Fat Tire Bike Tour mission statement: Walking is Stupid : )

Our tour guide Blakely

Yesterday the group went on the Fat Tire Bike Tour of Berlin. I decided just to take my point and shoot camera because with my luck the Nikon would have been smashed to pieces if I took that. The bike tour lasted about four hours and took us all over parts of the city. Our tour guide, Blakely, happened to attend school at the University of Central Florida. For lunch we stopped along a river to eat, and I had currywurst and french fries. After the tour we headed back to the hotel to get dressed and ready for the performance Qi at the Friedrichstadtpalast (click on this if you want to see a preview of the show) in Berlin. During that time, I really really wanted some fruit so Jenny and I headed to the local grocery store and I got some pineapple : ) The performance was AMAZING though. It had dancing, magic, humor, singing, swimming, acrobatics, ice skating... pretty much everything! It was probably one of the best shows I have ever seen and apparently has the largest performing stage in the world.

Blakely drawing a map of Germany

Part of the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

On the photos above, you can see people have signed their signatures on the wall over the paintings becuase tour busses would unload people and they would just sign their names on the wall. Now the city has decided to ask the original artists back to redo their paintings that were ruined by the signatures. Here is one of the artists at work.

Berlin Wall

Soviet War Memorial

Soviet War Memorial

My bike! Orange and Blue- GO GATORS!

Berlin bears located right in the city.

Kind of a lazy day

The TV Tower in Berlin

A decorative part of a bridge looking towards the TV Tower

Today Jenny and I got up at about 8 a.m., had breakfast and then made our way to Zoologischer Garten so Jenny could interview her subject, which was the Zoo Berlin Director. We were hoping to get a free tour of the Zoo but no such luck : / Then we walked around looking for a subject for me but I got a couple of no's and some people could not speak English. Bummer. But luckily the people I have been trying to get a hold of for a month tracked me down and left me a message at the hotel. Hopefully I will be able to talk to them when I call tomorrow! The rest of the day I just hung around because I am still exhausted and I have a long biking tour tomorrow. We had dinner at a Thai restaurant and for desert we got chocolate covered bananas and pineapple yumyum : ) The pictures I posted today I have taken throughout the trip so far. Tomorrow I am wearing shorts because it has been hot here, but some of the girls who wore shorts today got really weird looks.... Berliners still dress like it is 30 degrees out when it is in the upper 70s. What is so wrong with shorts anyway?!

A building located in the area of Alexanderplatz

The lights famous in Berlin for telling you whether you can cross the street or not

Two elderly people chatting away in East Berlin

I think I am finally getting the hang of Berlin

The Fountain of Friendship located in Alexanderplatz and the place where I sat in the bird poop.

Friday, May 15-

We finally arrived in Berlin and made our way to the Transit Loft with suitcases in hand and headed to the bus and then transferred to the M4 which is kind of like a subway but it is above the ground. After unpacking, some of us went to Alexanderplatz to change our money to euros at the S-Bahn (train station). Right next to it is the Fountain of Friendship where I happened to sit in a lot of bird poop. : ( For dinner we headed to the Prater Biergarten (Beer Garden) where we tried German beer. I had a drink that tasted like sparkling raspberry beer! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and on the way some of the group stopped to get gelato but I got hot chocolate because it was FREEZING. One of the weirdest things about Berlin is that you can drink alcohol wherever you want. Trains, subways, street, shops… doesn’t matter. I guess it is just one big party everyday!

A couple is relaxing in Alexanderplatz

Saturday, May 16-

Today we were supposed to go on a bike tour but it was raining so we pushed that back to a later date. Instead we headed to the Annie Leibovitz photo exhibit. From there, part of the group decided to separate and wander to West Berlin. In West Berlin there is a big shopping center and a plaza with a lot going on including break dancers. I got currywurst for lunch and then we shopped around looking at what the stores of Berlin had to offer. Of course we went into H&M! After, we went back to the hotel before we all headed out to a small carnival located in a park. At the carnival I had a crepe with Nutella, which was soooooooo good! Some of the German boys were talking to us, and turns out Mr. Freeman said they were asking to marry us : )

A family strolling in a park in Berlin

Me with part of the group outside of the Annie Leibovitz photo exhibit
photo taken by: Kevin McMahon

Part of the break dancer group in West Berlin

S-bahn in Zoologischer Garten

Sunday, May 17-

I think my legs are going to fall off. I have had enough walking to last me about a year. Today we went on Discover Berlin Walking Tour that lasted at least four hours. I learned a lot about the different buildings of the East and West side of Berlin and we saw the Holocaust Memorial. The memorial has a really amazing design. There are a bunch of cement boxes all different sizes and you walk through it and get totally lost. The artist did not want anyone to know what his interpretation of the memorial is. It is up to you to decide. The tour ended at Checkpoint Charlie. The guide told us the European police might be changing their uniforms to look more like the United States police because apparently we look more official and “scary” compared to the green outfits they have! We had lunch right at the Checkpoint Charlie and I found SUBWAY! So I had my usual turkey and cheese sub and it was delicious : ) (although don't worry..the cheese was dutch..so it was still foreign) Then we walked some more to Potsdamer Platz where we talked with two girls at Dunkin Donuts (that place is everywhere here) who have lived in Berlin their whole lives and they were giving us suggestions for the project we have to do. They said Berliners love to talk to people who speak English because it gives them a chance to practice the language. Jenny and I then found the U2 and made it all the way back to the hotel by ourselves where we are taking a break for the day. Tomorrow we are hopefully going to find our subjects!

Two kids play in the fountain in Berlin

A group of boys playing soccer

A statue in East Berlin

What the group looks like in action when going places

A little girl standing right outside the American Embassy

A boy running through the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin

Me standing in the Holocaust Memorial
photo taken by: Carolyn Crist

The cars typical of East Berlin back when Berlin was separated

Me at Checkpoint Charlie
photo taken by: Vince DelMonte