My 10 Day Adventure to Berlin, Prague, Salzburg, and München

Berlin 9-14-12 to 9-16-12 

After two intensive finance courses, the ten day break finally arrived! Our professor let us move the International Finance exam from 7 to 9 in the morning, because a group of us had to catch the train to Berlin at 9:45. There were only two connections with the last train being 7 hours. On the train we met a man in his mis-20s named Lars. He was extremely nice and told us exactly how to get to our hostel. Once we arrived at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, he walked us to where we had to catch the metro to Rosenthaller Platz where our hostel was. We got to the Circus hostel around 10:00 PM. Most of the hostels I have stayed in have been part of the Famous Hostels chain, which are always clean and reasonably priced. It was also one of the safest hostels I have been to so far. I had to swipe my room key to get into the elevator, onto the floor, and into our room. We had a room with 8 beds and there were 7 girls from my group and the eight person was a random man, who turned out to be very creepy. That night most of us just stayed in, because we were so tired from all of the studying and traveling. 

Circus hostel room!

At 10:30 the next morning, Theo from the famous Brewers Tours came and picked up a group of us for the 7 hour walking tour. He is from Australia but has lived in Berlin for the past 6 years. The first stop on our tour was the Jewish Synagogue where we learned all about the Jewish community in Berlin as well as Kristallnacht. The Synagogue was one of the only Jewish buildings not ruined that night all thanks to one police officer. Afterwards, we headed to a little courtyard away from the main road where Theo explained the history behind Germany during the Cold War. He drew a map for us and explained what parts of Germany were occupied by the USA, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union. On our way to Clärchen’s Ballhaus, Theo began telling us about Berlin in the 1920s with the hyperinflation. One US Dollar was equivalent to 4.3 billion Deutsche Marks. Apparently a lot of people became prostitutes as a way to earn money because the economy was so terrible. He said to think of your wildest imagination then multiply it by 20 and that was the 1920s. Berlin was “poor but sexy.” When we walked into Clärchen’s Ballhaus, there were people dancing to a remade version of a Coldplay song. It was a coincidence, because we were going to see Coldplay in Prague the next night. The next stop on our tour was this courtyard that was filled with bizarre graffiti. Theo gave us a 15 minute break in one of the open air markets. There were some beautiful scarfs and jewelry, but everything was fairly expensive. We headed over to Museum Insel to see the Berliner Dom and the National Museum. I found out some interesting facts about Hitler and National Socialism that I would have otherwise never known. Nearby there was also a building that is now a museum but was an armory during Hitler’s time. Once we left Museum Insel, Theo told us all about how the Soviets came in after World War II and had a few weeks to “celebrate,” which for them consisted of rape and pillage. The women of Berlin were then forced to clean up the city. There was a very moving statue of a woman holding her dead son and grandson in her arms and the quote said “to the victims of war and tyranny.” We passed Humboldt University where 29 Nobel Prize winners have attended. In the plaza across from the University we saw the book burning memorial which has a famous quote from Heinrich Heime in 1820. It stated “das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am  Ende auch Menschen.“ This quote basically means that where one burns books one will at the end also burn people. When we went to Checkpoint Charlie, Theo explained the history of the wall to us. He told us some creative ways in which people from the East snuck into the West. We briefly saw part of the Berlin Wall on our way to the Jewish Memorial, but did not see the East Side Gallery. Luckily I have seen it before, so I was not disappointed. The Jewish Memorial is very unique in the way that it is set up. It takes up a whole block and is filled with columns of all different heights that get taller as you walk further into the memorial. It felt as though I was in a maze. Theo told us that the point of the memorial is to walk through it and feel completely alone and not know what is going to happen next, just at the Jewish did during World War II. I can definitely see how it can make people feel that way, because I lost everyone when I was walking through it. The US Embassy was right next to the memorial and the flag was at half-mast due to the recent attacks in Libya and Cairo. The last stop on our tour was the Brandenburg Gate, where I also saw Hotel Avalon where Michael Jackson held his child Blanket off of the balcony. Despite the walking tour being 7 hours, it was absolutely amazing.  I got to see the most important parts of Berlin and I learned a lot more than I already knew about Germany. 

National Museum on Museum Insel

Allyson and I in front of the Berliner Dom

Berliner Dom

To the victims of war and tyranny

The famous Humboldt University

Checkpoint Charlie

One of many bears in Berlin

In front of the Berlin Wall

Jewish Memorial

Brandenburg Gate

Failed attempt at a jump picture

 

After the tour, we went back to the hostel for a little bit and then headed over to Brauhaus Lemke. On the way, we stopped to get döner kebab, because apparently it was invented in Berlin. That night we also went to a bar called Zosch, which apparently was a bunker during the Second World War. 

