On our last day (I could only get 2 days off work) we had a wonderful breakfast at this restaurant down the street from our hostel. We actually ended up going there for dinner too because it was sooo good! They are also had English menus :) After breakfast we headed to another tour. It was by a company called "Alternative Berlin" and it was the Real Berlin Tour. It was great! We learned a lot about the graffiti in the city and saw all the different communities such as the gay, Turkish, and Jewish communities. We didn't see one thing that was the same from each our tours. Not the same building, same street, same area, nothing! It was crazy!
Berlin is a city with a lot of history and a lot of recent history. It was sad to hear how much they are in debt and that since the Berlin Wall fell their only industry is in tourism which isn't very reliable.
After our tour we visited the Easy Side Gallery which is where the longest stretch of the wall still stands. They've commissioned artists to draw murals on the wall. It was a nice little area and right by the river that runs through the city. Overall, John and I had a great 2 days in Berlin! I can't wait to go back and I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Europe.
This girl we saw everywhere! She is (sadly) always trying to kill her cat. Here are a couple of examples. This is also an example of legal graffiti. She's basically posted up on paper glued to the wall. In different places you can see the paper falling off which is the point- it doesn't destroy the building. Any graffiti that is painted on (that isn't commissioned) is illegal graffiti. There is a pretty good mix throughout the whole city. But despite all the graffiti I still found the city to be very pretty and enjoyable. :)
Another legal graffiti artist. His work is also everywhere. He also has children in his art and puts them low to catch the eye of children.
When pigs fly!
Artists squat house essentially. It was probably a good 5 stories and there was graffiti everywhere! Some parts of it were cool, but def not a place I would want to live.
A housing development with a project called "50 faces." They're currently at 37ish. Each wall has a face painted on it. Some famous, some residents. It was pretty cool and a way to brighten up the ugly buildings that quickly came up after the war.
A commissioned mural. It's depicting the fall of the Berlin Wall.
I really like the lighting in the picture.
These bricks run through the whole city where the Berlin Wall was to remind everyone.
The longest stretch of the Berlin Wall.
One of the murals on the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery.
This beautiful bridge in the middle of East Berlin! The two communities on either side apparently have a food fight once a year on the bridge. The only rule is you can't throw something hard or anything that would hurt someone else. So for weeks they let old vegetables and fruits sit out letting them get all moldy and rotted before the fight. The judge? The police! haha sounds like a gross, but fun tradition.
