Trip to Berlin

So my friend from Alabama came over last week and we decided to take a weekend trip up to Berlin to check it out since it was on my list of places to see. Ironically, it was actually cheaper to fly to Barcelona, Spain (which is also on my list) and much much warmer... but I guess we just forgot about that. Anyways, after 5 hours on a train from Frankfurt to Berlin we got off and headed towards our hotel and assaulted the first McDonald's we could find... best meal ever. Then we took a little nap and headed out to go check out the nightlife with a group of about 150 Americans... very weird experience being in Germany and not a German in sight.

The next day we woke up and did all of the typical Berlin touristy junk. First we saw the Brandenburg gate and the US Embassy... which we the American people now own our own street in Berlin near the embassy where our tax dollars have paid for them to move it back a hundred meters or so. Then we headed over to the Reichstag with plans to climb to the top and check out the city... unfortunately everyone else in town had the same plan, so we had to wait in line outside for over an hour... luckily it wasn't terribly cold and not raining. By the time we got in and through the security checkpoint and made it to the top the sun was setting... made taking any pictures of the city kinda hard.

From there we headed down to Checkpoint Charlie... on the way we found this super famous chocolate shop with huge replicas of Berlin buildings al in chocolate where we did a little shopping. Then we finally made it to the checkpoint and took a bunch of pictures... wasn't very impressive, just a couple signs and a little wooden building in the middle of the road... but we did see a 'peace' of the wall. By this time we were both starving because we hadn't eaten all day and it was about 6pm, so we grabbed a bratwurst and walked through one of the many Berlin Weinachtmarkts (Christmas Markets)... probably second best meal ever. After that we went home and passed out.

Overall I think Barcelona would have been a better choice... at least for my well being, but Berlin was definitely a fun time... don't know if I'll go back, but I do recommend it for anyone planning a trip to Germany.