Bering Berlin Pt. 2

I had a memorable experience in Berlin. There were many things that were unusual but quite fascinating to be part of the moment. For example, after leaving the dance club around 4:30 AM Sunday morning, I was at a metro station waiting for the next train. A man approaches me and asks me something in German. I respond saying I don’t speak German. He then asks me where I am from. Then his two friends, a man and woman, join in on the conversation and we introduce one another. I forgot their names two seconds after they told me. He asked me if I had pepper spray to defend myself from an attacker. I explained to him that the truth is I don’t carry that type of self-defense weaponry because it would take too long of a time to reach into my purse and put them to use. I told them that my only logical weapons are my arms and legs. If the time came, my adrenaline would kick it and defeat my attacker, male or female, by harming his or her weak spots. The two men reacted by reaching for their manhood and making and “ooh” sound. We separated when we entered the metro train. I thought this was for the best since I was so tired. I think I arrived at the hostel around 5:15 AM.

This would probably be the last time I would be in Berlin for a while, so I had to embrace as much as possible.

I woke up at 8:30 in the morning, leaving me to venture the last part of Berlin with only under 3 hours of sleep. I did not let my lack of sleep stop me from going on my exploration adventure. This would probably be the last time I would be in Berlin for a while, so I had to embrace as much as possible.
My first destination was the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall. The first thing I realize was that this was exactly where the dance club was located. I exit the station and come across a photo booth. Although I was disappointed in myself for not capturing the moments of the night before, I decided to capture the sleep deprived and slightly hungover version of myself.
After playing the waiting game with the photo booth (about 10 minutes for the photo strip to be developed despite the five minute claim on the machine), I headed towards the wall. I would consider it to have been a bit early for the people who decided to go out the night before. I believe it was about 11 AM when I arrived at the wall. This time didn’t stop people from drinking a beer. I saw perhaps 5 different groups of people drinking a bottle of beer. Truthfully, I did not know much about the gallery. I knew that there was the infamous kissing scene, which was surrounded by a crowd of people hoping to get a photo in front of. Something I was not expecting to find was the “fuck Donald Trump” graffiti on an appropriately fitting mural of diverse people building a wall. The few Americans I did come across, all captured this and even posed for a photo.

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Minutes after this, I realized my camera battery was nearly dead and I had stupidly forgotten my extra battery back at the hostel. I try to take as many photos and videos as I could without completely draining the battery then head to the nearest metro station to go back to my hostel. I return to the hostel and charge everything.
Once I am ready to go, I head off to what is known as the Anne Frank Zentrum. This place was filled with really cool pieces of art on the walls. I have never been to a place like this before but was very happy to have seen it. Surrounded by the different forms of expressional art, I felt like also expressing myself on these walls. Unfortunately the thought of marking a wall did not come to me until that moment. For the next time I am in Berlin, I will have to make it a priority to not get caught while expressing myself on a wall or many walls in Berlin.

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Berlin was an amazing experience. Not only did I get the opportunity to explore the city in a unique way, but I also had the chance to meet some very interesting people. I was sad and slightly regretful I did not take pictures of them or with them. I was even sadder that I did not write their names down so I could track them down on Facebook. Although I did not get the information I should have gotten, I learned that from now on I will be better at capturing not only moments or experiences but also the people along the way. The people were very sweet and friendly and although I may never see them again, they reminded me how precious time is with people when travelling around.