Spring Break: Berlin

My original plan was to cover spring break here in one fell swoop. But trying to explain five cities in one post would probably be a bit much, so I'll start with Berlin.

I'll be honest: Berlin is not my favorite city by any means. But I guess that means it's good my spring break tour started there before moving on to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Barcelona. None of that is to say I didn't have an amazing time though.

In general, the city seemed weird compared to most European cities because it had such a range of architecture. Most cities have the same sort of "feel" with most of their buildings, but not so with Berlin. It's known for being one of the more modern German cities, and that definitely comes through. A lot of the main buildings have the type of cool old-looking architecture that I'm a sucker for, but others are plain and boring.


One of the coolest things about Berlin is the way the city deals with the Holocaust and acknowledges its past mistakes. The creator of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe left the design up to interpretation, but I can say that walking through it, I felt an eerie claustrophobia that I don't think was an accident. Other interpretations say the different-sized blocks are meant to show how people from all walks of life were murdered, or that they represent stacked coffins and the increasing number of murders toward the end of the war.

Since I'm not a huge meat person, a lot of traditional German food doesn't appeal to me too much, but I still ended up having one of my all-time favorite meals in Berlin. I ate at the restaurant that served the first döner kebabs in Berlin, and it was absolutely phenomenal.