Day 14 - Berlin — Wayfaring Abroad

Today started out much better than the past couple days but still we got out of the door much slower than we were the first week and a half of the trip.

See as it was Sunday we made our way to Mauerpark where there is a big Sunday Market. We were not prepared for what we found though. The market was extremely large, there were stalls lining the area and multiple rows of stalls. There was everything from clothing, to food, to drinks, to trinkets, to paintings, to maps, to chocolate and candies. Anything you could want or find was probably at this market.

The market runs on Sundays and as was apparent is attended by thousands of people. Next to the market is a large open field where people were playing music, playing basketball and sitting to enjoy the sun or their food.

We started out wandering up and down each of the aisles until we finally found the food stands where we each got something and made our way to the open field. I had a pulled pork sandwich, Tyler had pasta, and Devin and Chris had okonomiyaki. We made our way out to the field and found some seats by the basketball court. Along the way we stopped to listen to a guy rapping while someone painted beside him.

We all finished up eating but were enjoying watching a couple local guys play 2 on 2. They were not particularly good at basketball but they were entertaining. One of the guys had one of the worst shooting forms I have ever seen but every time he shot he seemed to think it was going in, and it never did.

We eventually had to get up because it started to rain. In fact, it seemed as though the whole market changed and things picked up in speed. We had spotted a couple things we wanted to get in the market so the rain was our cue to go pick them up and move on while the rain came down.

As we were buying our things the rain stopped and the entire market went back to normal. Above us the clouds were a little darker but otherwise you could not tell any rain was coming. IN total we were in the market for a little over 2 and a half hours.

From the Mauerpark Market we walked to the next train station and along the way we stopped and follows the Berlin Wall Memorial. The memorial consists of multiple stations where there are informational stands talking about the different parts of the walls history. One station was placed where a house was that people used to escape from the East to the West.

There are also tall steel poles placed along the wall line to depict where the wall was and finally across from the Berlin Wall Museum there are intact sections of the wall. The wall itself is in a deteriorated fashion but doesn't look too bad. One side of the wall is blank and imposing while the other has graffiti all along it. At the top of parts of the wall are circular tops to make it harder to climb over.

We stopped and sat for a couple minutes, taking in the wall and figuring out where to go next. From the Berlin Wall Memorial we headed back over to the Brandenburg Gate in order to get to the Reichstag.

We spent sometime outside the Reichstag before attempting to go inside. We had not done adequate research into tickets or the process of entering so we had to get in line to reserve a time for tickets. When we got in line there were only 18 tickets left for Monday in the evening. We slowly moved forward and spots slowly ticked off the availability list.

As we stand in line waiting the rain began again. This time the rain drops were massive, splashing the gravel on the ground all over our shoes and legs. We stood out in the rain waiting to see if we could get into the Reichstag on Monday. The rain really picked up and in no time those gigantic droplets were dropping incredibly fast. Within minutes we were completely drenched and all of the people wandering around the Reichstag and outside Tiergarten were running or under cover.

We stood in the rain until it was clear we wouldn't be going to the Reichstag on this trip. From there we headed along the water to go back to the art market we walked through the day before.

The massive raindrops falling on Berlin.

The rain had died down just enough that it was not too bad walking in the rain but just as we stopped to adjust a couple things the super heavy rain began again. We stood partially protected by a buildings overhang and watched the rain batter and bruise the roadway. FInally it let up just enough again and we set back off to get to the market before everyone would leave due to the rain.

Along the way the rain ebbed to a stop and by the time we made it to the market it had stopped completely. In fact the ground by the market was almost completely dry and left us wondering if it rained much on that part of town.

I found the art vendors I had noticed before and slowly found the pieces I wanted and got them so we could finish up and head off to the next place.

We had decided to head back to the apartment to change out of our drenching wet clothing but decided along the way that a coffee shop was in order and so we detoured the Five Elephant, about a mile and a half from our apartment.

We got there and grabbed some coffee and some cake. We sat in the heat and sun enjoying ourselves and relaxing for a little while. We had lucked into an outside seat and watched as others waited for people to leave. Finally when we left someone scooped up our table before we had all left the table.

Club der Visionäre from the bridge over the canal.

We were headed north to the river to go to Club der Visionäre which is a floating bar on a barge on a canal. You can see the seating area from the bridge above and it looked like it would be a great place to have a beer or two, however when we went to go in we learned that there was a cover charge and decided that was a non starter.

Instead of Club der Visionäre we headed back towards the apartment with the same goal of a beer but this time at a different spot. Walking along the way we saw a bunch of people and stall coverings so we detoured over and walked right into another market. The market was along the Oberbaum Bridge, which was shut down to car traffic. At the opening of the market there was a group of guys playing music to a very large crowd who were enjoying every second of their show.

We watched the show for a couple songs and then moved on to the market. It was an Art and Design Market and every booth had original works and very different styles of art. We walked up and on the way back across the bridge it began to rain again.

Very quickly the vendors started to cover their works and put some things away. On the first walk across the bridge I had spotted something I liked, so with the rain forcing my hand I went over and talked to the artist for a minute and decided on a piece.

Berliner Fernsehturm between two stalls selling art on Oberbaum Bridge.

With the market packing up we settled our way back on our way for a beer. We wound up at Hopfenreich, a craft beer bar with craft brews from Germany. We had a couple beers and sat inside for a little bit until we decided it was time to walk home and to grab dinner on the way.

We had heard that Oranienstraße was a good street to walk along and that there was always something happening so we slowly made our way over to Oranienstraße and down the street. We spotted shops and many eateries. Along the way we grabbed some food and made our way back to the apartment where we ate dinner.

A fascinating mural on a building in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg neighborhood.

We just finished discussing what we need to get through for tomorrow and planned out our day to hopefully get to as many things as possible so when we leave we won't have missed something.

After a day of rain and walking we are all very happy to be back and ready for a final day in Berlin tomorrow.

Distance walked: 11.5 miles