Beautiful Berlin

On my way to Berlin:

I splurged on my trip and upgraded my seat and it was definitely worth it!  I was in the plane for a 9 hour jaunt over to Amsterdam and the extra leg room and slightly wider seat made all the difference!  I flew with KLM and was impressed with their friendliness and perks that come complimentary with my flight.  I sat down to a pillow and blanket on my seat, a hot towel when the flight commenced, a drink and dinner (all alcoholic beverages are free), free new released movies, lights off, a hot towel before breakfast, and a hot breakfast!  I would recommend KLM for any long distance flight.
My layover was in Amsterdam, which is where I bought my first two Starbucks mugs, was easy to navigate as Amsterdam is an English friendly city.  From here I hopped on the KLM city hopper plane, which is a little older and smaller, but all you need for the 1 hour flight to Berlin.


Day 1:

Berlin is so pretty, the buildings are so old and historic and the streets are lined with cobblestone sidewalks.  It is exactly what I pictured in my head of Germany; keeping in mind I have only seen Berlin thus far.  My bestie, Kristina, and her fiancee, Konrad, have been so welcoming and it has been a lot of fun to be around both of them.

 

Today Kristina and I toured the city a little.  Obviously wanting to hit a Starbucks up.  Kristina has a map of all the Starbucks in Berlin and that is why she is one of my best friends!  It took us 45 minutes to get there, but walking through the beautiful streets of Berlin, I didn't mind.  On our walk to we walked through beautiful Tiergarten located in the centre of Berlin, passed by the historic Reichstag, which houses the German federal parliament, making our way to Brandenburger Gate, which is were the Berlin wall once used to be.  A 3.5 meter high and 3 meter thick wall that separated east Berlin from West Berlin, which was finally torn down on November 9th, 1989.  Being immersed in such a historical country is amazing, everywhere you turn there is a story!
We then took the train (S-bahn U-bahn) to the electronics store to find a sim card for my phone, HA, we still haven't figured out how to use it outside the apartment, all in due time.  And then we headed over to Kristina's Mother-In-Law's house for some coffee and to pick up a bike.  As you can see from the above pictures, bike riding didn't go to well for me!  I begged and pleaded with Kristina and told her I didn't know how to ride a bike, but she didn't believe and no one does. EVER.  So now, I hold this picture as proof, that I cannot ride a bike.  After the wonderful bike ride we came home and napped.  Now I keep saying that I'm not jet lagged and that I would be tired even if I was home but I think I have to face the truth that it is indeed jet lag.  I am tired.  When 2pm hits here I'm exhausted and it takes all my being to keep on going, so taking a nap helps and then I sleep through the night.  Only a few more days and I think I will have it covered.

Day 2:

Today we went shopping and man did we shop, 6 hours had come and gone before we made our way home!  It's 6pm here and it feels like midnight, but I think because I didn't take a nap I am even more exhausted.  Or it could be after a full day of walking everywhere we had to climb up 5 flights of stairs to get home.  That's right, Kristina's apartment doesn't have an elevator, so each day we climb 5 flights of daunting stairs!  A good cardio workout for the day!  In a city so rich in history I am definitely getting my exercise in with all the walking we do!
It is definitely a different world over here and I must say that Canadians really, truly are the friendliest people because a lot of the people here are rude.  They stare you up and down when you walk by, they don't help you in the stores, and most, when asked a question sigh as if it's a huge inconvenience, this makes me miss home.  I like friendly people and I am scared to think what the rest of my trip will be like in terms of friendliness as I have heard Paris isn't too friendly either.  Oh well kindness doesn't hurt me so I will be as kind as possible.  AND BONUS, Konrad speaks French so I don't need to worry about butchering the French language in France

Tomorrow we are off to conquer the multiple lists Kristina has going for us and visit the East-Side Gallery, so stay tuned my friends!

Haben Sie einen großen Tag meine Freunde
(Have a great day my friends)