Museums Minus the Disgusting Food

 February 22, 2022

We were up and at 'em early so that we could enjoy coffee with a hostel mate before heading out for the day. He was Canadian and has been traveling for almost 7 months. He took an immediate interest in us the night before because of our friendliness, and invited us for a coffee the next day. His story is that of a traveler, but is especially intriguing because he was in Ukraine prior to coming to Germany. After wishing him well and saying our goodbyes we set out for the Cathedral. There are 267 steps up to the dome that provides a small walkway with 360 degree views of the city.

While it was very cold and windy at least it wasn't raining. The views were beautiful, both inside and out. 

After we went to the Pergamom Museum which shows the history of the Middle East. It was 3 floors of artifacts, but one of my favorites was this stone carving in which the men appear to be playing rock, paper, scissors 🤣

After we had lunch at a traditional German restaurant where we tried currywurst (it was HUGE) and flammkuchen (the equivalent of German pizza). They weren't our favorites but they weren't bad. I enjoyed the mustard based potato salad with cucumbers most. 

After lunch it was on to museum number 2, The Bode. The Bode is an art museum and some of my most favorite exhibits were the room of mirrors and the photography installation of sex workers through snapshots. 

We decided to take the scenic route home and boy am I glad we did. As we walked along the river we heard SO MANY HORNS honking so we stopped to see what was happening. A group of cars had crowded onto a sidestreet and blocked traffic. There were drummers who stepped out and were playing while men in suits were hanging out of cars honking and laughing. There was also a photographer and flowers adorning the hood of one of the vehicles. We never were able to figure out what why this was happening, but after it dispersed a few of the cars were heading our direction. We heard the men sporadically honking and hanging out their car windows all the way down the street. 

We got back to the hostel and packed our bags since it was our last night in Berlin and then went out for dinner with Lola, one of the girls we had gone to the Disgusting Foods Museum with. We went to a tiny cafe where I had lentil soup and cheese filled naan- so delicious! We decided to spend the evening at the hostel brewery and were so glad we did. There was a new bartender, Danylo, and he let us play DJ for the evening. We met travelers from Australia, Israel, UK, Brazil and danced the night away with them. We had so much fun singing that at bar close we decided to head across the street to Mein Haus Am See, where there was supposedly a dance floor. Unfortunately the downstairs was closed so we ended up sitting on stairs with pillows and paying cash only for drinks. Either way it was a fun night with new friends.