In June we spent around 10 days in northern
Germany. High school friend Melissa joined us and we were
finally able to visit friend Insa in her home country, after she'd visited us
in NZ numerous times over the years.
Our first stop was Hamburg, where Insa's sister
and brother-in-law were kind enough to host us. We made the most of their local
knowledge and explored the city together, taking in some beers in the sun on
the 'beach' beside the river.
Hamburg is a really cool city. It's relaxed and
seemed quite forward-thinking. We wandered around funky little markets and cute
canals, tried flammkuchen (delicious Alsatian dish similar to pizza), and
walked through the tunnel under the Elbe, discovering a jazz performance on the
other side.
Next up was Berlin. We took a walking tour of
the city which was really good for giving us an overall feel for the city, its
geography and history. The Museum Island was really impressive - an amazing
collection of buildings - although we decided to make the most of the beautiful
weather and didn't venture inside.
To me, seeing the remaining parts of Berlin
wall, and all the memorials to the holocaust was so surreal. To think that
these events happened so recently, and in the case of the downfall of the
Berlin wall, even in my lifetime. Strange to imagine the country divided less
than 30 years ago. The East Side Gallery of the wall, with it's colourful and
eclectic paintings was amazing.
We also saw many other great examples of street
art throughout the city. We managed to hunt out a local place for a delicious
schnitzel and wandered through some really alternative, artistic areas of the
city.
Kylie had read about an amazing kebab stand, and we queued for a good 45 minutes just to order one. It really was scrumptious though - lots of fresh herbs, yoghurt, and wrapped in pitta bread.
Kylie had read about an amazing kebab stand, and we queued for a good 45 minutes just to order one. It really was scrumptious though - lots of fresh herbs, yoghurt, and wrapped in pitta bread.
While in Berlin we were also able to meet up
with some other friends from NZ over a few beers. Thinking that weisse means
wheat, and that we like wheat beer, we ordered two Berliner Weisse. When the
neon green and red drinks arrived we realised we'd made a grave mistake. It
turns out the wheat beers have a sweet syrup added to them, and it was pretty
awful. We had to order another two beers instead.
After five days in Berlin we hopped on a train
to visit Insa in the small city of Bielefeld, where she was living at the time.
Bielefeld is by no means a touristy town, but it was nice to visit a truly
local city. We went on a number of nice walks, with plenty of greenery to be
had in the city, climbed the tower and walked around the Sparrenburg Castle,
visited some nice cafes, bars and restaurants, and enjoyed relaxing at Insa's
flat, trying all sorts of different cheeses.
From here, it was a brief stop in Dortmund before Kylie and I flew back to London and Melissa carried on her journey in Germany.
From here, it was a brief stop in Dortmund before Kylie and I flew back to London and Melissa carried on her journey in Germany.
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