Berlin for Beginners - by Leia (Day 1)

Our journey to the most awesome city in the world started at our humble residence in Haifa. We packed most of the stuff on the last day and we felt a little tired and rushed; the El Al website giving us problems checking in also didn't help. I (Leia) tried to catch some zz before the shuttle came and to our luck Guy woke me up 5 whole minutes before the shuttle was at our door.

The shuttle ride went smoothly, we arrived at the airport quite early and waited in line for the pre-flight questionnaire. The people behind us were super annoying middle aged Arsim who were standing too close, and I mean way way too close to us, have they ever heard of personal space? We again bought a lot of overpriced candy in the duty free, half of which we took with us to Germany. Also, some old marketing trick got Guy to buy more booze, by getting him drunk off of free samples. Guy spent some time in the Dan lounge while I shopped for a computer mouse. Guy wants to say the Dan lounge sucks, so there.

We slept even before taking off; our flight was delayed by an hour or so while we were in our seats on the plane. It wasn't completely full and there was no outbreak after the announcement regarding the delay (the late hour got to the Israelis). The movie I watched in flight was Snow White (with Julia Roberts), which was surprisingly nice. When we landed Guy was shocked that Schonefeld airport is so tiny and old. We bought a 5 day Berlin transport ticket including some attractions discounts.

On our way to the hotel, we found out that packing the really huge suitcase was a mistake, it was very bulky to carry around and we both had a hard time carrying luggage up the stairs on the U Bahn. We got to our hotel, which is a very nice one, especially for the price. Too bad there is no free wifi, and the "internet corner" is complete with 2 crappy terminals running IE 5, along with a German keyboard (let's see how fast you find the Y) Anyway, we checked in right away and put our computers into the safe in the lobby, because there is none in the room.

We didn't wait much longer before heading to the Reichstag, where we had reserved a spot in the observatory. On our way we bought bubble tea and raspberries, which were both a big hit with us. I somehow managed to forget my passport in the hotel, so that caused me mild hysteria, but that was soon over when we entered the Reichstag where 2 (two!) German (!) guards made jokes at us. We enjoyed the tour of the Reichstag with the audio guide, which explained to us all about the historic buildings we were seeing from the observatory.

The dome of the Reichstag is very impressive and was planned by Norman Foster, the famous british architect. Through the dome you could see the city, and if you look down you can see the seats of the German parliament through a clear glass ceiling.

After we were done viewing the city from above, we went to Pariser Platz and Brandenburger Tor. I decided Guy needed to see the monuments of the city, since it was his first time there. So after Guy saw some of Berlin from up close, we went to catch the U to Friedrichstr. where we wanted to check out some steak restaurant, but it was closed. In order to even find it we first wandered along a shady boulevard by the Spree and then asked directions. We went from there to Oranienburgerst. to look for the bar that serves 100 beers, which was also recommended online.

We enjoyed the walk on the streets of Berlin and when we sat down to eat we were also glad to find there was free wi-fi in the restaurant. We enjoyed a very nice simple lunch accompanied by beers, though not all 100 of them. Later we continued walking along the street passing by the old Synagogue and stopped for a short rest in the park on Monbijouplatz. We got to Hackescher Markt and then we took the train to Alexanderplatz (or Alex, as it's called by the locals), to check with the cellular company why they blocked my SIM card. That didn't help, my local SIM is still blocked so we are without a phone or a care.

Guy grew quite hungry, sleepy, and grumpy by that time, so we got him a sushi combination on our way back to the hotel. We ate it in our room, upon which Guy went to sleep (fainted) on the bed, while I tried to use the hotel's internet corner to contact some friends. Then I also gave in to my fatigue and joined Guy in the room.

Guy says: I passed out at about 1900, 25 hours after leaving work the previous day and 36 since I had slept in a bed. Leia was in denial about her tiredness and joined me around 2100, and then slept for 12 hours. She is a great tour guide and it was a fun first day here. I enjoyed seeing the sights in the city center, or Mitte.