Hannover to Berlin to Dresden

5/19

Hallo from Germany! Holy cow, things have definitely been moving fast since Tuesday, leaving the US. Ayla and I basically traveled all night, "slept" on a jumbo Lufthansa plane ( the man I sat next to had the pleasant onion smell- just my luck), took a short flight out of Frankfurt to Hannover, and was greeted by Greta and her mother.
We spent the night in Hanover, and did a little sightseeing. in the heart of Hannover there is a church that was bombed in World War II, and was never rebuilt for the sake of remembering all that died in the war and in bombings in Germany. Apparently finding old World War II bombs is very common, and there are companies that go out tryng to find the unexploded bombs. parts of the city are shut down as this team dismantles the bomb... What a problem to have. I can't imagine being late for school because an old bomb needs to be taken care of. That night we ate a dinner of sauerkraut, potatoes, and sausage (which I tried... Meaty.) and we're quick to pass out for the night. The next morning went by fast, wandering the city, eating gelato, which has no comparison in the states, and we haven't even gotten to Italy yet. Greta was eager to get going, so we head off to Berlin on the German autobahn that afternoon.
The drive took longer than expected because of traffic, even though Greta was going 140 kilometers per hour most of the time... I tried not to look at the speedometer. Greta's Great Aunt and Uncle welcomed us into their home in the outskirts of Berlin in Muggelheim. Their house was very nice, and we got fresh German rolls with homemade rhubarb jam for breakfast on both Friday and Saturday. They didn't know very much English but were very welcoming and talked about their different travels.
Friday morning started with the Brohan Museum in the Charlottenberg area of Berlin. We took the train system, as most Europeans are used to doing, but Ayla and I were amazed- it was so much better than the public transportation in both Cleveland and Cincinnati. Anyway, the Brohan Museum is an Art Deco museum, and was filled with innovative tea sets, silverware, furniture, glassworks, etc from the 1900s. All of my design friends would probably have gone as crazy as Ayla did! After, we wandered around to find a place for lunch and headed to catch a sightseeing tour bus, where we spent time at the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, and parts of Tiergarten ( a centrally located park). That night was spent out on the town with the young Berlin crowd. The city is built for night life, with trains running all night and fun things to do all night. Most people actually don't get to clubs or parties until 2 in the morning!
Saturday started out with rain, a travelers worst nightmare... We still got to an antique market in the early afternoon! They called it a Flea Market, but let me tell you, that was we highest class "Flea Market" I've ever seen. After a few hours there, we were on the hunt for an Internet cafe, because we no longer could stay with Greta's relatives that night and needed to find a hostel! Wifi is definitely harder to find in cities, if you're not in a hostel or hotel. Once found (a mall Starbucks, how sad) we planned out hostels and train tickets through to Madrid. That was a headache, and a money reality check. Four hours of planning and watching your bank account diminish on places to stay and how you're getting there... Let's just say I'll be more mindful from here on out-if I'm not getting an unbelievable experience out of this trip, then it is a complete and honest waste of money and time, so I gotta live it up!
We finally collected our belongings and got to the hostel at 11:45. Oy! No worries, we still had time to turn the day around. Our concierge at this teeny hostel, Amos, was from Zambia, and had plenty of suggestions of places to go in the area. We met lots of travelers last night and got to spend a good chunk of time at a disco- no complaints.
 This morning, we woke up and checked out, and head straight to The East Gallery. This is a beautiful piece of the Berlin Wall that was left standing for various artists to come and create a graffiti or murals on the wall. I got a picture with my iPad of one of the murals for you!

It was one of my favorites. There's more, but unfortunately some woman is photo bombing, so the photo needed to be adjusted a bit...

We spent a good two hours right by The East Gallery, on the bank of the Spree river, napping, sketching, and people watching ( and probably getting sun burned). We then took the train to every girls dream...The Barbie Dreamhouse Experience!!! Yes, a giant Barbie Dreamhouse was in the middle of Berlin, and kiddies from all corners of the city came to tour the house and have the "Barbie Experience," including Ayla, Greta, and I. It was very pink and sparkly. 

We'd decided that Berlin was somewhat conquered, so we hopped back on the autobahn and sped to Dresden, arriving this evening. We wandered into the city, I mean... The beautiful, cobblestone city known for its grand churches and history! Ayla and I were in awe of what is, I'm sure, the first of many beautiful churches and architecture. (Greta has already been!)

Because Germany is on "public holiday" tomorrow, there are a bunch of little festivals with live music and delicious German food kiosks set up in the cobblestone plazas of the city. Listening to a German rock band play "I Feel Good" and eating My blueberry gelato topped off a very pleasant day. Besides the storm that followed and walking 30 minutes in the cold rain with no jacket and no raincoat.

So, if anyone has actually made it this far... I have officially skimped over my German experience thus far. My cultural findings and Greta's interview will be found in a post that will be up within the next 24 hours. Hopefully. 

Gutn-tag!