Berlin came after a four-hour train ride which felt like twelve. Both of us were sorry to be leaving the Simonarsons after such a short time but the trip must continue. We arrived in Berlin, found our apartment, and dropped our bags before heading out to find somewhere we could buy some food. We found, through no fault of our own, the East Side Mall. A huge four-storey shopping center located right next to the East Side Gallery, it had everything from an Urban Outfitters (which was celebrating its opening night) to an Aldi (where we purchased some bread, jam and snacks). Across the road from the mall was the Mercedes Benz Arena, outside of which was a live band playing on a balcony above a Five Guys. It was cool to see all the interesting stuff one finds when they aren’t looking for anything in particular.

The first full day in Berlin we walked to the Metro station and got the train to Alexanderplatz, where we were to meet my old German teacher, Frau Cain, who has now lived in Berlin for around two years. She brought her newborn son, Elias, with her, who rather surprisingly slept for most of the day. Frau Cain showed us around Berlin. We walked to the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, the Brandenburg Gate, and then we got the train to the East Side Gallery so we could see it in the daylight. It was a great experience, but one day definitely wasn’t enough time to see all the city has to offer; not to mention the entire street leading from the Gate to the Victory Column was fenced off for the Berlin Marathon. We will definitely have to come back at some point in the future to finish the job.