Berlin

Went to Berlin last weekend, with 5 friends from school. We've seen each other in bits over the last few years but it's the first time in a long time we've all been together in one place, and what a place! Berlin is, in my mind, a weird but wonderful destination, you really do get a massive sense of history here. It's amazing to think some of the things that happened and you do get the feeling that some of the ghosts from the past are still present, I guess that's what makes the place what it is, and the past is used in, overall, a positive way. Berlin clearly isn't proud of everything that's happened there but what I do think is important is that they've taken the time to explain it to people in a way that says, 'look, this happened, it was wrong, but we think it's important you know about it. This is what we are now, we've moved on, we hope you can too.'

The people there were overall friendly, it seemed like they really wanted you to like their city, they were very accommodating of my appalling German, although  I did make the effort to learn a few pleasantries before I left. www.babbel.com was really useful for this.

We stayed at Pfefferbett hostel, www.pfefferbett.de/en which came highly recommended and it was perfect for everything we needed, We stayed in 6 bed dorm, with communal toilets and shower, we paid 82€ each. We didn't want any luxuries as we didn't plan on spending too much time there. However we probably ended up there more than we thought, due to the nice environment, activities on offer, free internet and cheap beer!

The staff were friendly for the most part, unless provoked by a drunken Ally Lloyd after a row over a glass of water, i'm with Tanya on that one.

 

Also they gave me 94€ off my next stay if I return in 12 months, shame I won't be returning within the next 12 months, nice one though.

Day one started early for me and Dan, we arrived in Berlin from Manchester at about 11am. We met up with Joel and got the 30 min train to find the hostel. We then mooched about for the rest of the day round Kreuzberg waiting for the others to arrive, just getting a feel for the place, we found the most amazing burger bar called Ketchup and Mayo and ate there.

The rest of the them arrived around 6 at the hostel and we ventured out in search of a restaurant Ad had discoverd, after a questionable random walk through a stadium and predictably, a visit to an Irish Bar, we ended up in a place called White Trash Food (not where Ad wanted to go), best way to describe this is a a Tattoo Parlour, Restaurant and Live Music Venue all rolled into one www.whitetrashfastfood.com. It was alright but we ended up in 8mm bar which was pretty cool, no windows, www.8mmbar.com. By about 3 it was time for bed.

Friday involved a walking tour of Berlin from a friend of a friend, which was really good, saw what i would call all the main tourist attractions, my favourite being the Holocaust memorial.

We were out for a while and then had a bit of downtime at the hostel which invovled a mammoth table tennis tournament, think me or Joe we the overall winners (obvs). Then some beers and Dobble, Dobble is a new game to me but what a game, i've ordered it already. Think the best way to describe it is a more complicated version of snap, actually that might not do it justice, it's amazing just get it! Best £12 you'll ever spend, good Xmas present too.

This was followed by dinner at thebirdinberlin.com (this is where Ad wanted to go on the first night|) where i had one of the best steaks i've ever had in my life, amazing!

Then drinks in Kreuzberg (white russian for Ally) and then dancing to some indie disco classics at www.lido-berlin.de must've been alright because we didn't get home till getting on for 6am. The tunes were defo not up to Nick Bennett, Dan Parkes and Piet Berlyn standards though.

Saturday, was literally spark out till 2pm when me Dan and Ally got up and got back on it. One of the strangest things about Berlin is that they seem to have more beer shops than what we would call newsagents and they're open 24 hours a day. Basically you go in, buy a beer, they open it for you at the counter and then you can drink it on the street. Ace. So basically, Saturday consisted of walking around Berlin, drinking on the streets, ending up in Kreuzberg, trying to find a fountain in a park, which we got very close to but didn't find. Then watching the football in an Irish Bar, having a very drunken Italian and stumbling home at some point. Classy, but lots of fun verbally sparring with Ally Lloyd, I also stole Joel a fridge magnet of a Cow licking it's lips, I think he liked it.

Sunday we were back on the 'tourist trail' we walked to the typography of terror museum which basically documents all the horrific things that went on before, during and after the war. Promised a lot, but I don't think any of us were prepared for the amount of reading involved. We were all expecting more 'things to look at' rather than having to read our way round. In a different frame of mind it may've been great. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong state of mind.

We rounded off Sunday with a trip to a local flea market which I can only describe as a mini Glastonbury, all sorts of weird acts/ stalls in a local park. It was alright, again maybe we were all a bit tired! The day concluded with watching the Tottenham game (2-2 draw with Newcastle, fair result) and some Dobble. Me and Dan had to be up for a flight at 7 so drinking was kept to a minimum and we were in bed by 12.

That was the end to a beautiful, action packed weekend, with amazing friends that I don't see enough. We all agreed at the end of it that it should become an annual gathering which i'm v happy about.

So, yeah, thanks to everyone involved, thanks to me for semi- organising the whole event. Berlin comes highly recommended, go, enjoy, walk, learn, drink on the street, talk to people but most importantly; Dobble!

Coming up: Why I love Vans. The Stone Roses reformation. The Coolhunter. Something advertising based. None of which will be as long as this. Oh and when Scott Cramner gets his act together, a new look.

Peace and love. Nikolass X