Mastering the Meisters (burger, jaeger, etc.)

Paris is beautiful, Barcelona is lively, but Berlin is just downright cool. It's dirty, covered in gravel and grafitti, and smells like piss half the time but it's an awesome city. It's a mix of the old and the new and the west and the east into one totally bitchin good time of a place.

I stayed at a cool artsy hostel in the Mitte district (side note - it took me four days to realize that it was pronounced mit-tay and not meat...sad). I met Heather there late on the Thursday night and we spent Friday and Saturday exploring before meeting Samara on Saturday night. We saw tons of cool stuff and here's some things for y'all to do if you ever go. Which you should. Because its awesome. Just maybe wait until it's a bit warmer, unless you want the true Eastern European oppressive winds experience.

Places to go!

DDR Museum - There's a bunch of famous museums like the Pergamon Museum and the Neus Museum in one area called Museum Island and we went into the Pergamon but those museums mainly housed ancient artifacts and I was just interested in finding some straight up German shiz. The DDR (not Dance Dance Revolution but Deutsche Demokratische Republik or German Democratic Republic) Museum was great because it showcased life in East Berlin during the Cold War. The museum was small but there was a lot to look at and everything was interactive. We even got to sit it and faux drive a Trabi, the east German attempt at creating a car to rival the Volkswagon Beetle.

The Jewish Museum - Another really great museum. The building itself was really cool and the exhibit was super extensive and interesting.

The Wine Bar - Apparently there are a couple of these in Berlin and they're not called The Wine Bar but I never found out the true name. Basically the concept is this: you pay 2 euros at the door for a glass and then fill up said glass as many times as you want throughout the night. When you leave, you pay as much as you think you drank. They had a really tasty selection of wine and the vibe was super chill. If you want to find Berlin hipsters, this is the place to go.

Mauer Park Market - There's a bunch of flea markets in Berlin but apparently this is THE one to go to. It's on Sundays at apparently Mauer Park. They sold errthing here. From cameras to shirts to photographs to hanging light fixtures to balaclavas and baklava. I was half expecting to find AK-47s here. The food at the market was delicious; I had a really great Turkish cheese crepe roll...yum.

White Trash Food - My guidebook described it as a mix between an Irish pub and a Chinese restaurant so I had no idea what to expect. I was for sure not expecting that I would have the BEST VEGGIE BURGER EVER THERE. It is pictured below. Please admire it in all its glory. The menu had no chinese nor irish food (potatoes?) but lots and lots of delicious sounding fatty North American food. The place itself had a great vibe; ET played as we ate our dinner and then a band was playing while we were leaving. Our waiter was a younger paler version of Crispin Glover circa Charlies Angels so that was a plus too.

Mr Vuong - Another amazing restaurant. Delicious vietnamese food with yummy booze milkshakes. It's kind of sad that of the four nights I was in Berlin, I did not go out for German food. However when I found out what schnitzel truly is, I was not so down.

East Side Gallery - The longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall covered with amazing murals. The day we went it was windy, rainy, and very cold so we definitely got the 4D experience of East Berlin.

Tacheles - An artist squat in the Mitte district on Orienburger Street. Every square inch of the building is covered in grafitti and inside you can find artists selling their paintings, jewelry, posters, etc. Outside in the backyard is a crazy sculpture garden with sculptures made of bathtubs, computers, busses, and a lot of tin. There's also a bar and cafe inside. Just don't go to the bar on a slow Sunday night or you'll be the only peeps there save for 6 possibly crackheads, one of which is trying to light his girlfriends' hair on fire. Not the best scene in Berlin

The Reichstag - We went up the Television Tower and that was a sick view of the city however I think it's way better to go up the Reichstag. You don't get as high as a view but it's still really decent and the building itself is gorgeous, plus its free to go up.

Burgermeister - Last but not least, the second best burger I've had in Berlin (and the second best in life). A girl in my class recommended this to me. It's a tiny shack tucked under a railway track in the Kruezeberg district. Absolutely delicious. Close to bmeister is some really cool clothing stores where I scored more vintage finds. Woot.