Two Metal Heads, an Old Lady and Myself
Trip Start
Apr 21, 2008
1
9
225
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Berlin,
Germany
Saturday, April 26, 2008
I took it easy during my first night. I arrived in the evening so I just walked around so I could get a feel for the city. Everywhere I walked, people were heard having a good time. The terraces were full of people enjoying their dinner and drinks. I really liked the energy the city was giving off.
Knowing I wasn't too far from my hostel, I just walked around aimlessly without really using my map. Nothing too exciting to report except for the fact that I came across a group of young women on the street wearing very tight corsets and who obviously all had surgery performed on their chests. They looked like performers and I thought they were promoting some kind of show in the neighborhood. I was curious what show they were promoting because these women were drop dead gorgeous. I later realized that they were prostitutes which I guess still classifies them as performers. Just not the ones I thought they were. The women of the night here definitely don't look like the ones hanging out by the homeless shelters on Cumberland street in Ottawa.
I went to bed early as I knew I would be in for a long day on Saturday given all the things I wanted to see. My room had 4 bunk beds. Two were empty but you could tell they were taken already while the other had someone sleeping it it. All I could see was bushy brown hair coming out of from the bedsheets. I dozed off until about 4:30 in the morning when my other 2 roommates entered the room. All I saw was one person with a massive set of dreadlocks and another guy with the build of a bulldog. One of them (dread lock guy) noticed that I woke up and apologized and quickly said that we should chat the following day. No problem I told him.
The next morning, the guys were still asleep by the time I left the room. I went to check out some of Berlin's finest sights. The highlights were the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. The Reichstag is Germany's Parliament. It's an impressive building that obviously has a lot of history behind it. It was from here that the fall of the Berlin Wall was officially announced. One story that I liked was how a group of American and British stars held a concert right outside the Reichstag in the 80s when East and West Germany both existed. The Reichstag was on the west side. When people from the East heard about the concert, they crowded the East side of the wall to enjoy the concert. Upon hearing what was going on, the stars shifted some of the speakers towards the east side so the people could hear better. It almost caused a major incident in the area. Right next to the Reichstag, there is a memorial remembering the people who died trying to escape to the west side. Some drowned while trying to cross the river while others were shot by the guards.
I was too young to understand the significance of the Wall tumbling down when it did in 1989. I only realize now what it must have meant to the people here. Imagine if your government decided to erect a wall in the centre of your city in the middle of the night as you were sleeping and when you woke up in the morning you realized that you couldn't go visit your friends and family on the other side anymore. That's exactly what happened. East Germans were apparently moving over to the west because there was more work. Fearing an economic collapse, the East German government put up a wall to stop the exodus of people. This was in 1961. The wall was up for 28 years! That's a long time not to see some of your friends and families. There are a lot of stories around escapes (successful and unsuccessful) and people uniting after the collapse. I really enjoyed learning about this part of their history.
After visiting the Reichstag, I saw Brandenburg Gate (which was once a boundary between East and West Berlin), walked across Museum Island, visited the Holocaust memorial, saw the Topography of Terror (which is where the Gestapo and other Nazi organizations did their planning during the war), and other landmarks that I won't bother mentioning because they are too difficult to spell. One sight that is worth mentioning is Checkpoint Charlie which was the gateway for allies, diplomats and non-Germans. Lots of interesting stories about the checkpoint. They still had signs (replicas) warning people when they were entering and leaving the American side. I don't understand why the Americans were running the checkpoint. I will have to read up on that later.
Walking through the city, you see bits of the Berlin Wall. Nothing impressive. However, there is a 1.3 km stretch of the wall in one neighborhood that I will visit tomorrow. Apparently artists have covered the wall with graffiti and it's supposed to be great to look at.
I arrived back at my hostel at around 7 pm. This is where I ran into Pat (not his real name - you'll know why later) - the guy with the dreads. He also has a bushy beard and the thickest nose ring you will ever see. Definitely a metal head I thought. Turns out he is from Colorado and he decided to do some European sightseeing with his buddy for 3 weeks. We made plans to meet up later for drinks. He gave me a place and a time and I returned a promise to be there. One of the great things about traveling is how you come across people you normally wouldn't back home. I was looking forward to chatting with Pat and meeting his buddy Miles. It's what a big part of traveling is all about. Meeting people different from what you are used to.
An hour later, I met him at the bar he suggested. The bar was called White Trash - Fast Food. I had actually read about it in my guide book and it sounded like it was a good place. While waiting in line, I noticed the entrance was filled with goth figurines. I started wondering if I was going to be a little over dressed for this place. Once I walked in, I found Pat and met his buddy Miles. We all got along. I was glad to have some company and to be able to finally have my first beer of my trip. I learned that Pat does excavation and grows and sells marijuana on the side while Miles is a Machinist. Both play in a band together back home. Miles is the drummer while Pat is the screamer. That's right screamer. He doesn't know how to sing. Only how to scream. With the kind of music they play, screaming is the only way to carry out the lyrics. I knew they were metal heads!
A live English band played later on. They were pretty good. They were a rock band that sang (and not screamed) so I was glad for that. They definitely had a unique look. The drummer looked like Alex Keaton's dad from Family Ties (but with an Adolf Hitler mustache), the base player had a 1950s hairdo and wore a bowling shirt, while the lead singer and guitarist was wearing leather pants and could easily win any Keith Richards look-alike contest out there. Their look wasn't consistent but maybe that was the point. Who knows? While listening to them, I found myself saying "I am in a bar in Berlin called White Trash with 2 metal heads from Colorado listening to band made up of old men from England play rock music". It was a moment I thought was worth mentioning.
Before I left for the night, Pat and Miles warned me about our other roommate. They just said she was an older lady who gave off a weird vibe. I thought it was funny how THEY thought there was SOMEONE ELSE in the room that seemed peculiar. I guess even metal heads have their own radar to detect weirdness.
In the end, I met two stand up guys and had a good time sharing beers and listening to music with them.
Dino
