Oh, I almost forgot...

Isn't it funny how our brain forgets things when we most need them? For example, let's say you happen to be spending the next year living 5000 miles away from your friends and family. Let's also say you decided to create a blog to chronicle your journey. Hypothetically speaking, let's say you spend a week on holiday in a new city and then another week at home writing about your vacation. Only to find out you left out some funny anecdote. What a crazy coincidence that the hypothetical situation I just described isn't so hypothetical. It's my life.

I was skyping with my Mom and I told her and I told her the following story and the first thing she said wasn't "I'm so glad you are ok!" nor was it "I'm so glad you weren't arrested!" but in fact; "That's not in your blog!" Well Mom, here you go...

While in Berlin I used the two main forms of transportation: walking and the subway. The subway system in Berlin is run on the honor system. They trust you have the correct ticket and just in case you don't, they do random checks and it is a 40 Euro fine. On the spot. No questions. So everyday I used the subway, I bought an unlimited day pass for 6 Euro. There might have been a better deal out there, but I felt 6 Euro was a reasonable price and I didn't use it everyday (I was on a budget and got a ton of exercise when I walked everywhere)!

So I was heading home after a long day of sightseeing (I honestly don't remember which one, not that is matters) and there was 2 stops between me and the flat. That is when the ticket-checker-people (yes, that is their job title) got on the train. So I did what everyone else did, I went to get my ticket from my bag to show them. And, you can probably guess where this is going...I couldn't find my ticket. The guy checking politely asked me to step off the train, at least, I think he did..I didn't understand a word he said.

I then begin frantically searching my jacket pockets, my pant pockets, my purse, my backpack, everything. And of course the guy speaks no english, so I am trying to explain to him that I have a ticket, I just can't find it. I showed him my tickets from yesterday and the day before and explain that I really did have a ticket. He asked for my ID, so I gave him my passport and I think he then realized that I didn't understand him and he didn't understand me. He asked me for an address in Berlin (to send my 40 Euro ticket to) but I told him I was just visiting. So he explained that the ticket would be 40 Euro and I showed him my wallet, it had only 30 Euro in it. I don't know if he felt bad for me or if he didn't want to listen to my terrible attempts at speaking German, but he just made me buy another ticket for the day. I ended up spending another 6 Euro for another ticket and I didn't even need it because we had gotten off the subway at my station..classic, right?

Moral of the story: Just like your keys, always, ALWAYS make sure you have your ticket. Double check and even triple check if necessary.

BERLIN! (Day 8 & 9)

My last full day in Berlin I went on another tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours. I chose to go on the Berlin Wall and Cold War Tour because I had such a great time on the first tour and I find the Berlin Wall to be a fascinating piece of history. I unfortunately made a huge mistake and left my camera in the flat! So I am without any pictures. Luckily some of the stops on the tour were places I had already been and therefore already had pictures of. I was extra lucky to meet some great people on the tour who are going to e-mail me pictures when they get home from all of their traveling! So for now I'll just tell you about the tour!

Our tour started off in Alexanderplatz, where the bike shop was, and we actually went down Karl-Marx-Allee (the street the flat was on). We learned that Karl-Marx-Allee was built by the former DDR to rival the Champs-Elysees in France. Our tour guide stopped us in front of an older apartment building to show us the former luxury apartments of the DDR. We talked about the great architecture and how they were ahead of their time and are still great buildings to live in and are in high demand. Funny thing was, the building he was talking about was the same building I was staying in!

Then we went to the East Side Gallery. I actually enjoyed it better when I went on foot because the sidewalks were pretty narrow and that made it difficult to navigate the bikes among all the people (especially for someone as uncoordinated as myself)! Don't get me wrong, it was still a great experience, and I had time to look at the other side of the wall that is covered in graffiti.

We stopped at Cafe Moscow, a building I passed every day on the way to the subway but never knew anything about. I learned it was a former nightclub that was predominately visited by members of the Stasi, their informants, and other political figures. The club is now closed and the building is used as an event space. If I was a rich Berliner, I would totally have a birthday party there!

Another interesting thing about Berlin is the fact that there are so many Soviet memorials there. There are a lot. And it turns out, the soviets built them very quickly at the very last moment; like right before the war was over. It was kind of their last act of taunting to Western Germany and it's supporters. One of the larger memorials is supposedly made from marble from Hitler's former offices and melted Nazi tanks. Interesting.

