Berlin: The Last Day

Going on the pub crawl the previous night was a great idea. It was one of our first nights to have a lot of fun in a while and it was a great way to meet some new people (and not bug each other all night!). When we woke up the next morning, we had only a few things planned for our last day. The first was to head to the Berlin television tower, which is one of the most iconic and monumental structures of Berlin. It is the tallest structure in Germany at 365 m (1198 feet) and is beautiful to look at. You can see it many of my pictures, peeking out into the sky in the distance. We made our way over to Alexanderplatz, where the TV tower is located and when we arrive we noticed a lot of people and a lot of green. Green balloons, green banners, green trucks, and other green things. It only took us a few minutes to realize we walked into the 2010 Hanfparade—a.k.a. the Berlin Marijuana Parade for the legalization of the marijuana. We took a few pictures and went ahead and bought our tickets for the TV tower, but unfortunately the tickets were timestamped, so we had to wait an hour until we were able to ascend the tower. So we hung out in the middle of the demonstration. We got ourselves some balloons, received a plethora of pamphlets for a variety of topics. There were some about bongs and vaporizers and other smoking instruments, there were some about the medical benefits of marijuana, there were some about economic benefits, and so on and so on. We were given posters and everything, but most of all we just enjoyed the music and people watching. +Reason I like Berlin: Excellent people watching!+

We even ran into one of our buddies from the pub crawl the night before, but no more than 10 minutes after running into him, we had to go inside the tower and go to the observation deck. When we got to the top, I can't help but say we were all utterly disappointed. Berlin doesn't have anything to see from above! We were looking at crowded streets and low buildings, sprawled out but ending before the horizon. We forced ourselves to look around and take pictures, but the only good thing we saw was the Berlin Dome and the river that runs through the city center. We spent about 15 minutes at the deck and then headed down.

When we arrived at the bottom, the Hanfparade was getting bigger and better. By this time there were many more people, all different sorts of people, and they were getting everyone ready for the parade. Naturally, what are four 20-somethings to do when offered the chance to parade down the streets of Berlin with hippies? Of course, we are going to go with them! I mean, we already had our balloons, we were practically a part of the movement, right? We were all laughing at the irony of the situation. Four non-Germans, who don't really care about what happens with the legalization of marijuana, who don't really have anything better to do on a Saturday then walk through the streets and who really have no serious business being in the parade. But, enjoy it we did. We marched with them all, walking down the streets of Berlin. We passed by crowds of bewildered tourists (just like us, but on the other side of the parade!) and observant Germans. The reggae van was in front, and we were behind it, jammin' to the music. Behind us was a more crazy van, with a giant joint on top and this one played booming dance music. For us, it was just an excuse to have some fun.

We eventually got tired of the parade, because every so often they would stop and speak in German and the crowd would cheer and we'd be confused and cheer too, but our legs can only do so much walking, especially the day after a pub crawl. We broke off from the parade, and headed toward the center to find something new to do. We made our way to Potsdamer Platz. This is more the "new" Berlin, with tall skyscrapers and sleek office buildings. We ate dinner at a great restaurant, that was self-service but half-restaurant at the same time. The menu had a variety of items, mostly pasta, pizza, and other delicious items, but the innovative idea was you went up to a chef, told them what you wanted, and they cooked it in front of you! They put your order on a card, and you pay after you eat on your way out! Genious! The food was decently priced and delicious too. Remember, we still have our balloons with us, so along the way, people are looking at us a little funny, but for me, I had the best reaction. When I went up to order, I told my chef what I wanted and she started cooking. The chef next to her however, saw my balloon, and started talking excitedly and loudly to me in German. He got so excited he told a passing busboy something and pointed at my balloon and they both smiled and asked me something in German. Of course, I had no idea what's going on, so I just smiled stupidly until my chef told him to stop because I'm sure he was saying things he wasn't supposed to be saying while at work. Oh boy.

When we were done eating lunch, we stopped at Hӓagen Dazs and did a little shopping. Once again, the lady in the store asked to see my balloon, and after reading it, she just smiled and laughed. I smiled because she spoke a little English and I was able to explain what happened. By this time, we were kaputz. We did what we always do, and found a park to sleep in. Luckily, we were right by the Holocaust Memorial and across the street was a park. The park itself was terrible. The grass was dead and there was rabbit poop everywhere, but luckily we found four benches and each one of us took a nice little nap in the middle of the park.

When we woke up, it was starting to sprinkle. We had a lot of time to kill before our bus left for Prague, so we decided to go to Starbucks and just hang out. Sometimes, you just can't find something to do, even when you're in a great city like Berlin. We were tired and mentally exhausted from all the travelling, so hanging out was just what we wanted to do. We went to Pariser Platz and enjoyed ourselves at Starbucks, where we watched the people in the square and the many bachelor and bachelorette parties that passed through. (It must be a popular place to have them) When it was time to go, we headed to the hostel, where we hung out some more on the couches, and then made our way to the bus station across town. We got to the bus station just in time for our bus to arrive and for us to settle in. Finally going back to Prague!