Monday, April 16, 2012

Travel tales in Central Europe - Part 3

Day 2 & 3 in Europe....
Day 2 (31/03)

Get up early to go to Berlin Zoo, Biggest Zoo in Europe. Again, were the only ones there. Ghost zoo. Weather very bad, raining and very cold. We were struggling to get around with put umbrella contantly being blown up. Only us and an old man in the zoo. Even the rhinocerous and alpacas were taking shelter from the rain. Not us.

Got to see some amazing hippopotamaus swimming in the water. One made a loud noise that shook the whole place. Very cool.

Spent some time following signs that pointed to the eis bar (polar bear). Could not find the eis bar. Saw many birds instead. All cool.

Finally found polar bears. Three of them. They were all quite funny. Swimming around and scratching themselves on rocks. Saw more cool animas including a boss like gorilla and smiley orangutan. Left zoo at 12 pm.

Visited the Brandenburg Gate. Very nice Place. Here I attach a picture of Brandenburg Gate.

Found our way to the Holocaust Denkmal (Memorial). Memorial made up of concrete blocks on undulating land. Very tempting for the graffiti vandals I imagine. That's why there's a security guard there I think. Pic of me at memorial.

Entered the visitors'c centre. Paid 2 euro to listen extremely informative automated guide. Spent two hours there. Very good Holocaust museum. Came up and it snowed while we were underground (the centre is located below the memorial). Sky very clear and very nice. Pic of me near Brandenburg Gate. You can see how clear the sky is, reflected in the water puddles some more. No need umbrella already.

Go back to hotel. Exhausted. Nap. Woke up at 8. Visited the East Side Gallery in the dark. Longest remaining stretch of Berlin wall. Interesting wall that was built to keep east Berlin from getting into West Berlin. Very cold and mechanic place if not for the bright and nice graffiti that adorns it. Picture of the wall. David posing because I was the one taking pictures. Take the U-Bahn to next station. Locate amazing burger stall recommended on Lonely Planet. David ecstatic because he is a food lover. I had been talking about Burgermeister all this while but he never knew how good it really was. Burger stall situated in old public toilet. But so busy until you need to take a number to wait your turn (like at Malaysian Immigration). Burgers super good and affordable! Pic of David at the burger stall.

Walked along many graffiti stained buildings. That area very dark and dodgy at night. Slept late even though had to wake up a 4.45 am to catch train to Heidelberg. Pic of hotel before we left. It was a really really cool hotel.

Day 3- 01/04

Got up at 4.45 am to catch the train to Heidelberg. Train departed at 5:56 am on the dot from The Hauptbahnhof. Said good bye to Berlin. I really liked the Hbf, was the most memorable site in Berlin for me. Train very nice. Big, luxurious and very comfy. Even had pillows for our heads. This was the high speed Intercontinental Europe train famed for being expensive and new.

Reach Heidelberg at noon. David extremely tired because Berlin was like a marathon. Weather bad, running around, fighting the elements with only a small flimsy umbrella. Worn down, Heidelberg rejuvenated us with its slow pace and better weather. Got into the castle because it was free entrance day. So lucky! Pic of heidelberg although I'm sure you've seen it. Pic of me in the castle.

Stroll around city, eat. return and napped. Had late dinner at Next door Mcd's.
Continue next post....more exciting stories....

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