Tourist Mission to Berlin
Posted
on
on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
by Ryan
After AmsterDamn Am, the rest of the crew went back to the States while the lovely Mrs. Clements and I took a little side trip to Berlin.
Photos by Ryan & Jenna Clements
Captions by Ryan Clements
After AmsterDamn Am, the rest of the crew went back to the States while the lovely Mrs. Clements and I took a little side trip to Berlin. I tried to refrain from using too many "honeymoon pics." What a cool city though! Berlin was entertaining, fun, and relatively inexpensive. I'm definitely going back there.
The train ride from Amsterdam to Berlin was eight long hours, with no air conditioning. It was pretty brutal, but I'm glad we got the experience. 
Berlin's train station was very modern and cool looking. 
Our hotel was cool and modern, too. I asked the clerk, "Do you have A/C?" She replied, "Oh no. We are a green hotel. We do have fans though." I was thinking that it was a nice ceiling fan, but no...it was a $15 oscillating fan like the kind you get at Wal-Mart! 
After dropping off our bags in the room and grabbing some food, we headed out to explore the city. I don't really see how the German dude with the beer goes with "Asian Bistro" on this sign, but go figure. 
Lil' Chubs might grow up to be the next Euro-pro, so look out! 
If you know anything about me, you know that I'm fascinated with motorcycle "clubs." This is a shop that supports the Hells Angels and there were some members hanging out having a cup of coffee out front. I'm sure you realize why this dumb-ass American didn't point the camera at them. 
This is in your standard park with a fountain. They were having record high temperatures, but that doesn't mean I wanted to see this dude's dong! 
Straight tourist shot yo! 
Go ahead, you can do a double-take. We did. 
I'm just joking. I'm down to be your friend. Go ahead, request me. I'll accept immediately. 
There are no silly "no open container" rules on the streets of Berlin. 
This is what Berlin looked like before it got cleaned up. They really like graffiti there. 
I know...it's childish, but I couldn't resist taking the photo. 
Our second day in town we made it over to the Berlin Wall. I didn't realize this thing was originally constructed in 1961. I mean, really...that wasn't ALL that long ago if you think about it. I learned a lot of history that day. 
This church was built as a memorial for the well-known church that got torn down during the presence of the Wall. 
Here's a view from a five-story tower over-looking both the east and west side of the wall. That area in between was "no man's land." It was a place that you didn't want to be caught, especially by the snipers in the tower. You likely wouldn't get out alive if you crossed illegally. 
Walking street to street we ran into this little skate park. It's not rocket science and we don't always need over-vert cradles. Every neighborhood should have one of these. 
Then we ended up at the German History Museum. I dig all motorcycles. This was on display in the section that discussed Hitler's rise to power. 
Just think...this type of Nazi propaganda was posted all over the place during Hitler's reign. 
This is an actual canister of gas that the Nazis used to kill Jews. So gnarly. Before they figured out that this was the stuff they wanted to use, they used to use the exhaust from automobiles. It's hard to believe that humans are capable of such brutality. 
The top of the Holocaust Museum has these crazy pillars everywhere, while the actual Museum is underground. I've been to a few Holocaust museums over the years, with the one in Washington, D.C. being the gnarliest. On my next Euro-trip I'm going to Auschwitz. 
We were only in Berlin for 48 hours...not nearly long enough. Our last night before catching the plane home to Tampa we hung in the Red Light District back in Amsterdam. Yeah baby. 
While waiting at the airport in Amsterdam, I figured I would ask if a First Class upgrade was available. The lady must have thought we were cool or something because they sent both Jenna and I to the front and we got treated like royalty. Not a bad way to end the trip!
Captions by Ryan Clements
After AmsterDamn Am, the rest of the crew went back to the States while the lovely Mrs. Clements and I took a little side trip to Berlin. I tried to refrain from using too many "honeymoon pics." What a cool city though! Berlin was entertaining, fun, and relatively inexpensive. I'm definitely going back there.
