The trip started in Copenhagen with my mother (and you all now know how well that went). We then proceeded together to Berlin where we literally walked ourselves to exhaustion. A four hour walking tour trying to sum up the entire last century of Germany and Berlin history (which is impossible, even the last sixty years could fill a library). We saw the East Berlin Wall, the waterfront, the Turkish market, some of the old areas that were bombed, the remaining Berlin wall, the Soviet headquarters, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's bunker some other things I can't remember.... basically, we saw it all. Our feet can attest to that. We ate incredible food (none of which was traditional cuisine which consisted primarily of some unknown meat, covered in some unknown sauce, with a vegetable of some sort that lost all of its nutritional value when they doused it in butter and fat). We stayed in West Berlin which was surprisingly quaint, much like London and really came to love the area. We also discovered that Berlin is not a pretty city, it is not the kind of city that you go to and fall in love with the architecture and beauty of the city. It's ugly. Mainly because it was bombed to bits, rebuilt mainly in the 1950's and 1960's (an area not know for their aesthetics or quality architectural design), and the Soviets had a big say in what it looked like. But it is a city with more history than one can begin to imagine, although the ghost of Hitler and the shadow of the Holocaust remain ingrained in the city, a constant reminder of the horror and a feeling of persistent unease. We visited the Holocaust Memorial and Museum, an incredible and powerful remembrance site. We also saw Sachsenhausen, the concentration camp outside Berlin, which was a sobering experience, although too touched by tourism in my opinion, loosing some of its value and experience.
Prague was a far, far more beautiful city. The architecture was beyond incredible, anywhere you looked was amazing. The gardens were beautiful and the food was better than the Germans (although still doused in unknown sauces). Prague was overwhelmed with tourists to the point of nauseau and we found the best parts of the city at the end. But the city was great, the hot wine was not and the astronomical clock was a hilarious disappointment and there were far too many laughs to recount.
Then came Greece, quite possibly the best place I've been in Europe thus far (also the warmest, the longest time spent there, and cheap- those may be contributing factors in that statement). We started in Athens on their labor day, which happens to be the one day a year when all the ancient sites are free. So we saw the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, all the of ruins for free. They were incredible to see, their age alone is astounding not to mention we could literally touch the work of one of the greatest civilizations in the history of mankind. The next day was the best though. We hiked to the top of the biggest hill in Athens and had a 360 degree view of the city. Then we ventured through the gardens of the ancient Agora (the ancient city centre in Greece) enjoying the olive trees, fresh flowers, and beautiful scenery. We went to the local market after that, which included the fish market- a very, very bad idea for me. For you see I am scared of fish- terrified may be a better word- to the point of absurdity. I don't touch fish, I don't look at fish, I especially don't interact with them (I do eat them, maybe as a means of revenge, may because they taste good). This fish market required I not only look at them, but I jump over the dead one's flopping on the ground beneath my feet. I was touched by them as men passing by hit me with their flopping, sliming fish. I came out of the fish market (barely) alive, with sardines stuck on my flips flops and one of the more disturbing experiences of my trip. Really, though, I showered twice.
I cant finish my trip as I dont have time today (school is always getting in the way), but Santorini is still to come...
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