Hamburg

March 30:

Tonight is our last night in Hamburg. We only booked for the two nights and two nights isn’t very much time with all the energy you expend traveling and trying to plan where to go next. We did get out though. We were hungry when we got going and wandered a bit and eventually found a place called the Batman Restaurant that we had heard about on wikivoyage and had good kebabs. We had went to a supermarket before lunch and picked up some baby powder for our boots as well as some wine. I was able to find a Riesling on sale for a euro so I bought it up. After our lunch we headed back to the room and threw on some tv as we sipped the delicious German wine. Wine and tv done we got to planning the rest of our time in Europe. We found a cheap flight on April seventh from Berlin to Athens. This is the same day the rail pass expires and became the focal point of our planning. Tomorrow was a Sunday and Munich was still pretty booked from Easter so we decided to take the night train tomorrow night from Hamburg to Munich. Spend four nights in Munich before heading back to Berlin for two nights before our early morning flight to Athens. We booked the flight and then headed to the train station to book the train. There were no more sleeper seats available but we were able to get beds in a six-person car for only twenty euros each. After booking the train tickets we decided to walk around Munich for a bit. It’s a pretty cool city and we walked through some of its parks and by the lake.

After that we were getting tired and headed back to the room to relax for a while. We eventually got up to get food and ended up walking around a fair bit before heading back to the train station for McDonalds cause it was getting late and it was the only thing open. Then it was home and to bed.

To Hamburg

March 29:

So last night we decided to go to Munich but when we woke this morning to book the hostel we realized that there were no available hostels in Munich due to it being Easter Weekend. So after a bit of deliberation we decided to go to Hamburg for a few nights then head somewhere else before catching a plane to a warmer climate. Zak was leaving for Copenhagen that day and Hamburg is on the way. After getting to the train station we chilled and got food and coffee while waiting for the train. I had currywurst, a German dish consisting of a cut up bratwurst covered in ketchup with curry powder sprinkled on it. Needless to say, it isn’t amazing. We got on the train and found a cabin that had room for the 3 of us but soon a group of 5 came with reservations. Apparently the train gets super filled and we ended up sitting in fold down seats built into the isle wall. It was as comfortable as it sounded and by the end of our two-ish hour train ride I was standing and reading to give my bottom a rest from the pain of sitting. Once at the station in Hamburg we went in search of free wifi because I was having trouble booking the hostel and had gotten pat to book it and because of this neither of us had thought to pull up the directions to get there. Once we found internet in a café just outside the station we realized the hostel, The Generator, was just on the other side of the train station. We checked in with out issue and soon headed back to the train station food court for some dinner. We wandered for a bit after eating but quickly called it an early night. 

Two Months Gone

March 28:

I write now to commemorate the anniversary of leaving Canada. I left the country two months ago and have loved every day I have spent off exploring Europe.

Today we slept in… Late. We only got moving around 2:30pm and when we did we got food at the hostel restaurant. Once we ate we set about seeing what we wanted to do with our remaining day. Turns out the Berlin Technology Museum was just down the street from us so we went there and spent a few hours running around looking at trains, planes and ships. After that we headed back to the hostel to rest from our busy day. Zak’s friend was meeting some people for drinks that night to celebrate her birthday so that was our only plan. That night we met some people at the bar and had a few drinks but when they decided to go to a club Pat and I called it a night. We went to get more of the amazing garden salad and goat cheese kebabs then headed to bed. 

And here for your viewing pleasure is a uniquely german way of towing a car:

Deutsches Historisches Museum

March 27:

We got up early today because the hostel required us to switch rooms. We were thus out of our room at 11am and told we could get our new room around 3pm. Out on the street with our bags safely secured we again headed north to see the sights. We took a different route this time and were able to see many cool buildings. This time I remembered to bring my camera with me. Seeing Berlin in all its glory on this beautiful sunny day reminded me why Berlin was my favorite city last time I was here. It is architecturally gorgeous in a way unlike any other European city because so much of it was destroyed in the war that it has new radical buildings all over the place. We walked up to the Brandenburg Gate then over to Museum Island, stopping on the way for schnitzel and Starbucks. Upon getting to the island we wandered around taking in the beautiful buildings. I really didn’t want to see any more ancient Greek or Egyptian artifacts because we had seen so many already at the Louvre and the Vatican so we headed to the Deutsches Historisches Museum, a museum tracing the history of Germany from ancient times to the modern era. It was pretty interesting and had lots of old weapons in it. After seeing the museum we were tired from a long day out and our coffee had thoroughly worn off so we headed back to the hostel to check back in and rest before heading out to get food. We went to the kebab stand we had went to two night prior and the line was really long. I thought we should head back to the hostel and grab something from their restaurant but Pat was convinced it wouldn’t be very long before we got food so we waited. It took us 50 minutes waiting out in the cold but we eventually got our goat cheese garden salad kebabs. Once back in our rooms we ate, watched some tv then headed to bed. 

Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and Holocaust Memorial

March 26:

Today we slept in, which was much needed because Pat is still pretty sick and Zak and I are a bit sick in our own right. Once we got going we decided to walk around and take in the sights.

We walked north to the Topography of Terror museum, located right by a section of the Berlin Wall. The Museum was free to enter, a good thing because we left before too long due to hunger since we had not yet eaten today.

Vowing to come back we wandered off in search of food. Food obtained we realized we were really close to the Brandenburg Gate.

We walked to it through the beautiful embassy district and I am sorry to say I didn’t bring my camera. We then continued on to the Reichstag, the German parliament buildings, which are huge, imposing and supposedly the most eco-friendly in the world.

After an undue amount of searching we found the Holocaust Memorial even through it is almost directly beside the Gate.

We walked through it but since it is constructed of larch rectangular stone pillars the spaces between them didn’t get much sun and were really icy.

I fell on my bum at one uncontrolled slip and sent a rather strong jolt up to my head. With myself partially injured and the hour getting late due to our poor map skills we headed back to the hostel. Later we went out for pizza before heading to sleep.