This all makes me realize how hard it is to stay in contact without cell phones - what did people do without them?! I feel so thankful that Philip and I have T-Mobile (Philip is currently dancing an "I told you so." jig) and can text and use the Internet on the go, just like at home.
We tried to go shopping on the fourth day, but surprisingly even though at home December 26th is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, most stores were closed. We ended up going to the DDR Museum and the Alte Nationalgalerie. The DDR Museum exhibits what life was like in Eastern Germany. The museum was extremely popular (almost too popular because it was pretty crowded and felt pretty touristy). Its popularity is potentially due to the fact that it is a rather alternative museum. It is very interactive; for example, you have to open little drawers and windows to see more information about each subject. We learned a wide variety of things ranging from the fact that being nude on the beach was a very popular form of revolt and that induction into the socialist system began with little school children - they had scheduled times to all go to the bathroom together!
The Alte Nationalgalerie is a beautiful building architecturally and it had some lovely pieces, but it wasn't so much our cup of tea and we were tired, so we didn't stay too long.
In between all of this we had a fun time watching a young boy play with some giant bubbles a woman was blowing on the street. We saw a painting in the Alte Nationalgalerie from over 200 years ago of some children blowing bubbles - this just affirms my belief that bubbles are timelessly magical.
Later that evening we went to a Christmas Concert in Hedwig's Cathedral. We had originally planned to go to a Christmas Concert on Christmas Eve, but had been too tired, so we had promised ourselves we'd go to this one. It was the first time either of us had celebrated Christmas with traditional Christmas music in a church, but it was pretty nice. The organ especially was incredible and very moving.
We were a smidge late, so we stood in the back, but we had a beautiful view of the cathedral and since the acoustics were fantastic, enjoying the concert was not an issue. The bottom portion of the organ can be seen in the top left corner.
Hedwig's Cathedral
We finished our fourth day in Berlin with a walk down "Unter den Linden," which literally translates to "Under the Lime Trees." It goes down the middle of the street as you approach Brandenburger Tor and is beautifully lit up with Christmas lights the whole way.
Our fifth and final day in Berlin began with some delicious cinnamon rolls at a bakery a friend of Philip's had suggested. We liked them so much we bought more for our early morning flight the next day. We then bought some picnic supplies and walked to Tiergarten, which is a huge park (formerly hunting grounds). The sun was shining brightly, so even though it was cold it was a beautiful winter day and we had a nice picnic in the park. At the end of the park is the Victory Column, which was pretty remarkable in the bright sun. It was apparently first built in celebration of the Prussian victory in the German-Danish war. Good thing that didn't last or this whole trip would be pretty different!
The Victory Column
Our final evening in Berlin was spent at a tiny Italian restaurant in honor of our anniversary. We had a particularly long walk getting there, because the restaurant we had originally planned to go to was closed for over a week for the holidays! We ended up walking over an hour and a half, which was very tiring, but also very informative because we saw parts of Berlin we hadn't been to and which were significantly less touristy. We felt like we were suddenly in a different place that was definitely much more ethnically diverse.
Overall, I would say I have three main impressions of Berlin:
1. My knowledge that Berlin has been a central location for many huge historical events over the last century has been strongly reinforced. It is by far the most "historically full" city I have ever been to.
2. Berlin is unlike the other "old cities" I have been to in that it lacks clear organization or a city center. My guess is that this is a combined result of the long division of the city and of the many bombings this city has undergone. It is a strange feeling though and I must admit I never felt fully clear about where I was. I particularly missed the exciting feeling of walking towards the center of the city and feeling the sense of converging into a specific area that is particularly full of life.
3. Oddly enough, Philip and I were surprised to find that most of the places we went to were in East Berlin. We had expected to find the opposite (that most cultural sites would be in West Berlin); however, nearly everything we wanted to see was either in East Berlin or right along the border between the two halves of the city. I read a few interesting things about this, including one note about the fact that since rent was super low in East Berlin after the reunification many of the "cool places" (ie: restaurants, shops, bars, clubs, etc) moved into East Berlin. This doesn't completely explain the phenomenon, but it does give some insight into it. Someday perhaps we'll learn more about how this occurred. Philip definitely chose a well-located hostel though, as it was right in East Berlin.
On our final morning in Berlin, I took a few photos of our hostel before we got on our plane to Copenhagen. Look at the pretty colors!
Now we're in Copenhagen with Philip's grandparents. We've had a very relaxing day, including a walk through Dyrehaven - a beautiful park (also royal hunting grounds) that we biked through many times last time we were here. We were hoping to see reindeer (many of them live in this park) but we didn't find any. Hopefully, we'll see them next time.
Note that this picture (of sunset) was taken at 3:00pm.
I am now surrounded by Danish, which is good practice for what's coming up. For now, I have Philip to translate, but he lets me struggle often so I can practice. I am thankful to have this immersion before I arrive in Hadsten and am truly enveloped by the language, but it can be overwhelming.
Today is our actual "bryllupsdag" (Wedding Anniversary) and we're very happy to spend it here in this lovely, relaxing place.
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