Når du er i Berlin

"When in Berlin"

To celebrate passing our Danish language class and surviving our first three weeks in Denmark, myself and four other girls decided to go to Berlin. This was my first real time being in Germany (I don't think that the Frankfurt airport really counts) and it was amazing! We left on Tuesday night and after a delayed plane and taking the wrong S-bahn, we got to St. Christopher's hostel at 2am.

At first glance (and second and third) the public transportation system in Berlin is confusing so it's no wonder we got lost! By the end of our stay I could understand the system no problem....

None of us were too sure of what we wanted to do in Berlin, so what better than a free walking tour? We met at the Starbucks outside of the Brandenburg Gate only to see swarms of police officers and snipers atop the roofs. It turns out the the president of Israel had also picked that day to visit Berlin and we were told that the tour was cancelled for the day. Left to our own devices, us 6 girls (the 5 exchange students from Copenhagen and another girl we met from America but living in Germany) went to Kaufhaus des Westens - the 2nd biggest shopping centre in Europe. Just outside the centre was probably one of my favourite sites that I saw in Berlin; the Memorial Church. It was an old church that had been destroyed by the bombs of WWII.

We also saw the Victory Pillar, Bellevue Palace (residence of Horst Köhler, current president of Germany) and went to Potsdamer Platz where we had a traditional Berlin dinner. Then we went to SOAP a theatre production set in the bathroom. It wasn't in English, but then again there wasn't really any talking so it didn't matter much.

On Thursday there was no visiting president so the tour took place just fine. Our guide, Finn, was amazing! He took us around to see all of the main sites in Berlin: Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial Site, Hitler's Bunker, and the Gendarmenmarkt just to name a few things. After the 4 hour walk in the freezing cold we ended on Museum Island and went to the DDR Museum - an interactive museum illustrating what it was like to live in East Berlin. Afterwards we split up and Kelsey (the American living in Germany) and I went to see the Eastside Gallery which was amazing!

From top left: Daria, Claudia, Finn, Kelsey, Anda, Sylvia, and me

We finished the night with dinner at a blind restaurant. We chose our meals and then were lead (train style) by our blind waiter into the pitch black room where we were seated and served and fumbled around with our utensils and tried to guess what the room looked like, how many people there were, and what colour the napkins were (they were yellow...as we predicted). It was an incredible (and delicious) experience and I ate things that I probably wouldn't have had I been able to see what it was (ie. tomatoes).

On my final day in Berlin, we went to the Reichstag and got to go up to the top and peer out of the glass panels. I found the concept of using glass to represent the transparency of the government, and having the people able to look in from above to remind the government that the people are in charge so that another dictatorship doesn't occur very interesting.

We had currywurst for lunch - the deliciously unhealthy, and completely German, meal. At 2pm we met up for the Alternative City Tour and got to see another side of Berlin. We were taken through the back allies and side streets and shown the street art and graffiti that cover the cities' walls.

And alas the time came for me to leave beautiful, snowy, and freezing cold Berlin and return to Copenhagen (which I found out upon arrival was also freezing cold and in the middle of a snow storm which brought the S-tog to a halt and slowed the metro down to snail speed).

I thought that Berlin was an amazing city with a rich and recent history - I think that the next time that I go back to Berlin it will be completely different from this time. The city is constantly changing. However much I liked Berlin though, it still felt good to return home to Copenhagen and see the familiar streets once again. It's crazy how quickly Copenhagen has grown on me and how even though I've only been here three weeks, it feels like home already.

Transportation

Public transportation in Copenhagen is great! The metro runs all day and night which is nice because if I'm in town I don't have to worry about what time I need to leave in order to catch the last metro. I live about a 5 minute walk from the nearest metro station (ørestad) which also makes things very easy for me.

The city is split into zones. For the most part I only travel between two zones (1 and 3) so I have bought a monthly metro pass for 340kr (about $68 Canadian). The metro here works differently from the metro in Canada. There are no barriers that you need to pass, you just walk onto it. The first time that I took the metro I didn't know where to buy a ticket and I actually didn't pay anywhere. I have since learned that if you are caught riding the metro without a ticket (or outside of the zones that you've bought for) you are charged 600kr.

The metro pass that I have bought isn't just a metro pass but a public transport pass. I am able to take any bus or S-train (known as S-tog in Denmark) within zones 1 and 3 with this pass.

Ditka, myself, and Angela on the S-tog

And the public transport here is so nice. It is always on time and very clean! The seats on the buses and S-trains are cushioned and spotless. The taxis here are also very nice. They are usually Mercedes and have leather seats. The taxis here are nicer than most normal vehicles back home! However they are very expensive and therefore most people I know try to avoid taking taxis.

But even though there are so many methods of transportation here, biking is still incredibly popular. There are hundreds of bikers out and there are special bike lanes everywhere. Bikers are well-respected here and vehicles always give the right of way to cyclists. I am not sure if I am going to get a bike yet but I've been told that is impossible to survive in København without a bike so maybe once the weather gets a little nicer and the wind isn't quite so strong I too will join the trend and get a bike!

Bikes are not locked to bike racks but instead have a lock on their back tire.

"Everyone speaks English" - that's what I was told before coming to Denmark. And it's true; everyone does speak English, however all signs, announcements, and mail are in Danish. This usually isn't a big problem because most of the information isn't crucial to ensure survival.

However, there are times when it would be nice to know what is going on. For instance today I was on the metro when all of the sudden it stopped and started going in the opposite direction. The explanation was announced (in Danish of course) but I didn't understand what was happening. No one seemed too alarmed though so I just stayed where I was and within five minutes the metro stopped and started going in the original direction again so crisis adverted.

I have also been getting a lot of mail lately and this has posed a big problem for me. There was a lot of "official" things that I had to do in order to get set up when I arrived here in København such as getting my CPR number and opening a bank account. I receive all of the information regarding the status of these items in the mail, and in Danish. All I can say is thank God for my room mates. Without them I would probably be trying to figure out why my bank card wasn't letting me take money out. The Danish letter had told me to call and activate it. Luckily my room mate came to the rescue and called and activated my card for me and voilà I have money again.

That being said, I am really enjoying learning Danish. I feel like I have made leaps and bounds in my first three weeks here in Denmark. From not knowing how to say even the simplest of sentences, I can now order food, introduce myself, and talk about the weather. A very exciting thing happened yesterday: I was glancing through a newspaper and I understood an article! It made my day.

I am really hoping to continue with Danish throughout the semester because it is a really fun language to learn, and even though everyone here can speak English, it is still helpful to be able to know what is going on in case of emergency.

Arrival

I did not really know what to expect before coming here but I have not been disappointed. Denmark is absolutely beautiful! København is amazing; there is so much history everywhere I look and I love it.
I have met so many people from all over the world in just a few weeks; it feels like I have always known them and that I have lived here all my life. It is nice to already have made such good friends and to have found my niche so quickly; it helped making the transition from my life in Canada to my life in Denmark easier.