Brandon even got to "per-da-perfect-pynt"!

We explored a little more, stopped at a "chipper" for some Fish and Chips and then headed back  to our hostel for some much needed sleep. It rained only a little while we were sleeping, and by the time we went back out to find some dinner, it had cleared up again. Lucky!

All in all, a good day. Now tomorrow, off to London! Miss everyone and love you so much!