Touring Berlin

Well, I made it to Germany! We have only been here about two days but I feel like we have done so much! This is going to be an amazing month. Here's what happened so far...

Thursday:

After a long day of traveling, we arrived in Berlin Thursday morning. It finally hit me when we stepped outside of the airport that I am in a new country so far away from home. It was weird riding the bus to the hotel and not understanding the signs on the roads or the advertisements. All of the cars seemed much smaller and the drivers seemed much more aggressive. It feels like I'm in another world!

Gluhwein

After we arrived at the hotel, we had dinner as a group at the Thai restaurant next store. I was so excited when I noticed they served Berliner Weisse. This is the beer that I researched for my project and I have been really curious to try it. I was a little disappointed that they served it in the wrong glass, but it was still exciting to taste. I ordered a "red one" (with raspberry syrup) and it tasted almost like juice. It was tart and refreshing, just as I expected from my research, though it didn't really feel like a beer to me.

Later that night, we walked around near our hotel and tried Gluhwein. It was a warm wine with spices. Very different from anything I tried but it was warm and comforting...perfect for the cold weather. Afterwards, some of us went to a nearby Irish Pub. I had a Hefeweizen and a Kilkenny Ale. Usually at home I am used to just ordering wheat beers but I am trying hard to branch out!

Friday:

Part of the Berlin wall

On Friday we had a bus tour of Berlin. It was amazing seeing the city and learning its history. I knew a little about the Berlin wall, but I don't think I realized what a massive impact the Holocaust and the wall have had on Berlin's culture. On our tour, we saw Brandenburg Gate, the chancellor's building, a Holocaust memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, among many other things. Berlin is huge; its population is larger than the entire state of Oregon! One interesting thing I learned was that when they do construction, they move the pipes to on top of the ground because the construction usually goes deeper into the ground than the pipes. They were colorful and made the city look pretty interesting. I think my favorite part of the tour was seeing what was left of the Berlin wall. The west side of the wall is covered in artwork that stretches about a mile. It was really beautiful and I am glad I got to see such an important part of Berlin's culture.

View of Berlin from the top of Potzdamer Platz

After the tour we went Potzdamer Platz where we rode Europe's fastest elevator to the top. Walking around the top, we could see most of Berlin. Wow! It was definitely worth standing in the cold to see that view. I loved looking at all of the beautiful buildings. The architecture is so interesting, like a mix of modern and traditional. Looking out from the top of the building allowed me to appreciate how large the city is. I cannot wait to explore more of the city.

Jenna and I tried currywurst for dinner. It's sausage with a curry ketchup on top. And fries. It was...weird. But pretty good. That night all ten of us went out to experience Berlin's nightlife. We went to an area called Kreuzberg. Public transportation here is great. We took the subway and didn't get lost! We went to a pub and enjoyed a beer and then went to a nightclub. Jenna and I struggled to figure out which bathroom was correct. One door was marked "not for women" in German, and all we recognized was the "women" part...oops. I think we definitely need to learn more German!

Saturday:

This morning we had class and learned about the chemistry that is involved in making beers have off aromas (like skunky, goaty, or cheesy). It is due to factors such as bacterial infections, wrong temperatures, or sunlight. On Monday we are going to a brewing school and will be tasting for off aromas. I'm excited! I still feel like I am struggling with being able to detect aromas in beer and describing what I takes. I know this kind of skill will only come with practice...luckily I will have a lot of that on this trip!

The group in front of the brewery at the museum

Afterwards we went to the Deutsche Technikmuseum Berlin (German Museum of Technology). The architecture of the museum was pretty amazing. It was almost like a maze getting through it. The museum has a replica of a brewery that operated from 1910 to 1990. The security guard standing out in front of the building was nice enough to give us a tour of the brewery (normally folks just browse it themselves). He didn't speak English so Brian and Gudrun had to translate, but I am glad he took his time to tell us about it. It was really cool seeing what brewing is like on a larger scale (all I have been familiar with so far is homebrewing). The brewery itself was four floors!

Marx and Engels!

After exploring the museum a bit more, we made our way to a restaurant for lunch. There was an issue with the subway, so we ended up walking most of the way which was a nice way to explore more of Berlin. We walked by Bebelplatz, which is where the Nazi book burning happened in 1933. There's a memorial in the middle of the square. A glass plate on the ground looks down into a white room with four empty bookshelves. I thought it was actually very pretty, though sad to think about what it represents. We then walked by a statue of Marx and Engels, so of course the sociologist in me got excited! Gudrun got a group picture of all of us on with the statue. 

Drinking Berliner Weisse!

Brian found a restaurant that served Berline Weisse ohne (without syrup) so we thought that would be a good place for me to do my presentation. This Berliner Weisse was MUCH better than the one at the Thai restaurant; it was served in the correct glass and it tasted a lot better. I ordered it with woodruff syrup. It had a tangy and fruity aroma, and the woodruff made it a bit grassy as well. It is such a different beer, but good! Brian ordered the beer without syrup and wow, it was sour! Definitely not something I would order on my own, but I am happy that we found a place to try it without the syrup! Overall it was a fun but exhausting day! I think I am still getting used to the time difference....my first real experience with jet lag! Tomorrow we are going to Brauhaus Spandau for lunch and a tour. Can't wait!

The group in front of the Friendship Bear. Making the bear pose of course!