26 Day Western Europe Backpacking Trip PART 2: Berlin, Brussels, & Amsterdam
5/10/05-6/6/05
Welcome to part 2 of our 28-day western Europe trip - our first ever international trip that sparked our love for travel! You can read part 1 here. We left off with a spontaneous decision to leave Paris a day earlier than planned and booked an overnight train to Berlin.
Day 8: Berlin, Germany
The adventure continues with our arrival in Berlin at 8:20 a.m. (because we booked at the last minute, we didn’t get a sleeping cabin and instead spent the night sitting upright - it was not our best sleep!). We took the S-bahn (subway in Berlin) to our hostel. This was the biggest hostel we had stayed at yet, sharing our room of bunk beds with 14 other people (12 of which were boys and one older man). We dropped our bags and headed out for the day. Our trusty travel book recommended taking the #100 bus to see the main tourist sites. We did this with the assumption that it would take us in a circle and drop us back where we got on (what is it they say about making assumptions??). We were taken aback when the bus made a final stop and the driver started yelling at us in German. Guess this was a one way ticket! We hopped off and of course we had no idea where we were (remember this is 2005, so no Smart Phones with GPS), so we just started walking around aimlessly.
Bundled up for the cold Germany Weather
One thing we learned very quickly about Germany is that it was COLD in May. Much colder than we were expecting or packed for, especially for two Florida girls! While we were wandering we stopped by some shops to purchase thick socks and sweatpants. We had a quick lunch of warm soup before we found our way to the Brandenberg Gate. The gate divided east and west Berlin before the fall of the Berlin wall. Next we headed to the Reichstag, the German Parliament, where we were able to go to the top of the building to get a nice view of the city before heading back to the hostel to rest and get ready for a night out.
We heard Berlin was the place to be for the nightlife, so we were looking forward to a night on the town. Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy and there were not many people around. We ended up going to a bar close to our hostel with a couple of the boys from our room. We enjoyed a few beers and conversation before heading back for a good night’s rest.
Day 9: Berlin, Germany
The next morning we slept in and had a quick breakfast before joining two of our fellow hostel-mates on a free walking tour of Berlin. What a great way to see the city and learn about its rich history! We started back at the Brandenburg Gate to meet up with our tour guide. For the next 2 hours we learned of the rise of Hitler to the fall of the Berlin Wall. We were fascinated by this amazing city! (Note from Alicia's history-loving-nerdy-side: Berlin's history is fascinating, somber, and important. It’s impossible to be there and not think about its impact on so many lives and the course of human history). To top off an amazing day, we went to dinner at a restaurant called Joe’s where we each had a bratwurst with a side of potato cucumber salad and an apple strudel for dessert. Yum! So far we are loving Germany!
Since we got a little out of order on our trek after leaving Paris, it was time to say goodbye to Germany (for now) and head over to Brussels. We booked another overnight train, but this time we were smarter and booked a sleeper car (couchette). With 4 bunks to a cabin it was kinda like a moving hostel, but at least we were able to get some horizontal sleep!
Day 10: Brussels, Belgium to Amsterdam, Netherlands
We woke up on the train at 5:30 am for a 6 am arrival. Our sole purpose for visiting Belgium was to eat Belgian waffles in the place they originated. In typical Dana & Alicia fashion, we thought we’d just be able to walk out of the train station and find a cafe in which to do so. Of course, as per usual, we were very wrong in this assumption. The streets were deserted. I guess 6 am was a little early for Brussels. We consulted our trusty travel guide book (note that we still use this same book 20 years later - we call it the Bible) and decided to go to the Grand-Place, a square in the center of the city that boasted lots of eateries and chocolate shops. Exactly what we were looking for! Brussels had a small metro system which we quickly learned to navigate and we were off.
Early morning Brussels street.
We hopped off the metro and headed in the direction of the Grand-Place. However, the streets in the city were really windy, and it was hard to tell which way we were supposed to turn based on our small paper map. So, of course, we just started aimlessly walking again, which ended up being ok since it was a very pretty area. It was much different than the bigger cities we’d been in so far, and we had some time to kill before anything was open anyway.
We continued to wander around looking for the Grand-Place and stumbled upon a small cafe that was open. Yay! We excitedly stepped inside hoping for waffles and quickly noticed that this was not only a cafe but…a woodworking shop? Interesting. We sat down at the counter and the one gentleman in the shop brought us over some drinks and then proceeded to ignore us for 20 minutes. We weren’t sure what to do! Was this actually even a cafe? Or a woodshop with a kind owner? Eventually, Alicia asked if they served breakfast. Without a word, the man walked away and came back with two croissants. They were good, but not what we were looking for. We wanted waffles! We asked the guy how to get to the Grand-Place and he pointed us in the right direction.
Manneken Pis, the famous “peeing boy”.
