Sunday in Berlin

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon so we decided that the best way to enjoy it is to eat, do a bit of shopping and hang out in Mauerpark, one of the most popular parks in Berlin.

Every Sunday in summer, lots of people (locals and tourists alike) head out to Mauerpark. There's the flea market where you can buy lots of stuff from clothes, to vinyl records, to souvenirs, and even bicycles. Of course, there's plenty of food and drinks being sold too.

Flea market crowd

Inside the park you'll find families out having a picnic, friends drinking and having a barbecue, while others are simply resting or taking a nap on the grass catching lots of sun. I spent a good hour lying on the grass and enjoyed the first day of summer in the city.

"The sun is out and so are we!"

But the best part of going to Mauerpark is seeing all these artists - singers, jugglers, dancers, magicians - perform for free! One can always show appreciation by dropping some spare change or buying their CDs. I even read that at the Bear Pit, there's free karaoke for anyone who's brave enough to show off their singing prowess. Sayang we didn't see that (maybe it was still early?) because that's one of the reasons I wanted to go to Mauerpark. Here's one of my fave singers that day:

Oh how I wish we could have more parks like this here in the Philippines!

How to get there:

Take the M10 tram and get off the Wolliner Str. stop, just a few steps from the park and flee market.

My European Dream

So I'm back from our 3-week trip to Europe. Boo! :-( We visited mainly 3 cities: Berlin, Amsterdam and Prague. Almost everyone kept asking me why not Paris, Rome, London or Barcelona as they are the most common places to be visited by first time travelers to Europe? Well for one, the friend we're visiting lives in Berlin so we had to choose places that are geographically closer to the city. Secondly, I didn't want to go to these places (yet) because they are the most common choice by almost everyone I know. In short, para maiba hehe. Thirdly (and most importantly), these cities are considered to be romantic destinations, so being a single lady, these are the last places I want to be in right now. Will save those for another visit ;-)

I'll write more detailed posts on each city we visited, but for now, here are my highlights for this trip:

1. Famous landmarks
Of course, the trip wouldn't be complete without visiting these tourist sites.

East Side Gallery, Berlin

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

Charles Bridge, Prague

Old Astronomical Clock, Prague

Amsterdam Canals

The 'I amsterdam' sign

2. Art
I love hanging out in museums so I was lucky I got to visit several. Here's just a few of them:

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

Kafka Museum, Prague

3. Visit to a concentration camp
I have always been engrossed with holocaust-related history, so this was a must-do for me.

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Germany

4. Justin Timberlake concert
Hello?! It's Justin! And we were very lucky to be standing really close to the stage!

5. Walking and commuting
I ate ice cream almost every day while in Europe. Seriously! But thankfully I didn't really gain weight because of all the walking I did. I love walking especially when you have a gorgeous view (both nature and people, hehe) so I enjoyed Europe immensely. And, their public transport is very reliable and convenient that I wish I could do it everyday hehe.

Walking around Berlin