Zosch

 

 

Prague 9-16-12 to 9-19-12 

On Sunday morning, we had to wake up at 7 in order to catch the 8:45 train to Prague. It was only around 5 hours, which compared to the ride to Berlin was very short. The hostel that we stayed at was called the Czech Inn and 12 of us all stayed in the same room. It was so entertaining to be in the same room with everyone. After checking inn, we relaxed for a little bit and then went on an adventure to find food. Everything except for a small mini market was closed, so I ended up getting some fruit and crackers from there. I cannot complain though, because everything was very cheap relative to the other cities I have traveled to. To go off of a tangent, while in Prague we had to be careful with what alcohol we drank, because recently there have been over 20 deaths related to drinking. Any alcohol over 20 percent is not allowed to be sold in restaurants, stores, or bars due to a nation-wide government ban. All of the shops were calling it a prohibition. Apparently this all occurred, because certain places have been getting liquor from the black market which recently has been made with menthol. After we ate a little bit of food, it was time to walk over to Synot Tip Stadium for the Coldplay concert. The boys were not with us, because they were meeting up with a friend who lives in Prague. We had made plans to meet them at a bus stop right outside of the stadium at 5:15 but they were not there. Luckily we waited until 5:50, because they finally showed up. It was such a happy moment; we were all so excited to see each other. Our tickets were standing room only, which was awesome because we got more of the atmosphere of the concert. There were two opening acts, none of which were people that I had heard of before. At 8:30 Coldplay finally came on and their first song was Mylo Xyloto. The opening was absolutely unreal and there are no words to describe how fabulous the concert was in general. They played every single song that I wanted them to, but Clocks, Fix You, and Paradise were my favorites. We all got these bracelets when going into the concert that light up during certain songs. The stadium looked amazing with all of the lights and fireworks. Coldplay gave two encores, which made the concert that much better. Everything was over at 10:30 and I got back to the hostel around 11. Other people went out that night, but I was absolutely exhausted. There were 3 random people in our room that night and one of them would not stop snoring. All of the girls kept laughing and complaining so Fan woke him up and told him to stop snoring. Eventually I was able to fall asleep, but it did take some time. 

Part of the stage

Attempting to spell out Coldplay with our hands

 

On Monday we woke up and ate the hostel breakfast. It was certainly the best one I have had so far. After a late start to the day, we met up with two of the boy’s old baseball coach who currently lives in Prague. He took us on his own little tour around the main parts of the city. We first walked to the Old Town Square and passed a little market with delicious food along the way. The clock in the square was extravagant, so I wish we would have seen it go off at noon. We were a little bit too late for that. The Charles Bridge was a short walk away from the square and as we were walking across we all touched the good luck rubbing statues as well as the wishing ones. The view from the bridge was phenomenal and I could see the Prague Castle perfectly. When I went back at night, the castle was light up and was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen on this trip so far. Next up was the infamous John Lennon wall. There were so many quotes and pictures in all different bright colors, it was amazing. After a mini photo-shoot, we trekked up what seemed to be thousands of stairs to Prague Castle. The view from the top was wonderful and I could see the whole city. It took us a while to get back to the hostel and we had to hurry, because our pub crawl started at 8 that night. 

The little market with good food!

Clock in Old Town Square

Our group in Old Town Square

Entrance to the Charles Bridge

One of the rubbing plaques

Another good luck rubbing plaque

John Lennon Wall

Kacey and I at the top of the hundreds of stairs

View from near the Prague Castle

Prague Castle

Everyone had a slow start on Tuesday morning and we did not leave the hostel until around noon. During the day we walked around the Havelske Trziste market for a few hours. I bought a few things for myself and my family, because there were so many unique gifts. We made our way back to the Old Town Square and there was a great band playing. They were playing the songs that fit the atmosphere of the square perfectly. After roaming around for a little bit longer, nine of us ate at a restaurant called Pizza Colosseum. The total bill for all of us was only around 120 US Dollars. It is shocking how cheap it was, because all of us got a decent amount of food. Later that afternoon, we headed to the outskirts of Prague to watch our friends Matt and David play in a baseball game. Their old coach, Joey, now coaches a team in Prague that consists of 18 to 24 year olds. After the game, Joey and some of the baseball players took us out in the city.

