Possibly the quickest we’ve gone from deciding to go away to going away. My companion’s best mate was working in East Germany, so we used this as an opportunity to do some exploring.
Landing at Schönefeld and groggily making our way to the station, we must have looked completely baffled, as a friendly local piped up with an offer of assistance when she found us staring blankly at a ticket machine. She told us what tickets to get, which train to catch and what stop to get off at. She even offered to walk us to our hotel. Not once did I find this suspicious or anything other than charming. However, if someone had approached me like this back in England I probably would’ve run a mile. We just don’t help each other like that. During the journey we swapped stories (she was half English, half German and split her time between Berlin and Mansfield where her boyfriend lives) and she gave some recommendations of places to see. I even managed some football banter, but as she was a Man U fan and this was the season of Moyes-content, it was all to easy. Never did get her name, but thank you, whoever you were.
We only spent around 48 hours in Berlin, which wasn’t nearly enough, but we managed to cram a Greatest Hits tour into that short spell. The first afternoon was spent wandering around Tiergarten, including a walk up the Siegessäule (Victory Column). The park was full of hidden paths and lakes. I imagine it’s beautiful in the summer, a shame we had only an hour to spend there on the edge of rainy season. Then we walked up to the Brandenburg Gate and around the various Holocaust memorials. There was a single daisy left on the gay memorial, which was touching in its simplicity. The Jewish memorial was a maze of undulating pathways and concrete posts. Tourists seemed to be mostly treating it like a maze. I have to admit I found the whole thing emotionally confusing, but I guess it’s meant to stir some kind of reaction from you. Also, I got completely separated and lost from Angelos. I panicked, with both our phones off, how the hell was I meant to find him? Luckily, being a million feet tall I just stood on high ground and waited for him to find me. In the evening we dined like kings on fish nuggets and cookies in the glass cathedral Hauptbahnhof.
The next day covered much ground. We started at a DDR museum which offered some enlightening views on what life was like on that side of the wall. I tell myself I can remember watching the wall come down on the news, but it’s one of those clips you see so often it could be a fake/Incepted memory. We then walked along the path of the wall past various information points and crumbling remains. Next was the technology museum which was huge and pretty good value for money. Food is always the biggest memory - I had my first Currrywurst here and it was a tasty experience. From there we went to the Miller chocolate factory/cafe/shop for some amazing white chocolate concoction, then to Checkpoint Charlie and a walk around more of the East side of the city.
In the evening we met up with my mate Andy in a sports bar and I spent the night drinking Magners, ordering in English and generally forgetting I was in another country. Several people he introduced me to said they originally came to Berlin for a holiday and then decided not to leave. I can absolutely see why. It’s a fascinating city that probably has the friendliest atmosphere of anywhere I’ve visited in Europe so far. We stumbled home on the last train from Alexandraplatz, far too giddy on too little drink.
We don’t usually drink too much on our holidays. Mainly because our trips usually involve so much walking and general getting around - relaxing and doing nothing isn’t of much interest to my companion. Also, I’m not very good at “just having one drink”, it’s kinda oblivion or nothing. So the next morning was a struggle, even after an OD on Nutella from the breakfast buffet. It was a scorching hot day, and we started by travelling out to the Olympic Stadium, a magnificent structure. Then it felt like we walked the entire length of East Berlin, taking in an uninspiring computer game museum, a large stretch of the Wall and an overpriced model railway. I did spot several locations from Goodbye Lenin which reminded me I really need to watch that film again.
I spent something like three hours on my feet without rest, so I collapsed on the high speed train to Leipzig and slept all the way. Another hour’s journey on a local service and we arrived in Gera, tucked out of the way in Thuringia and not even warranting a mention in any of our guidebooks. We were staying with George, who was grateful for the company and the opportunity to show us round “this fucking village”. It was good timing, they were setting up their annual fair, this year celebrating the city’s 777th anniversary. We ended up in a bar by the station that we would come to know very well, and start drinking a beer I would get to know even better.
Saturday started with a walk up in the hills that held a dense forest that this region is apparently famous for. Then we made our way around around the fair - think an Easter version of a German Christmas market, food and booze everywhere. I had an oversized novelty sausage and spent the day drinking Köstritzer Kellerbier. I’m usually a cider guy, beer has never really interested me that much, but this was gorgeous and way too drinkable. Throughout the day we saw model airplanes in the shape of sheep, a mental marching band and in the evening 777 lanterns were launched down the river. Maybe it was the beer talking, but it looked absolutely beautiful, the flow of the river catching them all in just the right light. Then came what we thought was going to be a hot air balloon launch, but turned out to be one of those things where they all stand there and blast their flame things in time to the music that was pumping out. There was around an hour of this. Still, it was a fantastic day and something we completely would’ve missed if we just stuck to the big cities.
On Sunday we set out to explore the region, first visiting the local capital Erfurt. Another hidden gem off the main tourist trail, it had beautiful ornate streets and an imposing cathedral. There also seemed to be a habit here of knitting covers for lampposts and bollards. Everyone needs a hobby I guess. After spending most of the day here we spent the rest of the evening in nearby Weimar. The very name brought back various history lessons in a tidal wave. On the train there we managed to incur the wrath of the ticket inspector as we were travelling on the wrong sort of train or something. My two companions just spoke very fast Greek at each other until he left us be. Comes in handy. I don’t remember much about Weimar other than eating the most ridiculous over-sized Schnitzel covered in mushrooms, cream and garlic.
Monday and Tuesday were spent taking day trips to Dresden and Leipzig. Dresden was another name that brought back history, and I did feel some weird sensation of guilt walking around the re-built centre and its scorched black bricks. Leipzig was a lot more relaxing and fascinating, with various styles of architecting vying for your attention amongst the former DDR’s charms. There was a Stasi museum that was really fascinating. The bit that really hit home was the feature on a 14 year old boy who was massively critical of the government in a school essay. All of a sudden both his parents and his school were put under pressure to do something about him, and it could have escalated to some tragic end had the wall not come down almost immediately afterwards.
Our last evening in Germany was spent in a quiet cocktail bar. Every day since meeting up with Andy had been spent getting some level of pissed. I didn’t want to leave. And I can’t wait to go back.
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