Hello everyone! I know it’s been a few days since I posed. Lately I’ve been out and about nonstop, falling asleep as soon as I return to the hostel. I’m currently on the ICE train to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a tiny hamlet that I pronounce so badly in my American accent that it usually takes Germans a while to figure out what I’m talking about. So let me summarize my time in Berlin:

I did free-form exploration of Berlin over these past few days, using the city’s extensive public transportation system, the U-Bahn and S-Bahn.

My Friday started with a tour at “Subterranean Berlin,” a small museum housed in a WWII bunker that is accessible from a subway station (no photos allowed!). The tour was largely about life during WWII for Berliners who often needed to hide from the bombs. Our docent discussed how the bunkers were constructed (including glow in the dark paint for blackouts), and how citizens had to buy their own survival equipment such as gas masks. We also learned about how 90% of the city was destroyed, with more people killed in the bombings of Berlin than the total amount of American soldiers killed. The British soon resorted to carpet-bombing (flying planes in a dense “carpet” formation and indiscriminately dropping explosives over the city) and firebombing — forms of warfare that even could be more destructive than the nuclear bombs America dropped on Japan.

Survivors in Berlin had to clear millions of wheelbarrows’ worth of rubble, and salvaged what they could for repurposing — helmets became pasta strainers, and someone even crafted a defused bomb into a small oven.

In fact, there are still thousands of British bombs lying under the soil of Berlin. The last time a bomb killer someone was in 1994, when a construction excavator caused a bomb to explode.

We also saw how forced labor was used by the Nazis, mainly by enslaving people captured from the Eastern front, and bags full of clothes from murdered Jews were used to clothe free Germans whose homes were destroyed by bombs.

Okay, now let’s suddenly transition from the Nazis to something banal and completely different (a common theme of any historical trip to Germany). Namely, after the tour I ate at a German McDonalds, was had a bit nicer menu. Instead of fries, there’s the option to have a side salad.

Acting on whimsy, I next made a stop at Schöneberg, Berlin’s gay neighborhood. Most of the stores were oriented towards men, so there wasn’t much for me to do here but walk around. I did enjoy the unique atmosphere. Beyond the gay bars and clubs, many men here are talented craftsmen, producing custom leather goods — there were five independent leather stores in a very small area. One store sold vintage and new Lederhosen, plus 80s era military gear. It’s so cool how gay culture and club fashion can keep an old art like leather-working alive.

I also ducked into Berlin’s largest and fanciest department store, but departed after using their restroom (too new and expensive for me — I’m sticking with thrifting).

And speaking of thrifting, I did do some at the local equivalent of Goodwill, called Humana. It’s loads of fun (I just wish the stores would actually organize their clothes by size).

I also found some “clubwear.” Apparently German clubs have a certain dress code — plain, black clothing — so I needed to get something appropriate. I think I’ll talk more about German clubs and LGBT culture in general in my Cabaret themed post.

I spent the evening at an English-language comedy club called Cosmic Comedy — the 15 euro ticket came with two free shots of schnapps (courtesy of the Irish bartender) and a slice of pizza. Here I learned that Germans really enjoy doing shots of peppermint liquor, the taste of which is (to my palate) a little disgusting — but if you’ve ever thought “damn really I wish I could safely drink a shot of mouthwash” then you may enjoy giving it a try. Also, my new German friend did suggest that it would be good to order a date before you go in for the kiss.

As for the show, the four comedy headliners were from India, Russia, Germany and America, respectively.

I got to chat with a German traveler who was setting next to me, as well as a couple who moved to Berlin from Cape Town, South Africa (though one of them grew up in East Berlin during the 80s). I had so much fun talking with all of them after the show, hearing about East Berlin, Cape Town, and the rest of Germany.

I finished the evening by renting Jojo Rabbit, a dark comedy-drama film about a 10 year old Hitler youth directed by Taika Watiti. It’s a more of quirky, stylized film — as opposed to a historical one — but I did really enjoy it.

Saturday was more shopping, and walking. And I also scoped out a Berlin club that would fit my personality — I found one that had a 2 PM event, assuming (correctly!) that the vibe would be fairly sedate.

I stayed there for nearly 4 hours. The cover charge was 20 euros, which included 6 euros’ worth of drinks. I had gin on the rocks and beer mixed with Sprite (another bizarre German drinking staple). Again — no pictures! The bartender takes your bag at the entrance, and returns it to you at the end of your stay.

The club seemed like it hadn’t been updated since the 2000s, which gave it a sort of retro dive charm: dim lighting, an eclectic clutter of decorations, stuffed animal toy heads on the walls. The owners have had it for over 25 years. I feel like I gave the German patrons a mental drubbing every time they had to switch over to English for me. They could speak it well, but sort of in a “I’m embarrassed and struggling to remember the English I learned in school” type of way. Still, all of them were very friendly, respectful, and willing to chat with me. The patrons were Berliners, save for a goth girl American traveler from DC.

I had planned to go to one of the massive and infamous clubs later in the night — the type where the line can be 3 hours long and the bouncer is more discriminating than St. Peter himself. However, I was tired after those hours at the dive club and also thought my liver could really use a break. Instead, I did more shopping and relaxing. Here are some final pictures, and then it’s ciao for now.