Berlin baby!!!

13/01/2013 Since I took part on a 3 week all expenses paid youth project in Berlin back in April 2011, I have always vowed to come back to this awesome city. This time I am staying in a hostel in the former East Berlin, whereas last time I stayed in the trendy Kreuzberg from the West side.

The hostel is quite cool, and definitely has a family feel to it, given that the dorm-rooms don't have locks on them, and the staff are nowhere to be seen. Me and my friend are staying in a 8 person dorm but only 3 other people are in it currently. The hostel is overwhelmingly dominated by UK and it's Commonwealth compatriots, so we've had fun picking up some Australian and kiwi accents.

The other young people here seem to be living life as it comes and I think Benji and I are the only students here. There also appears to be a great penchant for drug use here but our dorm-mates are very friendly.

So far we've dined at an feasted on authentic Prussian food at Marjellchen, done the alternative tour of Berlin's street art, and partied in Ritter Butzke (although the music was not to my liking)! Oh, and I turned 21!

15/01/2013 Just a quick update. Yesterday we did the historic walking tour and our guide was Finn from Belfast who had a lovely accent and an incredible knowledge of Berlin's history. His enthusiasm was much needed given that the tour was 4 hours walking in -6°C, with snow for half of it. This did make the Jewish Memorial all the more beautiful though.

Some interesting things I've learned while here are:

• In communist East Berlin, there was an 18 year waiting list for a car, of which there was only one model and three colours available
• So much of Berlin is a construction site, with many projects running out of money and leaving "fake" buildings covered with a cartoon facade
  
• Hardly anyone pays for public transport on the U Bahn because there are no barriers at stations
  
• The iconic Conrad Schumann (a soldier who defected to West Berlin by leaping over the barbed wire fence he was supposed to guard) actually regretted the decision afterwards
• In Germany, if you've asked a waiter to bring you the bill three times and they still haven't, you are legally entitled to leave without paying
• Berlin is relatively poor for a capital city, with 11% unemployment
• A company called Mediaspree is buying up land and properties near the riverside, which has disgruntled many affected locals
  

Anyway, we are leaving tomorrow afternoon and I'll be sad to leave Berlin. My next post will be covering my stay in Budapest, Hungary! Photos will be put up when I get a chance.

Bye for now! 

27/03/2013 Finally getting round to putting up a select few photos: