(no subject)
It's official: Berlin is awesome!
I just spent three days in der Hauptstadt des Deutschland and loved it. It was the first time I used couchsurfing to stay somewhere, too. I crashed at an apartment with a couple, who were already hosting a group of Americans and an Australian guy who were all very cool to hang out with and spend time with. The couple who hosted me were very interesting and opened me up to some new experiences, to say the least.
The days in Berlin were mostly spent around different parts of the city - a little bit of time spent right in the middle with all the old architecture and so on which was nice, but most of the time was spent taking a U-Bahn or an S-Bahn to a random stop somewhere in the city and getting out and wandering. This was actually a great way of exploring the city and seeing what it has to offer, and I saw so many interesting places, shops, cafes, exhibitions and more. There's a hell of a lot of crazy art and design business there, and there is a huge alternative culture no matter what you're into. It's the only place I thought graffiti really added character to a city rather than just making it look run down and shitty. Chatting to random people around Berlin and travelling to the north, west, east and south was all a great experience and I was pretty sad to see it go, to be honest. In all honesty I'd be more than content living there, even though the idea of a huge city never appealed to me very much (and it is bloody HUGE).
I'm glad to have seen so much variety in the city, and especially to have avoided the touristy areas, save for one trip walking through Stadtmitte. The help of a friend who'd lived there telling me places I would have never, ever seen or thought to go to was also a big benefit. I saw one alternative design book/music/art store which I couldn't help but think of as Nathan Barley: The Shop. Seeing something so unique was something to remember, though.
And now I'm back here. Coming up next Monday: Croatia! My birthday was recently (thanks to the facebook message-leavers) and my Dad and grandparents put together some money for an all-you-can-fly ticket I also did last autumn, so I'll be having much more cheap travels until the end of next month. I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me!
I just spent three days in der Hauptstadt des Deutschland and loved it. It was the first time I used couchsurfing to stay somewhere, too. I crashed at an apartment with a couple, who were already hosting a group of Americans and an Australian guy who were all very cool to hang out with and spend time with. The couple who hosted me were very interesting and opened me up to some new experiences, to say the least.
The days in Berlin were mostly spent around different parts of the city - a little bit of time spent right in the middle with all the old architecture and so on which was nice, but most of the time was spent taking a U-Bahn or an S-Bahn to a random stop somewhere in the city and getting out and wandering. This was actually a great way of exploring the city and seeing what it has to offer, and I saw so many interesting places, shops, cafes, exhibitions and more. There's a hell of a lot of crazy art and design business there, and there is a huge alternative culture no matter what you're into. It's the only place I thought graffiti really added character to a city rather than just making it look run down and shitty. Chatting to random people around Berlin and travelling to the north, west, east and south was all a great experience and I was pretty sad to see it go, to be honest. In all honesty I'd be more than content living there, even though the idea of a huge city never appealed to me very much (and it is bloody HUGE).
I'm glad to have seen so much variety in the city, and especially to have avoided the touristy areas, save for one trip walking through Stadtmitte. The help of a friend who'd lived there telling me places I would have never, ever seen or thought to go to was also a big benefit. I saw one alternative design book/music/art store which I couldn't help but think of as Nathan Barley: The Shop. Seeing something so unique was something to remember, though.
And now I'm back here. Coming up next Monday: Croatia! My birthday was recently (thanks to the facebook message-leavers) and my Dad and grandparents put together some money for an all-you-can-fly ticket I also did last autumn, so I'll be having much more cheap travels until the end of next month. I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me!