To Germany!

This time I actually got a seat for the overnight trip! I slept better too, and when I awoke we were already in Strasbourg. After studying the train charts I decided that it would be best to go to Frankfurt first, spend a night there, and then head to Berlin. I had a couple of hours before the train to Frankfurt left, so I did the usual, exploring the city by foot. It was odd to see so many traditional German houses in a French city.

Strasbourg (or Straβburg) has flipped between German and French control over the centuries, but much of the turn of the 20^th century German architecture remains. Although French is most common, I also encountered German speakers. The old town, with its massive cathedral, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Again I found myself wishing that I had more time to spend in a city that I was just passing through.

Much of the architecture in Strasbourg
reminded me of Germany, not France

The massive (and impressive) Strasbourg Cathedral

Around lunchtime I caught a train headed for Frankfurt. I eventually made it there, but I didn’t realize that the train was scheduled to make lots of local stops along the way. I guess it was a nice way to see some small German towns and the countryside. By the time I arrived in Frankfurt it was already early evening, and my priority number one was finding a hostel.

I hadn’t yet booked a room, but I knew there would be lots of places to stay near the train station. I first stopped by a hostel I had read about online, but they were all booked for the night. After searching for half an hour I finally found one still within walking distance of the station. The hostel was fine, but it was smack dab in the middle of the red light district! I didn’t see anyone in the room, so I went out for a walk and late dinner. I caught part of a Bayern Munich soccer game and chilled with a beer – two of the first things you need to do when you visit Germany.

Downtown Frankfurt and the central financial district
don't look or feel like a traditional German city.

And neither does the red-light district!

Bayern Munich and beer - a great German combination!

It was late by the time I got back, but there wasn’t much going on at the hostel, so I called it a night. The following day I left for Berlin. It may seem like an odd path geographically, since I would have to backtrack west to get to Bonn. But I had never been to Berlin and wanted to make sure that I would get there during the trip.

 During the spring of my freshman year (2008) at Ohio State I had taken a German literature class (taught in English) which focused on Berlin. I had already compiled a list of the places to see during my stay. They included the obvious spots like the Reichstag, Tiergarten, the Victory Column, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, and Berlin Wall. But I also made it a point to go off the beaten track to places like a Soviet war memorial in East Berlin (Treptower Park) and an Allied World War Two Cemetery in Charlottenburg.

The Riechstag (meeting place for the German Parliament)

The Brandenburg Gate, a former 18th
century Prussian city gate

Berlin's Victory Column, which commemorates
Prussian victory over Denmark in 1864 and is
surrounded by a huge city park

A (somewhat) hidden gem - Treptower
Park and the giant Soviet WW2 monument

During my three nights in Berlin I stayed in a hostel in Kreuzberg, a part of the city known for its alternative subculture and a proportionately high number of young people and immigrants. Kreuzberg is both close to the city center and a relatively cheap area for housing. The low property values in Berlin are partially attributable to its Cold War legacy, when the Wall and the no-man’s zone (a buffer zone with watchtowers, barbed wire, etc) took up large sections of the city. When those were cleared after the wall fell, ample space became available for development in newly desirable parts of the unified city.

Most of the Berlin Wall has been torn down, but sections have been
 preserved, the largest being the EastSide Gallery (pictured), 
which has been decorated by artists from around the world

Luckily I met a guy named Eugene at the hostel who was up for sightseeing together. He was from Louisiana (Baton Rouge) and had decided to backpack around Europe, making his plans along the way. It was good to have a travel companion for the couple days that we were both in Berlin. During the evenings we also met other travelers at the hostel to go out with. One night we found a live music club with a rapper performing that I had never heard of (he was actually pretty good though). Another night Eugene and I stumbled upon what looked like an old warehouse from the outside, but it was actually an ultra-modern dance club with a great view over the Spree River.

An interesting sculpture on the Spree River

Overall I would have to say Berlin was my favorite city of the trip; maybe I am biased, but there is just so much history and culture there, not to mention a great nightlife! Most of the other cities I visited were great too, and I know they had lots to offer that I missed the first time around – just another excuse to go back!