Germany: Berlin, again.

The Berlin Wall came down 42 days before I was born on November 11^th 1989 and the divide between East and West is still visible in most parts of the city. In a way it helps add to the draw of the place, it’s like two cities for the price of one and I always love to visit.

After my few days in Bremen, I hopped on a train to the German capital to visit my friend Stephan.

Stephan lives very close to the best kebab shop in town (Döner Turm), which may or may not have swayed my decision to visit. He’s also got the phone number of a guy who makes amazing cheeseburgers which are just as good eaten cold the morning after – the man is the king of fast-food networking!

Drooling in anticipation at the Döner Turm.

After multiple foodgasms, I went to do some sightseeing. Although I’ve seen most of Berlin before, I always manage to find something new.

Brandenburg Gate - It’s always a strange feeling knowing that you could be standing in the same spot that men like Napoleon and Hitler once stood.

The Jewish Memorial – also used as climbing frame by the less-educated tourists.

The Reichstag – a fire started here was blamed on the communists and allowed Hitler to gain absolute power. Today it’s where the German parliament sits.

Berliner Dom – Berlin Cathedral with the TV tower in the background.

Berlin Town Hall

Berlin’s victory column. It was moved by Hitler to its current position. The artwork around the sides which originally depicted a German victory against the French has been left in its partially destroyed state as a poignant reminder.

After all the sightseeing we went off to the Sony Centre on Potsdamer Platz and found a huge Lego giraffe.

 View of the Sony Centre from above.

The East Berlin skyline.

To finish it all off we went for one last Weißbier. The glass says quite simply “drink more beer.”

Germany: A Return to Bremen

Ever since leaving Bremen in May 2011 I’d been itching to get back. I had a lot of friends there who were planning to move away over the summer, so I decided to treat myself to a post exam period trip while I still had the chance to crash on someone’s floor there.

I met up with Will and Alma, two of my best friends from my year abroad, who were still working in the city. I’d been gagging for a Weißbier with banana juice all day so made getting one my first priority.

I wanted to see the sights again, so we headed for the Bremer Rathaus…

…then the windmill in the park.

Then it was time to feed my kebab habit.

That night Germany were playing a Euro 2012 group game, so we went to a bar in Viertel called Litfass. It was packed and there was no chance we were getting to the bar, so we went next door and bought a keg. Here’s a picture of us looking a little worse for wear after the game.

Me and Will showing our true colours.

The night before I left we had a barbecue in the park. Is there a better combination than meat and beer? The Germans do it right.

Year Abroad: Hannover

Hannover – the day I almost killed my own Grandmother.

My family was over to visit in February for a few days and they’d already seen Bremen, so I decided to take them on a day out to nearby Hannover. I had not however considered the implications of taking a 70+ year old woman on a 5 hour walk when it was about -2°c outside. I’ll admit I struggled at points, so god knows how my grandma survived.

Hannover’s city centre is chock full of historical buildings and churches.

Most of them have roofs, well, all except this one actually. It’s been left as a reminder of the horrors of the Second World War (That’s me on the left wearing full winter attire with considerably thicker hair than my Dad).

We walked around a bit seeing the sights before settling in a café opposite Hannover’s town hall for possibly the smallest and most expensive Apfelstrüdel in all of Germany. It arrived on a huge rectangular plate which had gotten me quite excited – unfortunately the Strüdel itself occupied about 5% of it, while poncy swirls of chocolate powder and cream made up the rest.

Before heading back to the warmth of the beer-hall, we stopped off at the riverside to see some interesting sculptures. I’m pretty dense when it comes to art, so I have no idea what they’re supposed to be/what they’re meant to represent.

By the time we got back on the train my poor old Gran was done in. She fell asleep on the train and almost got kicked off by the ticket inspector, who thought she was riding without a ticket. Thankfully by February my German was good enough to tell him otherwise!

Year Abroad: Cologne

Most of my travelling in Germany was done in November and December – two of the coldest months of the year. Cologne was cold on another level though.

The main attraction is the cathedral. It took 800 years to complete and is one of the world’s biggest. I couldn’t even back up far enough to get the full building into shot.

