Berlin Day 12

August 16, 2012 1:30 AM

It was another long day. We again walked through the former East Berlin. It's really interesting to see that there are pockets of areas that are quiet throughout the city. Most of these places are just off the busy streets. Not only quiet places, but there are pockets of green spaces around Berlin.

We also went to the Turkish neighborhood, which is further away from the city center. Lots of good food! It's kinda...rougher(?), I guess that's the word I'm looking for. It's the image I had of Berlin before I came to Germany--block housing with lots of graffiti, people into the underground scene. It's not just the neighborhood, but that part of Berlin...further east.

We went to this long stretch of park that goes all the way to one of the canals in Berlin. It used to be a train station, but was destroyed during the War. It's a pretty cool, edgy park. Apparently, this is the park where you get your junk. I totally saw a transaction happen. Near the canal, there's a restaurant/cafe right on the water. It reminds me of the Blue Bayou from Disneyland haha

We walked past the Berlin Museum and they have a bear enclosure in the park (note: bear is the symbol of Berlin). It's pretty awesome! They have a mother-daughter set. It's free to see. The bears have a caretaker and they just hang out in the enclosure in the park.

We ended the day going up the TV Tower. It's the tallest freestanding structure in Berlin (possibly Germany...I'm not too sue). It's very 1960s decor and interiors. We got up to the observation deck and there's a bar. It was a long day, so Chelsea, Tessie and I just parked in the bar LOL. The observation deck is pretty small. You can walk around in less that 5 minutes (if you're not stopping to look at the view and take pictures). It's a great view of Berlin. You can see how vast and flat Berlin is.

Alvaro and James are in town for a few days, so we went over to their place and hung out for a bit and then had dinner at this Thai-vietnamese place.