I Let Twitter Be My Tour Guide For A Day, And Here's What Happened
After moving to Berlin, I decided to see if living my life according to Twitter polls could help me mix things up and get to know my adopted city better.
I moved to Berlin in August. (I thought, if all the cool kids are doing it, why shouldn't I?). It took about three months to wade through Germany's famously difficult bureaucracy before I was able to settle, and now here I am for a year, surrounded by currywurst and beer.
I've done all the touristy stuff. But for all that, I feel like I've barely begun to understand this wonderfully weird city. I'm also guilty of becoming a lazy lump, lying on my couch every morning in a fleece onesie drinking coffee and watching Netflix.
So much of Berlin's personality is hidden. The street might appear quiet, but open a random door somewhere and you'll find yourself in the middle of a '90s-themed rave, or a burlesque show, or a hookah bar. So, I thought, why not take advantage of Twitter's new poll feature to have my followers run my life for a day, and maybe force me to discover some of those hidden gems? Who knew what kind of shenanigans I'd get up to!
(Hint: It starts out quiet and then quickly spirals into a two-day hangover.)
Candice Walsh / Via instagram.com
I set myself up to go to a sad museum in the rain.
“The park” was leading at first. I lay in bed cursing my loyal followers as the snow and rain drummed on my window.
But at last, the tides turned! “Creepy war museum” took the lead. I wondered if I had subconsciously thrown the word “creepy” into there to sway the audience. It bit me in the ass later anyway, as the line-up outside the museum took forever.
I wasn't really sure what to wear for my adventure. My goal was "unique, but not crazy." I figured my Hotline Bling sweater and a pair of leggings ought to do.
At the museum, I learn about collective potty breaks in East Germany.
I met my friend Cheryl and we headed to the DDR Museum, which focuses on what daily life was like in East Germany after World War II. The museum is highly interactive and lets you do all kinds of fun things, like drive a DDR car.
As you move about the museum, you can lift up panels and open doors to show various aspects of DDR life: clothing, uniforms, a perfectly replicated house from the 60s, etc.
Fun fact: children at schools took collective potty breaks. There were potty benches where everyone remained seated until the last one was done. Toilet training AND a social education!
My favorite part was the nudist display. Germans are well known for their love of nudity, and apparently even in Socialist times, sunbathing naked was a lot of fun. The display in the DDR Museum has a whole beach scene set up with tiny naked figurines, and then lots of naked photos. This was, understandably, the busiest part of the museum.
courtesy of Candice Walsh
After that I headed to one of Berlin’s "alternative" neighborhoods.
I decided it didn't make sense to stay in Mitte, where the museum is. It’s the most touristy part of town, and expensive as hell. Kreuzberg is the closest neighbourhood, so I decided to head there and ask the divine powers of Twitter to tell me which direction to go when I got off the U-Bahn.
I needed money first, and in my quest to find a Bankomat, Cheryl and I walked through Hackescher Markt. It was Christmas market season in Germany, and the gluhwein (mulled wine) proved too irresistible to resist. I loved it. I didn’t know it was so possible to love hot wine.
(Note: Almost every situation in Berlin eventually leads to booze.)