World Cup 2006 Berlin

Berlin is a phenomenally wonderful city and is worth a stop no matter where you are headed while in Germany. With the Berlin Wall Museum, Brandenburg Gate, Tiergarten, the multiple government buildings and a city fueled by artistry, how can it not be amazing.

Quick Tips:

The most important thing to do while in Berlin has to do with the subway. Although there is never anyone checking your tickets when you enter the train, plain clothed officers walk by and check tickets and if you are without one, expect a 200 euro fine. It's not worth it, so always buy a ticket.

Best Way To Get Around:

Berlin has a great subway system and can get you anywhere within a matter of minutes, just make sure you go the right way.

On my last night in Berlin, my friends and I decided to take our hosts out for a nice dinner, since we were allowed to stay at their house during the World Cup, free of charge. the place that we decided on was the Restaurant Maxwell (www.mxwl.de/maxwell_gb.htm) would be the best place.

Luckily, that evening, there was on one really at the restaurant, so the 10 of us asked for a table outside in the courtyard. Now, this place is the remnants of an old brewery that has been converted into a fancy, out of this world restaurant. When our table was finally set with its fine white linens and multiple pieces of silverware, we were off. The first order of business was the wine. Now this place has such an extensive wine list that it is amazing. We started with one bottle of white and one of red (very reminiscent of a Billy Joel song).

As we perused the menu, which was way out of our leagues in the money department, we figured, why the hell not? We are on vacation and how often can you splurge in Berlin?

I started my meal with the Spring salad with fried leeks and almonds and dates wrapped in bacon. It was unbelievable! My next course was to die for; the Guinea Fowl Breast stuffed with Shiitake mushrooms over vegetables. Amazing! Everyone got something different but this was awesome.

As the night ran down and the tally of wine bottles increased, we realized that it was time to go. With our bill only hitting 350 euros (not bad for 10 people with apps and entrees and multiple bottles of wine) we let the dent hit the wallets and moved on down to the late night festivities that Berlin has to offer. But if you are in Berlin, try to make a stop here, its amazing and worth every euro.

I, for the life of me, cannot remember the name of the company that took us out on our bar crawl, but I do know that there were a bunch of them in Berlin and they all do the same things, relatively speaking. When we exited the subway and made our way towards the nightlife that the Mitte (literally meaning the middle of Berlin- where East meets West), there was a gigantic sign being held up announcing the bar crawl. It was 20 euros for a night of balls to the walls drinking.

The first place that we started gave you a shot with every drink you ordered (yeah, that’s right; you paid for your own drinks after paying a cover charge). After an hour or so, a whistle was blown and our drunken army gathered its forces and marched on to the next battle. But troops need provisions, so our bar crawl hosts along the way provided everyone with shots of vodka.

This bar was the coolest thing that I have ever seen; it was an artist colony with indoor and outdoor bars all throughout. Outside, a Fidel Castro look-a-like sang old blues songs in English while adoring fans sat on giant metal letters in the sand that were acting like benches. There was also a bar with a TV proudly displaying the World Cup matches and beers flowing as if the river itself were made of beer and now had overflowed. Inside, there were different floors that housed artists (like an apartment building) but you could walk in and out of rooms seeing what people had created. If you wanted you could purchase things, or just keep walking. On every other floor, a bar was situated overlooking the outdoor area and seeing the letters in the sand and hearing the band. There was also a strong odor of pot on every floor, and it got stronger the higher you went.

Then the bell rang and off we were again to our next destination. And along the way, the vodka flowed as if it were the elixir of life. When we got to the final destination, this bar seemed a bit fancy for our crowd. The entire bar was painted in a gold color with the room to match and the bartenders seemed thoroughly unprepared for the mayhem that was happening.

So, while you are in Berlin, head to the Mitte and experience a taste of the new bohemian area through its lively bars and crazy inhabitants and of course, through its drinks. Enjoy. Danka!

While I was staying in the Eastern part of Berlin, my host felt in was necessary to visit the Berlin Wall Museum, and he couldn't have been more right. The remnants of the Wall are everywhere, with a brick path running throughout the city, showing where the wall once stood. I even believe that there is a Wall tour that follows the path, through Check Point Charlie and all around the city. But, back to the museum. We walked from where we were staying in East Berlin to the museum, and we got there, we were exhausted. When we entered, I believed we only paid a couple of euros and were immediately awe-struck by this place. The museum is multi-leveled, and you start from the bottom and work your way up. The first room consisted of videos of the Wall and people trying to get over it and not usually succeeding, the timeline of the Wall and the basic history of it.

As we ascended, the information, as hard to stomach as it was, was extremely detailed. When we reached the top floor, there was an observation deck that looks out over one of the still existing portions of the Wall and one of the old towers that overlooked everything. It was nothing less than surreal to see this sight of what Berlin used to be like when it was war torn. So, while in Berlin, I would highly suggest this museum just for the sheer fact that it is an amazing sight to see. And, if you can, try to take the Wall walking tour. I truly regret not doing it, but have heard that it is unbelievable.

