Dresden & Berlin

(3/7/15) On our way to Berlin we made a stop in Dresden - a pretty little place, which has rebuilt itself pretty much from nothing after it was completely destroyed by bombings in World War II. Many of the important buildings there have bricks covered in dark, dusty soot, mixed with newer bricks, because a lot of the materials were salvaged and then buildings were rebuilt after the bombing. It was incredible to see. 

We stopped at place famous for its "chilli meter" - basically, the scale went from 1 to 7, 1 being at the lower end. For example, a habanero chilli (which we all know is very very hot) is considered a 4 on the scale. So, of course, Michael decides to get a sausage and some chips were are rated 7. Profuse sweating and crying ensued, but we both thought it was worth it to test the highest scale chilli we will probably ever experience. After that, I'm not sure either of us will ever find anything spicy ever again!!! 

After that spicy stop, we moved on to Berlin. What an awesome place!!!! We stopped at a garden memorial, which was very pretty, and then did a driving be tour of the city, visiting the famous Berlin Wall. There are little bears dotted all over Berlin, which some people think is where Berlin got its name (this is untrue). 

(4/7/15) we were up early the next morning for a walking tour. We had an excellent guide who took us all around the city to many amazing sights and talked to us a lot about Berlin's history. We also stopped at a memorial for the Jewish people who were murdered, which was a type of block labyrinth. A strange type of memorial, but apparently a work which is meant to be interpreted by each person in their own way. 

We did some shopping afterwards, making our way to the mall because it was around the 40 degree mark, and we were desperate to cool down! I finally bought myself a pair of Birkenstocks!!!! (It was lucky, because both my thongs broke in the last three days). After this, we were melting our faces off, so we went back to the hostel to have a cool shower. That night we had a Pub Crawl organised by a guy called Mathias (who wore coloured glasses and looked like John Lennon). The tour started off with a free beer in the street, which I tried my best to stomach, but I barely had a few mouthfuls (YUCK). We went to three different bars/pubs which were all very different, and then Michael and I made our way back to the hostel and grabbed an obligatory yiros on the way. 

We had an early start the next day, so it's goodbye to Berlin, and we are off to Amsterdam!