Havelske Trziste Market

Vendors in the market

One of many prohibition signs around Prague

 

Salzburg 9-19-12 to 9-20-12

Our train for Salzburg was supposed to leave at 9:15 in the morning, but we all woke up at 10 instead. After getting only a few hours of sleep, we were all on the struggle bus trying to get to the train station. As soon as we got on the train to Salzburg, the lady who was checking our tickets told us that at the next train stop we needed to go on a bus to bypass construction on the tracks. Well, that is what she meant to say but we completely misunderstood her. We thought she was saying to buy a pass, but David and Cody starting arguing with her saying that we had a EuroRail pass. “Buy a pass…why do we have to buy a pass?” The only other word that they understood was bus and she kept repeating it over and over. Eventually we all came to terms with the fact that there was a bus and we needed to be on it.  So at the next train station we got off of the train and headed over to a line of buses that were waiting to pick us up. All of us got on a bus without asking any questions, which in reality is very sketchy. The bus ride took 45 minutes and dropped us off in the middle of a field where there was a train waiting for us but no station. It was definitely a goofy day of traveling, especially as everyone was delusional from lack of sleep. Alex was waiting at the hostel for us when we all arrived! Thank goodness he was able to successfully get a new passport during the beginning of the ten day. No one really went out in the evening, so instead we did laundry and went to sleep early. 

The hostel rooms in Salzburg

Hostel in Salzburg

Holland attempting to blow dry his laundry...

 

On Thursday morning, everyone was ready to go at 9. Some people wanted to do the Sound of Music tour, but I went to the market with the rest of the group. It was a different experience than the other markets I have been to so far, because it definitely had more of a local feel to it. There were not many tourists and a lot of the vendors were giving out free samples. It may have been my favorite market since coming to Europe. There was also a festival going on called The Best of Mozart. We passed through on our way to the castle, but stopped and spent time there on the way down. The view from the top of Hohensalzburg Castle was great, because I could see the whole city of Salzburg. At the festival for the second time, we ate bratwurst and then I went on the swings with Gretchen and Matt.

Salzburg Market

Hohensalzburg Castle

View from Hohensalzburg Castle

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A vendor at the Mozart festival

The swings!

München 9-20-12 to 9-23-12

Unfortunately we did not have a long time in Salzburg, because we had to leave the hostel around 3 to get on our train to München. It took us a while to figure out how to get to the house that we rented in Dachau. We ended up taking the metro to Dachau and then taxis from that train station to the house. It was about 17 Euros every time we took a taxi. The house was three floors. One of them was a basement with just a washing machine and a random table to sit at. On the first floor, there were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The second floor also had the same set up. When we arrived, we realized that we had nothing to eat or drink and none of us saw a grocery store within walking distance in the taxi ride over. Someone saw our neighbor pull up into his driveway and asked me to go and speak to him in German. He did not speak much English, but he told me that my German was very good! I asked him where the nearest grocery store was and he said it was 4 kilometers away. He then offered to drive 3 of us to the store to get food and drink. David, Cody, and I all went with him. I was chatting with him all the way to the shop and he told me that had he not been working on Saturday he would have taken us to Oktoberfest. When we got to the grocery store, he came in with us and helped us find a lot of the things that we needed. The total for all of the food for 12 people was only 60 Euros. Our next stop was the drink store. We bought 4 crates, 80 bottles, of Oktoberfest beer, because our neighbor told us that it was good. All of the alcohol ended up being a lot more expensive than the food. When we arrived back at the house, I thanked our neighbor and we gave him some money as well as a few beers. That night we cooked pasta with Bolognese sauce and had a family dinner. Later we were all in the kitchen on the second floor playing cards when I realized that the door handle fell off. The kitchen door opened inwards, so we were legitimately stuck with no way out. No one was really panicking until Matt told us that he was running a bath. We were probably stuck inside of the kitchen for 45 minutes while people tried to use knives to get the door open, we tried pulling it, Alex was determine to kick it down, but none of these techniques worked. Eventually Matt and Alex both climbed out of the window and found a window that was semi open. There were able to get into the house and let us out, but by that point there was probably an inch of water all over the bathroom floor and in the hallway. We spent a while cleaning it up with towels, but in the end nothing was ruined. 

