From Amsterdam, we grabbed a ride with some friends to Dusseldorf, Germany (famous for it’s mustard) to catch a flight across Germany to Berlin. If you have ever flown Ryan Air, you know what crappy, out-of-the-way airports they fly in and out of. This was one of them. Upon arriving we spent a few hours roaming the streets looking for a cheap hostel. In the morning, we began to explore Berlin. One of the first things we came upon was this commune.


We quickly made our way to the nearest bike rental place and got ourselves some cruisers. Alex shows off in front of his sign.


We began to bike around the city when we came to an impasse. Are there political protests every day here? Guess it was our lucky day. The citizens of Berlin (and other cities around Europe) were protesting the use of government bail outs.

We ditched our bikes so we could join the crowd.

After making my way through the crowd, I met this man who happened to be wearing a hat that matched the building behind him.


I also met his friend who apparently likes to hit on manikins. Those hot manikins love dogs!


Then I stumbled back towards the protest which had become mobile and begun to overrun the streets of Berlin. There were of course a few rowdy protesters who were quickly beaten and carried away. I was even threatened by a riot cop to stop taking photos. Yeah. Right.


The protesters moved on, and so did we. We found our bikes and began peddling towards the Berlin Wall. Thar she blows.


We continued through the city towards other parts of the remaining wall and places of interest. It was my turn to show off.

A rare view of both sides of the wall that separated countless people from their families and the rest of the world.


Next stop, Holocaust Memorial. The only thing that stood in the way was this giraffe. So we biked under it.


I began biking through the memorial until I was yelled at by a security guard. Radelnd erlaubt nicht! (biking is not allowed!)


The memorial is pretty amazing. It stretches as far as the eye can see, and allows people not only to view it, but to interact with it.

Alex gets lost in it’s labyrinth.

We returned the bikes and then tried to sneak into a hostel in downtown Berlin but they were full up, no luck. As we began what seemed like an endless walk to the other side of town, we walked past this building. A lot of buildings still show damage from when the city was leveled with bombs.

Our time in Berlin had come to an end. Next entry, Czech Republic.