Our cheap and good hostel, Jetpak Original, is situated at the end of Pucklerstrasse (an expensive district where the president stays... haha) at the edge of Grunewald forest. The couple who runs it like travelling to Singapore! They're very friendly and adviced us on purchasing the group travel pass and going on the free berlin tour to get the most out of our visit.
http://picasaweb.google.com/yannyranran/JetpakOriginal
The free berlin tour is an intelligent concept. It is free because there is no fixed price, but after going through the tour, one gives the guide the amount one deems the guide deserves. As a result, the guides are all highly motivated. Our guide, Naida, a small Bosnian girl who grew up in Boston and fell in love with Berlin, told us so much interesting history that i got muddled up slightly. We went to the Brandenburg Gate... 
Jewish Memorial...
Checkpoint Charlie...
the beautiful Gendermenmarkt... it was a fun history field trip!
For my version of the free berlin tour
http://picasaweb.google.com/yannyranran/BerlinTour
Inside the Reichstaghttp://picasaweb.google.com/yannyranran/Reichstag
After the tour, we went to the Pergamon Museum, where crumbling structures, statues and artwork of bygone civilisations were painstakingly pieced together and transported here by German archaeologists. It was really as if one has gone back to time because there is the stairway up Acropolis from Athens, Ishtar Gate from Babylonia and much more.
Peeking into the ancient world Our dinner for the days we were in Berlin was in an North Indian restaurant -- Himalayas. I know it is rather funny that we're sampling Indian cuisine in Berlin but hear me out! Firstly, the food was delicious, piping hot and warmed our chilled bodies wonderfully. Secondly, the spice and aroma gave us a little bit of home. The guys were a little sceptical at first but ended up fans of Indian cuisine! It was owned by my papa's business contacts, Anil and his brother Ajay, who was very nice, calling and checking on me.
While Alwyn went for the Sachsenhausen tour, Lester, Lydia, Xianhong and I went up the Reichstag mentioned earlier during the tour. Sachsenhausen is the very first camp that the Nazis built and had all others modeled after it. I did consider going but decided against it as I think it would depress me dreadfully. 
Friedrich something... left like that on purpose after bombings
Instead, we went to East Side Gallery, the longest strip of the Berlin Wall left, spanning 1.3 km. The graffitti is really a piece of art. Then, we went to visit the Allied Museum that gave a glimpse to life in Berlin during the Cold War. The German spirit is to be greatly admired because they own up to every mistake they made and do everything they can to show their remorse and to remind everyone of the horrors of war. Also, much of the city was rebuilt after bombings of WWII and also after the Cold War, showing great strength. 
Glimpse into life in occupied Germany A lovely end to our stay in Berlin was a walk to the lake near our hostel. The waters were crystal clear and along the way were people walking their dogs or old couples strolling about. I think I would like to have a hostel of my own at the edge of a beautiful forest with dogs for company and helping travellers to enjoy their stay!
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