BERLIN - Part 1

Days 45&46 – In the ‘Mitte’ of something

The drive into Berlin was a strange one. We were expecting the kind of mania you get when you combine a capital city, with the populous and traffic congestion. We, however, had a long, gentle drive down a long straight road into the laid back capital and all of a sudden reached our destination (so the tomtom kindly informed us).

So we were in Berlin and we were relaxed. Our hostel for the first few nights was Mittes Backpacker Hostel (Mitte being the central district of Berlin, not the person who owned it). This hostel was in, what appeared to be, an old factory building. The reception was on the second floor and our room was five floors up from that. We were staying in a 32 bed loft conversion in the sky. It was slightly unusual, but comfy enough with some single beds to sleep in.

So we were settled in one of Europe’s most exciting cities and we would have been ready to hit the town but we both stank; having done four nights in the van. Up to this point, our personal hygiene left something to be desired. So Phil dived in the shower and Toj took the opportunity to go and have his hair cut. When Toj returned it appeared he had been involved in a very literal close shave with a Turkish Barber. Toj having never studied German, or Turkish for that matter, had a slight language misunderstanding with his basic phrasebook German.

So after Phil recovered from the shock of seeing Toj and him recovered from seeing himself, we were ready to hit Berlin. A good walk took us into the Prenzlauer Berg district and after a bit of searching we found a busy bar with young scruffy looking people like ourselves.

It is amazing how easy it is to meet people just by sitting in a bar and speaking English. We did and three people appeared over our shoulders exclaiming “You speak English? What are you doing here? Where are you from?” All questions came from all three people and we were ever so slightly overwhelmed. However we battled our way through this inquisitive Labyrinth … “Yes, Travelling, England”. Out of politeness we reciprocated the questioning. They were Swedish art students on a college trip. It was their last night and we were happy to ride on the coat tails of what turned out to be an entire class full and their German guide.

So we had a few drinks and headed into the maze of Berlin’s streets to find another bar, which was open to the early hours. Having no knowledge of Berlin’s geography didn’t trouble us at this moment; we were riding a wave of adrenalin fuelled by the sense of adventure. When we arrived at a surreal place. The dirty, battered doors opened to revel: red lights, some very retro furniture, the last song with a woman with an accordion and a collection of people of all ages and nationalities.

At this point it was about one o’clock and seemed like the party was just getting started. So we immersed ourselves in the atmosphere and the German beer. Therefore the moment we left this mystical place, stepping out onto the street, breathing the air and muttering the immortal words “so how do we get home?” The answer to this question is, not easily, but the ingenious use of the bus stop maps, some kind of a German man and an hour of perseverance – we made it!

Kebabs, Punks & Bears

For obvious reasons the following days were spent physically and mentally orientating ourselves. Berlin is a city that is physically, culturally and historically unique. It is an impossibility to understand this place fully. The best you can hope for is to be able to navigate around it and even that can take a while.

In the first few days some of Berlin’s quirks become quickly apparent, the heavier historical facts took longer to digest. As always with us the first issue is to do with food. Berlin and Berliners love the kebab. It comes in all shapes and sizes and you can get it on, what feels like, every street corner. Apparently, in Berlin alone, 40,000 Kg of doner kebab meat is consumed a day. Not surprising with a large Turkish population and around 1,500 kebab vendors. What is really amazing for a young Englishman is that it is socially acceptable to eat a kebab at any time of day. It is not just reserved for the drunken stumble home. The best thing for two travellers on a budget is that these kebabs are good and they are cheap. Because of this, this fine example of Berlin cuisine quickly became a staple meal for us. We now crave a Berlin kebab! Oh no!

Walking through the streets there are other things that stand out, namely punks and bears. It is difficult to walk down the street without seeing one or the other. The punks are fairly loud, fairly drunk and fairly harmless. It is one of those subcultures that displays itself publicly, showing a sense of community that doesn’t relate to a location but a way of living. It is quite refreshing to see that this still exists. Moving onto the Bears, these are quieter, even more harmless and always more sober than the punks. In fact the bear is the city’s representative animal and dotted around are many decorative statutes (similar to the cow parade we had in Manchester not so long ago, but there permanently). Actually the bears themselves are attractive but not that exciting. What is amazing is the things people are prepared to do to these statues for that perfect Kodak moment. You can walk around and see these bears hugged, harassed, talked to and included in family photos; it is one of the many bizarre sites to be seen on Berlin’s streets.

Now to deal with some of that history. On our first exploration of Berlin’s Museum Insel we witnessed a large building being torn down, piece by piece, before our very eyes. This building was The People’s Palace from the German Democratic Republic. A building designed to be the focal point of cultural activity in East Berlin and perhaps East Germany as a whole.
There is no doubt that this concrete reminder of a Communist past must have stuck out like a sore thumb, amongst the other grand, Baroque style buildings that dominate this area. From the information we were given, it would also seem that this building had fallen into disuse and disrepair since the fall of the Berlin Wall merely 18 years ago. Therefore there is a definite necessity to ‘do something about’ this building. The demolition we observed throughout our time in Berlin was uneasy. There were no big explosions to witness, just the sight of them literally tearing the building to pieces with pincers due to the paranoid way the concrete had been reinforced.

After many years of debate about what to do with this space, the decision has been made to build a replica of the old royal place (which once stood in the same spot pre WWII) from the outside which will house another cultural centre for a unified Berlin & Germany. A German lady spoke to Phil about the reconstructive options at the site and expressed how she thought the German people would prefer something beautiful to look at and an old royal palace will be more beautiful than any communist or new structure could ever be.

Days 47-51 – THIS IS THE GENERATOR

After three nights at Mittes we decided (for financial reasons and itchy feet) to change hostels for the weekend. So we went to the Generator. This hostel was on the South East side of the city, on another giant road filled with giant buildings. Phil didn’t have any kind words to say about The Generator. The kindest words he used were ‘sterile’ and ‘functional’. In its defence it was only 9 euros a night, the beds were pre-made with free sheets and a feast of breakfast included. In fact the breakfast was the best thing Generator had to offer. Toj still talk about the porridge and fresh bread rolls with apricot jam. You could always take meat and cheese sandwiches for lunch as well.

Essentially the place was a beast. It climbed higher than the Tower of Babel and sunk lower than the sulphurous pits of hell (Phil’s words again, think they’re getting the idea pal). It’s true, souls could get lost in here and some people looked like they’d been there for an eternity.

During our time there we did take the opportunity to see another side of the city. Undoubtedly one of the most interesting and poignant things we saw here was The East Side Gallery. This is the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall, which was decorated with the work of famous international artists immediately after The Wall came down. This is another example of Berlin architecture in change. This section of wall has weathered and been defaced and now they are planning to have it repainted by the original artists to return it to how it was in 1990. It will then be replace under monumental protection.

There were two other features of our stay at Generator that are really worth mentioning. We found the best kebab shop ever on the doorstep. Not only could you get a great durum kebab, but also half a rotisserie chicken with chips and salad for only 5 euros! So we ate like kings many a night. Secondly Generator had planned nights of entertainment from DVD screenings to Karaoke. One karaoke night a group of ten German lads gave the best version of Country Roads ever. It was both painful and hilarious.

Travelled = 1,743 Miles