We followed the former path of the wall all around Berlin. We stopped at a watchtower that was much bigger than the one from the previous tour. This watch tower was big enough for 5-6 guards and even had a holding cell for people who tried to escape. It was vert interesting to see the path of the wall today. Most buildings around it are very new because construction took a while to begin in that area just because of everything that happened there. Some areas haven't even been constructed on yet; they probably look very similar now to how the former death strip used to look. Deserted and empty.

Then we headed west and again back east as we checked out some of the awesome street art in Berlin! Our guide took us to a delicious turkish restaurant in the neighborhood of Kreuzburg for lunch. It was amazing. Best falafel and hummus I have ever had. Delish. After lunch it was back on the bikes and we headed to Checkpoint Charlie. It was another place I have already been, so it wasn't too exciting. But it was exciting to hear some stories from our guide. I learned about the standoff between the Soviet and US tanks as well as many creative escape attempts (some unfortunately less successful than others).

All in all, it was an awesome tour. I'm definitely kicking myself for forgetting my camera, but I'm glad I was able to make friends with strangers who were nice enough to e-mail me some. See Mom, not all strangers are bad! :)

The next day I woke up, packed my bags, and headed to the train station to go home. I was sad to leave Berlin because I had a great time, but I definitely needed a vacation from my vacation!

BERLIN! (Day 7)

I'm kind of like a five year old in the fact that I love zoos. I just love that there are animals from all kinds of habitats from all over the world all in one location. Germany has so many zoos and animal parks, it's insane. The Berlin Zoo is one of the most visited not only in Europe, but also in the world. There are over 17,000 animals from 1,500 different species making it one of the most extensive zoos in the world. 

Have a look:

this zoo has everything.

weird hippos (tapirs)

pygmy hippos

hairy, old, horny animals (some kind of goat?)

big horny animals

humpbacks

europe's version of a longhorn

this guy was like a statue.

i stood there for almost 5 minutes and he never moved!

another non-moving sheep/goat/thing. they must not be friendly creatures.

flamingos!

he was totally mean-mugging me as i took this picture.

owls! (they were totally awake during the day)

wolves!

yaks. i think.

penguins!

seals!

more penguins!

even more penguins! 

i couldn't help it. they were so cute!

feeding time for the otters.

they were rolling around in their food. 

gross and cute at the same time (it that's possible...)

zebras!

i'm convinced they were staging a revolt. 

they were all walking around making tons of noise and flapping their wings.

nutria rats. 

didn't need a sign for this one, i've seen so many of them on camping trips!

something that would be eaten by a lion in africa.

a male ostrich!

female ostriches. not nearly as pretty. sad day.

kanga-rat?

kangaroos!

the two in the back were totally fighting!

this zebra was angry. he would make mean noises 

if other zebras got too close to him.

more rhinos!

all kinds of ducks!

jaguar. leopard. jaguar. leopard. you decide.

crazy squirrels!

feeding time!

my favorite!

i was so close. i really wanted to pet him, 

but i was worried about getting kicked out. or losing a finger.

so cool.

i think we had a moment.

nap time. this totally reminded me of bella.

and this reminded me of bella too. 

remember earlier, when you decided if that one cat was a jaguar or a leopard?

well this is the other one.

he was chewing, not growling.

if cubs are baby lions, what are teenager lions?

yummy.

all these cats were either sleeping or eating. 

based on this, my dogs belong in a zoo.

angry black panther. no pun intended.

i have a video of him pacing around his cage. he was seriously ticked.

sleeping tiger hidden dragon?

they were opposites!

this is the angry panther from before. 

i've never seen something so angry just because they were hungry!

hide and seek?

oldest panda in captivity!

look at these guys! so cute!

that's a big monkey.

and this one's so little!

excellent timing with this picture, i must say.

monkeys are so cute :)

grooming each other!

oh. my. gosh. this guy is scary.

seriously. would you mess with him? didn't think so.

chimps!

look at the baby monkey!!!!!

giraffes.

they had a pretty cool habitat. 

elephants!

this one kept throwing her food everywhere!

he was my favorite.

Seriously. I spent hours at this zoo and I didn't leave until I double-checked to make sure I saw everything! It was awesome.