Climbing the spire was bloody tiring. It’s 157 meters high, has over 500 steps and takes 30 minutes – the view is fantastic though.

At the base of the cathedral during December you’ll find the Christmas market with more Glühwein and gingerbread than you can shake a sausage at.

After over 1,000 steps up and down the cathedral though, I was a lot happier enjoying a Kölsch in the hotel!

Year Abroad: Bonn

Bonn was the capital of West Germany before re-unification in 1990, and like most places in Germany during the winter it was bloody cold.

Known as the birthplace of Mozart, you can even visit his house. I’m unsure why it’s been painted pink though.

Bonn’s Christmas market takes place around a statue of the city’s most famous son in a very impressive town square.

Like most places in Germany (and indeed the world), the churches were the best looking buildings.

I’m guessing the Rhine looks better when it’s not misty. It was very impressive regardless. Unfortunately I was only in Bonn for a short time, I had an appointment with Cologne and it’s monstrous cathedral. 

Year Abroad: Oldenburg

Oldenburg is a fairly small town to the west of Bremen. I only visited once and I think I saw pretty much everything there was to see, which wasn’t a lot.

The Rathaus is a sickly shade of yellow – pretty much the same colour as my apartment walls.

This is Oldenburg’s main street - nothing really out of the ordinary.

There was a brilliant shop selling these though. It says “Sex is only dirty when it’s done well”. I contemplated taking one home, but decided that the word “sex” printed in big yellow letters with German writing underneath probably wasn’t the most welcoming thing to hang in the hallway.

Highlight of the day? Seeing this bloke kiss a statue of a horse before whispering sweet nothings in its ear.

Year Abroad: Hamburg

Hamburg was only an hour away from Bremen, so I found myself visiting quite often during my year abroad. It’s a lovely place in spring and summer, but I wouldn’t recommend a visit during winter unless you plan on getting frostbite.

The Rathaus in Hamburg isn’t as old as Bremen’s, but it’s certainly impressive.

The whole area around the Rathaus transforms into a Christmas market for December (along with most of Hamburg city centre). The whole place goes a bit nuts with decorations – they even install this in the train station.

I’m definitely not going to complain when they serve food like this though. No wonder I put on weight while I was in Germany.

A short subway ride away from the city centre is St. Pauli, which is famous for its Reeperbahn area – a red light district that rivals Amsterdam in terms of seediness. This, for example, was a typical shop display on the main strip. Something tells me they’re not back massagers. One of the places was advertising an orgy mat – because the last thing you want to do after group sex is shampoo your carpets, obviously. 

It wasn’t only sex though – St. Pauli is also home to a pretty impressive fair 3 times a year.

The port area of Hamburg is home to what seems like endless warehouses. It’s also home to the world’s biggest model railway and the Hamburg dungeons!

There’s also a good museum you can get told off in for riding in a canoe you’re not supposed to.

Year Abroad: Bremen

A very short ten days after returning from my Topdeck trip my bags were packed again – this time to move out.

As part of my degree course I had to study or work abroad for a year, I’d gotten a job with the British Council in a school in Bremen, which was great. The only problem was I had nowhere to stay when I got there, so I set up shop in a hotel. I dread to think of the things a UV-light would have uncovered in this place.

Eventually though I did find somewhere to stay – a questionably furnished apartment in a part of town called Viertel (meaning Quarter). I’ll be honest, the yellow and lime green theme was the last thing you wanted to be waking up to after a night out, but it was a decent place right near a tram stop and with a supermarket and kebab shop nearby – what more could I have wished for?

Without going into too much detail, my daily routine in Bremen was pretty laid back.  I only had to teach 12 classes per week and I had Fridays off, so I had a lot of free time. The only downside was that German school-days begin ridiculously early, so during winter this was the view on my commute to work. Quite depressing I’m sure you’ll agree.

The winter months in general were quite tough. The weather was awful and there wasn’t a whole lot to do except from work. This is the view of the school playground one morning - most of the time it was just a glorified ice-rink.

Although I tried to make the most of my free-time, it was impossible to do something constructive every day. I remember spending pretty much half a Sunday pratting around with matches and candles. Time well spent, obviously.

