Germany

Germany. The third stop of my Euro-trip after Denmark and Sweden. Few weeks prior to this trip I saw the film Goodbye Lenin and it gave me, in one way or another, an idea on what to expect in Germany. Before arranging my trip to Germany, I contacted Hinghoi, my former officemate in Thailand, who is currently assigned in Germany to be my tour-guide of sort during my 3-day stay.

From Copenhagen, I took the train / ferry (which I didn’t know at first) directly to Hamburg. I reached Germany around 1200H, 6-hour later than her arrival time. We had a quick lunch at the station, went directly to the hostel, left our bags and surveyed the area around Außenalster or Outer Alster Lake with maps in hands. Another chapter of walkathon series commenced.

The hostel is located at the heart of Hamburg so it was all walk for us. Since I only had a limited time in Germany, we hurried from one place to another. Oh shoot, I can't even remember the names of these places. I tried googling it but to no avail, and I am getting impatient already. This is the problem when you write a travel blog one month later. There was an ongoing exhibit dedicated to Japan - and yes, it caught me by surprised. Being in Japan during the March 11 earthquake, the showcase was somewhat directed to me. Arigatou! (ETA: This is the Hamburg Rathaus, thanks Hinghoi!)

Just a few steps from Rathaus, was Alsterarkaden. I think this is one of the popular tourist attractions in Hamburg. We spent couple of good minutes here. At first glance, it looked ordinary but the longer you stay, the more you appreciate its cinematic asset.

Wanting to relax our legs, we joined the Hamburg tour on the Port of Hamburg. It was a good way to end the day, but I was a bit disappointed with the tour itself. I was expecting to see something exciting but nothing showed up.

I can't remember the detailed activities we did on our 2nd day in Hamburg but I knew we went back to the Port of Hamburg and walked around the area. Actually our second day was more of a recap on what had happened the day before. Fast forward to Berlin, Germany.

First stop was at Brandenburg Gate. There were lots of tourists on the entrance since the other side of the gate was restricted during that day. The marshals informed us that the pope was visiting Berlin thus the tightened security. Reichstag was off-limits too. Since I only have approximately 8 hours in Berlin, we hurried to the Berlin Cathedral after having glimpses of Neue Wache, Konzerthaus Berlin and Fernsehturm Berlin.

bound by an hourglass

breezed through while sprinting on air

fading speed of sounds

How I wish I had enough time in Berlin or should have stayed 2 days in Berlin and 1 day in Hamburg. Maybe next time. As we sprinted against time, we found ourselves in Berlin Wall. These graffitis are very symbolic and each part of the wall has something to say. I think everyone is familiar with the history of Berlin Wall.

I promised myself to go back to Berlin. I believe there's still a lot to see and in case I'm already done with Berlin, I still have the other parts of Germany to explore. That day was very hectic that I almost forgot to pee. In Europe, a quick comfort costs a euro, be sure to have one in your pocket. Always.

That was exhausting! Yes, even in writing. Whew!

Danke!

/totomai
11/13/2011