With the help of our cafe/woodshop friend, we were actually able to find the Grand-Place. It was a cute little square with restaurants and shops just like described. We continued on our waffle hunt through the square and up and down the cobblestone walkways. We were about to give up when we stumbled upon a bakery that sold waffles! We each got one with powdered sugar and strawberries - and they were sooo worth the wait. By the time we left the shop, the sleepy city had come alive. The shops were all open and there were school kids out and about in the streets. We continued to walk around just enjoying the atmosphere of this quaint city. We even ran into the famous statue of the little peeing boy (Manneken Pis) that we didn’t know existed until after we found it and learned it was famous.
Around midday, we were ready to head out. Problem was, we had no idea how we got where we were and no idea how to get back! So of course, keeping with the theme of this trip, we just started randomly walking. We ended up walking to an abandoned ghost train station covered in graffiti - that’s when we decided to ask for directions. With the help, again, from the kind people of Belgium, we made it back to the (not ghost) train station in time to catch the 12:45 train to Amsterdam.
Our first Coffee Shop, Free Adam.
When we arrived in Amsterdam, we took the tram to Bob’s Youth Hostel. It reeked of weed and the people were not as friendly as those we met in Berlin. We stayed in another 16-bed dorm, but this time it was all girls. We were tired from an already eventful day so we took a little nap to prepare for a crazy night! It was cold and rainy outside when we headed out to Dam Square (which we actually found without a problem). Neither of us were smokers, but we felt like to truly experience Amsterdam we had to consume SOME type of marijuana. We were on the lookout for some pot brownies. We came to a street with a bunch of “coffee shops” (aka pot shops if you don’t know the lingo) and went into one called Free Adam. We each ordered a beer and the bartender gave us a menu with different kinds of pot and prices. We asked the guy if he sold brownies and he said no and continued to stare at us. I felt like I needed to say something in our defense so I said “We don’t smoke, we have weak lungs”. Without cracking a smile, the guy directed us to the shop next door called Pick Up the Pieces. Half hysterically laughing, half absolutely mortified, we quickly finished our beers and headed out.
They didn’t have pot brownies at Pick Up the Pieces either, but they did have Space Cakes which were basically pound cakes with weed. We each had one (well I had 2 because Alicia thought they were pretty gross and didn’t finish hers!), but neither of us really felt very high. They didn’t have beer at this place so we went in search of a place that did. We went into a bar called Majestic and the first thing we did was find a bathroom. We had to walk down steep metal steps to get there, and on the second step, I slipped and slid alllll the way down to the bottom (in my defense, it was raining outside and my feet were wet). My butt hurt so bad, but all I could do was laugh. And once I started laughing I couldn’t stop. Then Alicia started laughing. This was the point where we realized that maybe the space cakes were kicking in. So a successful Amsterdam adventure! One last beer and then it was back to the hostel for bed.
Day 11: Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Prinsengracht Canal outside of Anne Frank’s house.
After our eventful evening, we slept in and then headed downstairs for our free breakfast of a hard boiled egg and a piece of toast. Our first stop was the Van Gogh museum. It was interesting, but there wasn’t a lot of Van Gogh art for a museum in his name. Next we went to Anne Frank’s house. It was pretty amazing and very emotional to hear her story right where it actually happened. Alicia and I both bought copies of the book on the way out to support the museum and learn in more detail about her life.
After Anne Frank's house, we had some time before our next Amsterdam evening adventure. We weren’t really sure what to do because we were trying to conserve money so didn’t want to do anything too expensive. With that being said, of course we decided on a fancy dinner. Smart. However, it was probably one of the best dinners we had so far: chicken with pineapple and grapes, home fries, and veggies (on day 11 of reliving this adventure, I’m realizing that I kept detailed notes on all the food we ate but documented very little information on all the museums we visited. Seems accurate. I bet if we checked Alicia’s journal, it would be the opposite. And that’s why we are such great travel buddies!). After dinner, it was time to go look for hookers. Yup, that’s right, hookers.
The infamous Redlight District
No trip to Amsterdam is complete without a trip to the Red Light District, famous for its sex shops and peep shows. We walked down the street lined with half naked men and women in the windows. People kept trying to get us to go inside to see the live porno shows by enticing us with “big willies and wieners”. Again, for some reason feeling the need to say something, I responded with “No thanks, we just like regular sized wieners”. Again, half laughing hysterically and half mortified, we we continued to walk up and down the street window shopping the district before heading back to the hostel for an early night. If we were visiting today, we probably would’ve checked out this fun-looking Instagram museum - but of course, we were there in the days when Facebook still started with “the”, well before the Instagram days!
Check back soon for more of this crazy Dana & Alicia adventure through Western Europe! Next stops: Heidelberg, Munich, & Florence.
Make sure you check out Part 1: Dublin, London & Paris
*Post may include affiliate links. As Amazon, Booking.com, and Expedia affiliates, we earn from qualifying purchases. The prices don’t change for you but it helps us fund this little blog that we love so much.
