Friday Feb 11th- Berlin, Germany!

Today (Friday) Natalie and I ventured out of Italy to explore Berlin, Germany. Although I am in love with Italy, I was extremely excited to see a different country.  Our morning started off on a rough start since we almost missed our flight due to the train breaking down. We ended up franticly sprinting through FCO towards our gate making it just in time.

Berlin was a nice change from Italy due to the great differences. On our bus ride into the city from the airport we were greeted with large brand new modern buildings and a wide range of restaurants and shops. This was vastly different from the strict Italian cuisine and small winding streets with ancient buildings that have become familiar in Rome. Due to the history involving World War II and Germany, much of the city has been recently redone. Most of the buildings around the city were constructed within the past 20 years. In addition to the modern feel of Berlin, it was also very spread out. Just getting into the area where our hostel was required us to take a bus, a train and then a tram. All of the transportation was amazing. Our bus had butt warmers and the trains were immaculately clean and nice.

Our hostel, called "Raise a Smile," was one of the nicest hostels I have ever stayed at. The hospitality of the staff and the cleanliest of the rooms and bathroom was what made this hotel the best. Upon arriving in the late afternoon, we decided to settle into our rooms and explore the area around our hostel. This area was know for having lots of fun restaurants and bars as well as close to the sites. We feasted on some quality non Italian food and walked around this cute district poking our heads into shops before heading back.

We returned to the hostel and met two people who were traveling by themselves also staying in our hostel. One named Mark was from Northern Ireland and the other named Nick was from Australia. They decided to join us as we went back to that street of restaurants and bars to grab a drink. We first went to this crowed small German bar called "Hops and Barley" that brewed their own beer. Later we headed to another bar suggested by our hostel that served banana beer. We were definitely introduced to a range of different delicious beers. Overall, it was a great day even though the majority of it was spent traveling.