Bus Tours, Bugs, Brews

 February 21st, 2022

Gina and I went to the grocery and got some breakfast staples to last us through Wednesday- no use paying 6 euro per day for brekky when you can spend 10 euro total for all 3 days. We ate and then set off with Lola and Alfred (our friends from the previous night) on Jimbo's Cheap Man's Bus Tour. Since it was supposed to rain we opted for the audio version of a guided tour done on a public bus-- drive by all the key landmarks while staying dry-- my kind of tour. Since it didn't start raining until later, we did hop out halfway through so we could see the Brandenburg Gate, Tiergarten Park and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in person. 

We got back on the bus and rode it til the end of the line, where we then got out and had lunch at a delicious Vietnamese restaurant. The Pho was so flavorful and the papaya salad wasn't even spicy! (Sidenote: papaya salad was one of my favorite Thai dishes but one that I could rarely eat because vendors never wanted to make the 'mai pet' version) 

It was raining after lunch so back on the bus we got until it was time to disembark for Berlin's Disgusting Foods Museum. This is a spot I would highly recommend if you have a few days in Berlin and are trying to escape the elements. First you walk through the displays of gross foods from around the world-- a few particularly gross highlights included: three penis liquor, mouse wine and of course, durian. Then you smell the stinkiest of cheeses and if you make it through you're invited to do a tasting. We tried four different types of bugs, marmite, peanut butter made of meal worms, salty licorice (my least favorite!), an English chutney and two types of cheese, one of which was made from baby goat stomach. We didn't throw up and because of that were given the honor of a photograph against the wall with the world's most disgusting paint color. WOO-HOO.

We owed it to ourselves to treat our tastebuds to something sweet after all those disgusting dishes so we headed to Rausch chocolate and OH.MY.GOSH.
The inside is a three level chocolate lover's paradise complete with a wraparound counter of truffles, a chocolate cafe, sculptures made of chocolate, a selection of chocolate liqueurs, coffees and teas, as well as desserts for takeaway. I chose 7 truffles to indulge in over the next few days and they did not disappoint. I enjoyed the cheesecake and coconut truffles best. 

Night had now fallen and in the pouring rain we ran after the bus and  hopped on in an attempt to finish our tour, only to realize we had gotten on in the wrong direction. Fortunately for us there was an underground metro station ahead so we opted out of the last two tour stops and headed back to the hostel instead. We headed back to our respective rooms to regroup and warm up. While there we witnessed a large protest happening right outside our window so we opened the latch and yelled down but no one was able to translate. (Later on we found out it was an anti covid restrictions protest. But, because Germans are all rule followers, there were an abundance of masks in sight.) 

After the protest dispersed we went to Tak-Tak, a polish deli, where we sampled different types of dumplings. I also tried the German version of coca-cola which tasted similar but flat. Gina and I then walked to a local brewery called Brewdog where I sampled a few different styles of beer I'd never tried before and then ultimately decided they weren't for me, so ordered the house IPA which was quite tasty. Gina had a gin and tonic made with cactus flavored gin which was incredibly refreshing. Before bed we booked our tickets for the next day which was going to be action packed and full of museums.