Berlin International Beer Fest 2015

The first weekend in August we went on our first trip to Berlin with Outdoor Recreation (an organization on base here that organizes trips and activities for soldiers and their families). We signed up with lots of friends from our unit and were super excited to have a big group of friends to go with.

The bus trip there started very late on Friday night (around midnight) and we arrived early Saturday morning around 930am. It was suuccchh a long and terrible bus ride. The seats were super uncomfortable, the bus was super cold, and the movies the guide played were terrible. Other than the crappy bus ride there and back everything else was perfect!

We arrived and dropped off our luggage at our hotel but we weren't able to check into our rooms yet because it was so early. Instead we left our bags in the luggage room, changed, and headed out!

Our hotel was in a great location. There was a festival literally happening right next to it, the beer fest was a walk down off the same road, we were super close to public transit, and, on top of all that, the hotel was GORGEOUS.

First we headed out to snag breakfast at a little nearby restaurant (that specialized in bread goodies) called the Back Factory.

Next we crossed the street and hit a Berlin touristy shop to snag some goods (I needed to be sure to get a magnet and a shot glass!)  They had lots of cute items there.

After we walked around the little festival outside our hotel, snagged some drinks to start the day, and then got on the train to explore more. I mean who turns down a desperado in the morning?

Since we were only going to be in the city for the day/night we wanted to be sure to see as much as we could. Berlin is about a 7 hour drive from where we live and we didn't know if we'd ever make it back. With that being said, the morning hours were jam packed so we could see as much as possible before heading back to check into the hotel at 3pm.

Our first tourist stop was at the Brandenburg Gate and the nearby Reichstag building.

We walked around the two locations and a nearby park across the street from the Reichstag. There was another monument in the park there. It was a memorial to the Sinti and Roma victims of socialism. These panels surrounded an opening with a memorial pool.

Next up we hopped back on the subway and headed to the Berlin Wall memorial.

these sections of the wall had been removed but preserved and moved to the middle of the memorial site

Lastly we hit Checkpoint Charlie. Rob, Desiree, and I all got our passports stamped at the checkpoint.

Of course we had to stop to photo the restaurant called "Balzac" (because we're children) it was right outside the subway stop we got off of.

I got this postcard for Jenny :)

Once back off the train at our hotel we stopped at the festival for a few more cold drinks (love mojitos in the summertime).

saw this guy right outside the train station - I bet he was SO hot with that grill
strapped to his waste cooking brats.

Then we saw this gem at the festival. I'm voting bachelor party outfit?

The chalk art Shrek was outside the train station too right on the ground- so pretty!

When it was around 3 pm we left the little festival and headed back to our hotel to check in. It was super pretty and I was very surprised. This was our first outdoor rec trip and it definitely surpassed my expectations.

This was the view from our window- that is the festival right by our hotel.

Once settled in we all changed and showered and met up downstairs to walk to the beer fest. The festival was set up alongside the street on one side. It was about 2.3 km long and there were so many different countries represented. So many different types of beer!

We bought these mini beer mugs that hung from a lanyard to use at each stand.

mango beer!

man that wind didn't help my hair at all. But - Rob's fedora was cute.

 

raspberry beer!!

POTATO PANCAKES! (of course)

 

Once we made it to the end we were tired! Lucky it ended by a subway stop and we were able to take it back to the hotel

Once we got back to the hotel Danette hit the hay and the rest of us went back to the festival by our hotel to continue the party. Sadly I started to get sick and super cold while we were there so I didn't want to stay out long. We all hit the burger king in the hotel for a super late night dinner and then all headed to bed. It was an awesome day FULL to the max with activities. We had a great time and would definitely go again if we're able.

The next morning we checked out and headed back to Baumholder on the bus. Yay for stretch two of the best bus ride ever. We also ended up getting back way later than expected which wasn't great BUT- as I said, totally worth it because the trip was great.