BRRRRRR! It's soooo cold in Germany!!! Berlin is a pretty happenin' city, but it's so cold out we don't really feel like doing much! New Year's Eve was crazy! Erin and I finally made it to our hotel after a 9-hour train ride!!! After a much needed nap, we went out to find the party. First we found an Italian restaurant and had delcious pizza! Our waiter was Italian, and he was so happy that we spoke Italian with him! It was fun:) Then we took to the streets, just following the CROWDS of people to find where the party was. Basically it was everywhere. Berlin is a huge city and kind of hard to navigate, so we didn't really know where we were going, but we eventually spotted the center of all the action, the Brandenburg Gate. It took us so long to get there, we arrived just in time to ring in the new year! We finally made it to the front of the party as the last couple acts came on, one of them being Captain Jack, the only person on the bill that we had ever heard of. After the music ended we made our way back to the hotel, very cold and very tired.
Yesterday we woke up and took about half the day just dragging our suitcases around the metro system of Berlin, making our way from our hotel to our hostel. Ugh! We met up with Alex (girl!) again, and we all went to the zoo! We saw elephants, tigers, lions, lots of monkeys, a giraffe, a panda. I love seeing the animals, but zoos are always a little sad, too. The conditions in which these animals live is pitiful.
Today we spent 3 1/2 hours walking around Berlin in the FREEZING cold on a free walking tour. Our guide Stephanie was from New Zealand, but has been living in Berlin since last March. She was really funny and REALLY knowledgeable about Berlin and its history. I really learned so much from her. We started at the Brandenburg Gate and saw places like the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the site of Nazi book burnings, lots of memorials. It was a great tour, even worth the almost frostbitten feet and hands! Needless to say, we are all wiped out!
On to Munich tomorrow.
xoxo
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