I did manage to find some time for study though. This was like my bible while I was there – reading it was a sure fire way to get to sleep at night too!

I kept my place as organised as could be expected for a 20 year old.

Having never had to really fend for myself, the learning curve for things like cooking and washing was steep. I was in an apartment block and managed to break the communal washer and drier during my first week there by stuffing the wrong kind of coin in. Also, as the above picture shows, I had trouble making even the simplest dishes. I think this was supposed to be an omelette.

After a few months though I’d mastered basic cooking, I even tried my hand at some German dishes. This might look awful, but it was actually pretty good – pork with Grünkohl (and a beer obviously).

But for the times when my food went terribly wrong, there was always this to fall back on to ensure a decent taste – ketchup and mayo in the same tube!

Of course after a while I came to realise it was a lot easier to go out to eat when I could afford it. This is Bremer Knipp – a Bremen speciality made from offal.

There was plenty to see in my adoptive North-German home town. The piece de resistance was undoubtedly its wonderful Rathaus (town hall) – its copper roof has turned green with time and the façade has seen better days, but its numerous intricate carvings are a joy to behold.

Opposite the Rathaus is the Shütting, which was built by Bremen merchants as a show of power across the square from the seat of local government.

The architecture in the main square is all about flaunting power. The St Petri Dome was built by the Catholics as the biggest building in the city…

…this worried the local government though, so they erected Roland – a statue of a famous medieval knight – to face the cathedral in the hope that it would act as their conscience.

Just around the corner is the Liebfrauenkirche – the square’s protestant church.

Just off the main square is Böttcherstraße – a street condemned by the Nazis which managed to escape destruction in the 1930s and 40s. It’s now home to one of Germany’s biggest Glockenspiels.

Away from the historical centre of the city is the oddly good-looking Hauptbahnhof (main train station).

The absolutely huge Bürgerpark (citizens’ park) can be found on the opposite side of the station. It’s a maze of winding paths and wildlife surrounded by some of the most expensive properties in the city – a stark contrast to Viertel.

Other attractions included: the Windmühle.

The TV tower near to my school in Walle.

Theater am Goetheplatz.

and Schnoor.

 I, however, spent most of my time in the freezing cold stood at Domsheide being watched by the hobos outside McDonalds while I waited for my tram. The public transport was incredibly German though – I only ever experienced two delays on trams during my time there.

One of these delays was typically as I was heading to meet my visiting family at the airport. Some idiot had parked their car across the tracks so we couldn’t go anywhere. I did find them milling around the terminal eventually though. In fact I was quite lucky to have a few visits from various people over the course of the year.

This is probably one of my favourite pictures of all time - my Dad enjoying a sausage in Schüttinger. They visited in the middle of February during possibly the coldest week of the year, so we skipped sightseeing in favour of beer and meat.

My Mum and step-dad also managed to visit with my little brother, who was infatuated with riding trams.

Matt and Rob also made an appearance in late March during the first week of decent weather we’d had for months. We visited Hamburg as well of some of Bremen’s finer watering holes, including the Hofbrauhaus.

My time in Bremen would have been very dull if it hadn’t been for the friends I made while I was there though. This is me and Will, the American, at a festival in October.

Will, Tobi and me trying 3D for the first time.

Crazy German drinking games. 

Me, Will and Julia in Wohnzimmer – a normal Saturday night with dirt cheap Beck’s.

Learning to Salsa with Alma.

Cooking with Will

Playing dress-up with Mara

…and again.

Fajita night with the Spaniards and Will.

I left Bremen with mixed feelings. I was glad to be going home, but I was sad that I’d be leaving so much behind. I’d grown to love the city and the people I’d met there. The more time goes by, the more I wish I could go back – it was a simpler time.

The day I actually left was surreal. My Dad picked me up in his car, so it felt like I was gone in an instant. It was raining heavily so I threw all my earthly possessions into the boot (along with the crate of Beck’s I’d bought), posted my key and we were off. We were on the ferry within 5 hours and I was left reflecting on one of the most interesting periods of my life. I still had a year of my degree to finish and some pretty big decisions to make afterwards, but I knew that would not be the last time I went to Bremen.