Our first day of exploring Berlin was really an eye opening experience. The city is just brimming with things to see and do, and the entire city seems full of good energy. Today we did our favourite day one activity: a walk through the city to get our bearings and a feel for the surroundings. We saw the unmistakeable TV Tower from the East Berlin era, which was considered an achievement in the DDR days but is actually quite a hulking eyesore. We also passed through Checkpoint Charlie, an area where you could cross from East to West Berlin and vice versa. Very cool!
After a walk through the enormous Jewish Holocaust Memorial, we paid a visit to the Jewish Museum, which was definitely well worth the trip. The building is very hard to describe, but it is an interesting physical space to inhabit. None of the rooms are rectangular, or any other regular pattern for that matter, and the building had the effect of being rather disorienting. Overall the museum was interesting, both as a memorial and as a learning experience about Jewish culture.
After a long day on our feet, we were happy to sit down and take advantage of the hostel's kitchen, which is by far the best that we've come across on our journeys. The most enjoyable part of our dinner was undoubtedly the conversation, as our impromptu history lesson on Sweden and Ireland was a welcome experience.