Gone Wild: Deutschland edition

Oh Berlin, you had me at your first confusing guten tag. The affair began at Tegel, where no one seemed to care that two Americans landed in Germany from Denmark, because as I tried to show passport control people my passport they just waved us away when confirming we just came in from Copenhagen.

After shrugging off the lack of security, we went outside to find the bus to take us to the hotel. I kept looking around for a sign – any sign at all – of a bus or shuttle. There was none. I found myself slightly paralyzed with confusion; I couldn’t figure out what was going on and I was two seconds away from walking over to the undoubtedly overpriced cabs. A beacon of hope came in the form of another traveler equally as confused, giving me the strength to shrug off my defeat and remind myself I was not a total imbecile. He also provided the path out to the bus, because he was able to ask for directions. Why I was unable to do this I will never know.

Passing the Stadtbanhof station at night en route to the hotel, with its giant lights and modern design, was the reminder I needed to stop being lame: I was in Berlin on that bus to celebrate my favorite person. So, I stopped being lame. And once we got to our hotel I was glad my mood shifted. We walked into room 211, featuring the art of Guido Sieber. It was the odd and grossly cartoonish welcoming I needed to mark the beginning of a short whirlwind trip to Berlin.

I will not bore with all the details of the two days. Rest assured that good food was eaten, sights were seen, memories were created, and streets were walked. I’m glad to report back that my romanticism of Berlin held up, particularly during the nighttime stroll along the Spree at night. It’s a lovely city, and I hope I go back with enough time to make it outside of Mitte.