Disclaimer: This post has alot of food images because food is really cheaper in Berlin and we had better meals. Proceed at the risk of your hunger:P
After Italy, our next stop is Germany. First out of the three is our longest stay(5D 4N), the capital Berlin! Recalling back to our planning phase, Berlin was one of the places we really wanted to go and we kind of said the place together(jynx moment). Thus, we really looked forward to this city a lot!
Most importantly for this trip we learnt about the history of Germany. How a country crisis fueled into hate that spurred the Nazis ambitions and cause the war and genocides to happen. It taught us a lot of meaningful perspectives that a country should be anything but bearing hatred or exclusivism of a certain group of people. Oh and its really noteworthy to see the Germans valuing this history of their own and making important landmarks such as the Bahn station (which sent 1/5 of the jewish kids to London) and also the Berlin walls that marked the unification of Berlin in 1989! For your additional infomation, the German Government are trying their best to acknowledge the nazi crimes and remembering the events as a criminal event, using words such as murdered to apologise to the Jews.
On Day 3, we went to explore the Turkish market in the region of Kreuzburg! That was when we discovered that outside of Turkey, Berlin has the highest number of Turkish settlement! In fact, it is so big in Berlin that they actually integrated their culture and food into their lifestyle(Berlin is famous for Currywursts and Kebaps). A big thank you to Xinyi for stalking bloggers and discovering about this mart which only opens on two days of the week! We managed to try some turkish food such as Turkish cous cous, Medjol dates, Gozleme as well as Turkish Delight! All of them have an exoticnflavor that one has not experienced in Singapore and they do not cost a bomb:) some of them are actually veg and they dont even have the strong veggie taste, YAY!
On day 4, we went over to Markthalle Neun and discovered that there is a farmers mart on Saturday! After walking around for 1hr plus, we decided to try their farm produces, flank burger, spinach quinche, apple crumble and lentils! Omg another fulfilling food meal:) and an advice to those who want to try it out, come on sunday morning(breakfast market) or Thursday night (street food night). Definitely worth a try!
Transport in Berlin is highly accessible and efficient. And an interesting note to Berlin is that it works on an honour system! The government do not build gantries in public transport stations and they trust the Germans to pay dutifully. As a result, we got to travel around Berlin for free:) do take note that there may be officers checking around and the fine is 60 euros. We are not so lucky to get caught yet but Khengyee told me her friend got caught! I heard they are usually guys in their 20s wearing casual wear. Travel free at your own risk!
Other than that, Berlin is a very special place. The architecture and streets reminded me of Singapore(high-rise, playgrounds, shopping centre) but yet at the same time, they are really European(domes, synagouge, artefacts). The lifestyle between central berlin and berliners in the outer regions are different as well. The outer seems more countryside and chill while those in central berlin are more civilised but hectic. It was an interesting 5 days to walk around with xinyi to different parts of the city:)
Finally as we said, we ate like kings in Berlin because everything is much cheaper! From Currywurst to Kebap and even Asian food! Omg! And yea we visited 2 chocolate speciality shops (rittersports and Fassbender and Rauach) , highly reccomend to get as gift frim Ritter Sports cause they are so cheap (1.05 euro for the choc bars)! And for the latter, we suggest that even if you are on a budget, empty your 20cents and buy their 20c chocs, they are so good:)))
Now before I end, I just want to conclude by saying Berlin can be really expensive if you buy their Berlin Pass and go to their restaurants everyday. But likewise, Berlin can be the most afforable city of your journey if you research before hand and plan your trip properly(ie go to Reichstag Dome for free if you book prior, Turkish Mart on tuesday and fridays, farmer mart/street food on sat/thursday…) Do visit Berlin, if you are interested in history and also some cheap thrills here and there. Visit their supermart, trust me, you will squeal in delight!
CinqeMinte 