I was lucky enough this past summer to experience a phenomenon that most American’s have never been privy to experience. And that was visiting a World Cup Soccer host country during the games while the host country was playing and doing well. I was working in Queens when a friend of mine said that her and two other girls were travelling to Berlin and wanted a guy to travel with them and asked me to go. Of course I jumped at the chance to head to a far off land that I had never been to. They were going for two weeks but it being Berlin during the World Cup, all hostels were booked years in advance, so we seemed shit out of luck. But the girl who asked me to go had a trick up here her sleeve. Her brother was living in old East Berlin for the summer and had a floor with our names on it, free of charge. AWESOME!

But the planning duties of the actual travel arrangements were left up to me. And they weren’t cheap then. So we split the actual air route into two destinations. Sometimes it's cheaper to fly Aer Lingus through Dublin and then on to further eastern destinations. Aer Lingus or RyanAir have good deals from Dublin to other European destinations, so I figured that this would be a good idea. The cost wasn’t too bad (about $750 round trip to Dublin from JFK and then round trip from Dublin to Berlin) considering the time we booked it (early May for a June departure) and that we were heading to multiple destinations. I have one piece of very useful information if you are a female travelling abroad and have never done so before. Try to only pack one or two bags and make sure that they can be carried on your back and not rolled. The girls I was travelling with didn’t take this piece of advice to heart and ending up loosing their luggage for a couple of days. Also, when we got to Dublin for a two-day relaxation drinking fest, they had troubles trekking their bag village with them. So, pack lightly, there are Laundromats in Europe and other destinations around the world.

So, back to our trip. When we got to Berlin, we dropped our bags and got ready for the first Germany match. They were playing Ecuador in Berlin that day and we needed to get prepared. Whiskey bottles were opened, beers were passed, absinthe was consumed and faces were painted in representation of our host. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get tickets to the actual game because they were just too expensive, but right in the heart of Berlin near Brandenburg Gate there is a place called the Tiergarten. This is a giant park that is most likely the equivalent to the length of two American football fields. In the park, they had set up giant TV screens to showcase the match to the rest of the world that couldn’t flock to the mayhem that was the soccer stadium. This is where the magic really happened. People were scattered about like snowflakes during a blizzard. At every turn, there was a person, must considerably drunk and all were screaming. There were bathrooms off to the corners of the park, but the lines for that were very reminiscent of the DMV. So, off to the woods. People were scampering off as if the woods contained some magic money making tree, with people declaring a tree as their own for the day. Randomly, people would pop out from the brush around these trees with a face of bliss that just gave a great feeling that defined the surrounding area.

Luckily, when we were in Berlin, Germany was wining the matches that we were lucky enough to catch. And with each goal, a thunderous roar exploded through the park, shaking our very foundation enough to convince us that there were earthquakes perfectly timed with every German goal. After the game was over (Germany winning 3-1 over Ecuador) we headed to the Jewish Memorial which is an architecturally creative group of monuments. It is a cool sight to see at night because it is quiet and you can easily get lost but so enthralling. There are large marble tomb-like slabs scattered in perfect rows around an open park. We then decided to head home, sober up a bit and head back to the center of the city for a walking tour at night. We started at Brandenburg Gate then headed over to Berliner Dome and then down to the Potsdamer Platz.

Along the river, as we were observing the city, we noticed that the government buildings were symmetrically aligned with one another while the river sliced through the groupings of buildings. This city is an architect’s dream city because everything is new and creative. The TV in the center of the old east city was transformed to look like a soccer ball for the World Cup. In front of Brandenburg Gate, a gigantic illuminating soccer ball that you could actually walk in to, go up two flights inside and learn the history of the World Cup of Soccer. Random Stages were set up all over the city that had musicians and the like performing throughout the day and even in the evening.

The next day, we awoke and went to explore the remains of the Berlin Wall and the Checkpoint Charlie’s (Death Strips). These Death Strips were areas over the once existing wall that if someone jumped these tower (Checkpoint Charlie) guards would shoot the fleeing German. The Berlin Wall Museum is a gut wrenching place to visit because it is very descriptive and informative. Then we made our way over to the Jewish Museum, which is complied of the strangest architecture one has ever seen. With uneven floors and gaping holes in the walls acting as windows, it is the strangest place I have ever set foot in. But a great experience. Then, finally, after a day of culture, we needed to unwind, so we headed off to the public pool on the cusp of the old East and West cities in the park. The pool is great because it is cheap and has a kick ass slide. So worth the trip. Enough said.

The following we left Berlin and headed off to other destinations, but if you have a chance, HEAD TO BERLIN! It is a city that embraces its artists and encourages their creative muscles. Also, go to the World Cup (www.fifa.com) in South Africa in 2010. It is going to be amazing.