Art is Alive and Weird in Berlin

I recently visited the beautiful, odd, and eclectic city of Berlin. Everywhere you turn there is something packed with history or something covered in graffiti. It has a very distinct personality–one of resilience and the bizarre. As you wander the streets, you get the feeling that many of the residents want to give the old, strict, insanely symmetrical order of German stereotypes the middle finger. I quite like their spirit. In terms of my originally-from-Texas mind, it feels like Berlin is what Austin thinks it is and wishes it was. They are truly keeping it weird and subversive.

Here’s a bit of what I got up to:

• stayed at Cosmo Hotel
• drank my very first traditional Berliner Weisse–it’s shockingly green and made with woodruff, a grassy herb
• took a historical boat cruise along the river
• walked about Museum Island
• visited a museum dedicated to Currywurst (a German fast food made of fried pork and curried ketchup)
• explored Checkpoint Charlie and the surrounding area (this was particularly fascinating to me because I knew so little about it since I was only 3 when the Berlin Wall came down)
• roamed along the Eastside Berlin Wall Galleries
• enjoyed a beer at Holzmarket (this place is great! it feels like a artist commune, with little shops and art all haphazardly nailed together, right along the river)
• walked through the Memorial for the Murdered Jews (a sight, while sad and contemplative cannot be missed on a trip to Berlin)
• strolled around Brandenburg Gate and the other government building in the area
• took a little beer / food tour of Kreuzberg (a happening neighborhood full of young people and artists with a large Turkish population)
• tried out a few beers and made friends at Stone Brewing

oh! And you don’t want to miss grabbing a burger at Burgermeister, located in an old public bathroom under the train.

Stay tuned, I’m off to Copenhagen next!