I am bad at blogging. It’s been almost a month since my last trip and I will now tell about it. I went to Berlin to visit my friend Nathan and then we went to Prague for 2 days. It was a thoroughly enjoyable time. Berlin was a great city and I managed to see all the important sites. On the first day I just followed Nathan around aimlessly and he directed my attention to buildings of importance and gave interesting facts and figures like all good tour guides should. Ooo we also went to great German Christmas markets. They had so many exciting snacks. Most having to do with sausages but quite a few having to do with candy and sweets which made me happy. Nathan and I both tried our first roasted chestnuts and I have to say I approve and would gladly indulge in such a snack again. The most exciting snack of the day would have to be the fresh waffle with nutella. It was great. You just get to walk around with it on this little cardboard thing and eat it. I ended up with a lot of powder sugar on my scarf but some sacrifices need to me made for delicious things.
We randomly ran into some American- we’ll say “friends” – that Nathan knew at this monument. We ended up meeting them out for a drink that night. The place that we went to was really great. I guess one of the things Berlin is known for is the living room style bars it has. There was a lot of comfy couches and tables and chairs etc. We ate dinner there as well, which was really good. They did this buffet style homemade dinner. It was potato lasagna, which I never had but it was really good. I think I’m going to make my mom attempt that at some point in the future (thanks mom, ahead of time).
The next day we set off for Prague. We did a carpool thing on the way down to Dresden. We went on the autobahn- very fast. It was enjoyable taking a car ride with stranger, in the not being abducted kind of way of course. Everyone spoke German so I just looked out the window and slept, not at the same time though. From Dresden we got a train to Prague. The train was very exciting indeed. We got our own compartment and could even open the windows and stick our heads out. I was thoroughly entertained.
Prague was really good. There were lots of great old things to look at- cathedrals, the astronomical clock, synagogues etc. It was really pretty especially at night. We found this hotel that had a rooftop bar so we snuck up there twice to get wonderful views of the city. They were putting up all their Christmas decorations while we were there as well so it was really pretty. There was a big Christmas tree in the center of the main square area, which was nice. That first night we went to this really neat bar. It had lots of different levels and underground parts- catacomb style. They had such good beer. I never thought I’d be one to really like beer a lot but I did enjoy the wonderful Czech beers we had. The next day we took a guided tour of the city so we got to see more old things and hear about the history of Prague, which was really interesting. It really is a beautiful city with fascinating history. We also went up to the castle that evening. The views from the castle were really good and the cathedral within the castle was beautiful. We got a train back to Dresden that night but before we did we spent the rest of our Czech money on chocolate. Definitely a good idea and it made for an entertaining time while waiting for the train.
In Dresden we met up with one of Nathan’s friends, Andy, that also went to UW-Madison and just toured around the city. We spent the day being led around the city by a couple that Nathan’s family is friends with. They were very nice and had lived in the Dresden area most of their lives so were very informative. Dresden is a really beautiful city as well and it is amazing how it recovered from the all the fire bombings of WWII. It was also very interesting and insightful hearing about communist Germany from the perspective of people who lived within it. We then had thanksgiving at Andy’s house with quite a few other Germans. It was a really good Thanksgiving with all the necessary food items, well minus pecan pie. Apparently you can’t really find pecans anywhere- I checked. It was nice to celebrate with a few fellow Americans and lost of people around. We then headed back to Berlin. It was Nathans birthday that day as well so we met up with some of his friends drank and did some cake. I was excited about learning German so I practiced saying, probably over one hundred times, “Nathan, it’s your geburtstag!!” It was a good time and Nathan managed not to get too annoyed with my novel German language skills.
The next day we went to this really wonderful Turkish market. I get very excited about street markets and new snacks- there were plenty there. There was a lot of food and fun things being sold so it was enjoyable. Oo we also went to a few second hand stores, which are another thing that excite me, and I got this wonderful German hat that was most likely owned by and old German man before me. We also went to the longest stretch of the Berlin wall still standing. It was really good to see. Thinking about a wall separating two completely different ways of life and being aware that life was so different just on the other side of a barricade is an intense idea. We also went to a shtazi prison camp just outside of Berlin that day. It was one of my favorite things that we saw. It was so interesting and enlightening to hear about the things that went on. Not being a history buff and relatively unaware of life outside of my own word it was intense to learn about these things that were still going on in the 1980’s and to be more aware that these things still go on all over the world. It made me feel like a bit of a jerk walking around with a communist Mao messenger bag. Especially after being called out for it.
Dear world,
I am not a Maoist. I find the bag ironic, it says 'Serve the People'.
Sincerely,
Kelsey Hawkins
Before going to the prison we went to this really great East Berlin restaurant. There were just a few old people there and then Nathan and I. When the old ladies left they said auf wiedersehen to me, I felt very special. The last night we went shopping with Nathan’s wonderful friend Phillip and he showed us all the great things about the German consumer culture. One thing of importance to note- there were signs on the escalators that showed crocs crossed out and read ‘no crocs’. Apparently they are a hazard on escalators. The next day I headed for the airport and that ended my wonderful German-Czech escapade. I really had a terrific time.
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