My bedroom in the Dachau house

Our balcony

The infamous kitchen

Another bedroom/living room in the house

 

On Friday we went to the Dachau concentration camp at 11 in the morning and got headsets to do our own guided tour. There was a documentary to watch at the beginning and it was tremendously disturbing. I without doubt felt as though I was going to cry multiple times, because the images were disgusting. There were pictures of the piled up bodies and all of the depictions truly showed how dehumanizing the entire camp was. I don’t think it really sunk in until I sat down when I arrived back at Riva and looked through all of my pictures. I felt as though it was just a nightmare that never actually happened. On the tour we saw the prisoners’ camp was where the “dorms” were as well as the crematorium. In the crematorium, we walked through the room where they piled the dead bodies before cremation, as well as the gas chamber and the waiting room for the “showers.” It was a unique and very informative experience which was hard to hear and see, but in the end I am glad I went. There were a lot of great memorials within the camp, which said statements such as never again and never forget. Our group did not leave Dachau until 2 in the afternoon, at which time we headed into Marienplatz in Munich. It is the city center where the Dom with the beautiful clock is. A few of us bought some Oktoberfest souvenirs and went to Starbucks for a little bit to get free WiFi. We went home fairly early, made dinner and then went to sleep, because we had to wake up at 5 in the morning to get ready for Oktoberfest.

Gate into the Concentration Camp... "work sets you free"

May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men.

Barbed wire memorial

Memorial to the different people in the concentration camp

"Our last hope: Hitler"

Marienplatz in Munich

Marienplatz

 

Saturday morning was an early start. The cab van picked all 12 of us up at 6 AM when it was still dark outside. The driver’s name was Martin and he blasted music for us! There were definitely some interesting songs and luckily I used Shazam to figure out what they were so now when anyone plays them it will remind me of Oktoberfest. Matt had met someone the previous day and told us that Augustiner was the tent to go to, because it is not filled with a lot of tourists. We got in line outside of the tent at 7 AM and were fairly close to the front. It was pouring with rain, but the atmosphere was still fun. They opened the doors at 9 and it was a mad rush to get in a find a table for all of us. I thought we were all going to get split up and sit in small groups, but we somehow managed to get two tables next to each other. It was amazing and very rare. For the next three hours we all just played cards and chatted. Around 12 there was a little parade around the tent, because it was opening day. Finally at 12 o’clock after the first keg was tapped in another tent, we were able to get our beer. There was a table of local men next to us who got their beer right at noon. We then got ours at 12:03 which is very early, because most people get theirs at least half an hour later.  Four of us left the tent around 5 in the afternoon and went on some of the rides. We went on swings that went so high up in the air and then we went to two roller coasters. The last roller coaster made me feel so dizzy, because it spun around and had flashing lights everywhere. After we got off the ride, Allyson, Cody, and I lost David at some point. We looked for him for about 45 minutes and then decided to make our way back to Dachau. When we got on the metro to Dachau it was still light outside, but all of us fell asleep and woke up when it was pitch black. We had taken the train all the way to the last stop, so we had to get on one going the opposite direction. Eventually we found our way back to our house on Hochfeldstraße and David was there to greet us. At this point it was around 8 in the evening. Everyone else from our group made their own way home throughout the night. One of the boys did not get home until 6 AM on Sunday. Needless to say there are many ridiculous stories from Oktoberfest. 

The rainy view when we arrived at 7 in the morning

Augustiner Tent!

Inside of the tent!

Our beer arrived at 12:03!

The ridiculously high swings we went on

There were thousands of people

 

On Sunday we decided to head home to Riva a little bit earlier than we had previously planned. Instead of catching the 4:30 train, a group of us thought it would be a good idea to leave at 11:30 in the morning. That got us back to Riva in the evening, but it was one of the better decisions I made on the trip. After an outrageous 10 days, I was definitely ready to be back in Riva and have all of Monday to relax.

This break was one for the history books. I went on so many adventures and came back with many stories that I will never forget. Getting to speak German in the majority of the cities was definitely one of my favorite parts, because it makes me realize how much I miss the language. When I was talking to one of the cab drivers, he asked me if I lived in Germany, because he thought that my German speaking ability was good enough to; hearing that from someone who lives in the country was very rewarding. I also noticed that the people in Germany and Austria seemed to be a lot more pleasant than those in the Czech Republic. On the other hand, most things in the Czech Republic were a lot cheaper than in Germany. After having just finished International Finance class, I saw so many things on my travels that related to what I just learned. While taking out money from the ATM in Prague, it asked me if I wanted to fix my exchange rate to a certain value which would prevent my risk of it going up before the transaction processed. Professor Rodney had just warned us to watch out for this, so I am very glad that I got to see what he was talking about. Outside one of the banks in Salzburg, there was an exchange rate chart. It had both the indirect and direct rates for the different currencies compared to the Euro and we had just used charts exactly like it on our midterm and final. Seeing this in the real world further assured that what I have been learning while I am over here will be useful in the future.

One of the exchange rate charts I saw