Bockwurst in Berlin

let's begin this post by saying that all 6 of us got piercings today. that is all the information we are willing to divulge. now, along with our daily naps, we will have daily piercing cleaning sessions.

that being said, we know it's been quiet on the blog. that's because we've been doing a lot here in Berlin. we reluctantly said goodbye to the Flying Pig on Tuesday night and set off (large backpacks in tow) for Amsterdam Centraal, the train station. our last couple days in Amsterdam were exhausting, but we wouldn't have felt right leaving feeling rested anyways. part of the reason we were so tired was because there are SO MANY BIKERS in Amsterdam. they are merciless. we quickly learned to spend a lot of energy dodging them. we made it into a game, where you win if you don't get hit, and you lose if a bike or tram crashes into you. several of us have almost lost.

back to the train station. once we arrived, we sat on the platform waiting to board our overnight train to Berlin. earlier in the day we had purchased groceries, so we spread out our meal right there on the cement platform. once on the train, we realized we were in for a ride. our cabin was probably the size of Maddie's closet, and had 6 beds... two stacks of three. we felt like sardines zooming along through the German countryside.

9 hours later, we arrived in this awesome city. our hostel has been a nice transition from the Flying Pig. it may not resemble a constant open house like the Flying Pig does, but it's very clean, people are friendly, and it's extremely centrally located.

on our first day here, we went on a free walking tour of the city for 3.5 hours. our tour guide, Theo, took us to all the sites and explained the fascinating history of Berlin. we sat on the lawn where Hitler addressed his troops, saw the Berlin wall, stood above where Hitler died in his bunker (now a nondescript dirt parking lot), and climbed the glass spiral dome to the top of the parliament building. afterwards, we enjoyed a traditional German meal, one of Theo's many useful recommendations.

that night we made friends with some people at our hostel and set out to find a club. when we arrived at our destination, we learned the club was hosting a private party sponsored by evian for Berlin Fashion Week, which started July 1st. after some weasling and whining, all 6 of us girls were let in the door. we're sad to say we ditched our new male friends in favor of free drinks and shmoozing with the tall blond bug-eyed Amazons and gay men.

now, we have to describe this party. it was on the roof of a 15 story building with a view of the entire city. we were surrounded by models that made us feel short and underdressed. our scruffy flats didn't really stand the test of couture. staff with evian shirts swarmed around offering free goodies.

on our second day in Berlin, we were slightly less productive. we wandered around a beautiful park for 2 hours in search of the famous Berlin Zoo. after many setbacks, we found the zoo and had a fun time immitating the animals (penguins and sea otters in particular). for dinner we split up and met back up to an electronic club called Bang Bang Club.

today we went to the Turkish Market for lunch, which was loud and crowded, but had good food. next we went to East Side Gallery to admire the artwork on that remaining section of the Berlin Wall. we got caught in a downpour, and 3 of us were wearing white shirts, but we pulled through and made it to the Jewish Museum. we walked around the Museum and dried off, and then went to the piercing studio (recommended by our hostel, don't worry moms).

tonight we plan to have a picnic dinner on the patio of our hostel and go to a club we've only heard great things about. wish us luck for putting together outfits. we dread getting ready every night because we have each worn all possible combinations of each other's clothing multiple times. we leave for Prague tomorrow at noon, so you might not hear from us for a day or two. say hi to the Bay for us!

love and miss you all,
val and matti