Berlin, Germany 10/9 - 10/14

I arrived in Berlin on the evening of 10/9 with high expectations after hearing other travelers' comments.  I was not sold on Berlin when I first arrived, but that changed by the end of my stay.  I started my stay with a bike tour of the city, which was great.  The tour touched upon all of the history that Berlin has been apart of through out the years, mainly the wars.  It is hard to look at anything around the city and not find one of two things, bullets holes or graffiti (they call it street art, some of it real good) on the buildings.  I decided to take a break from the history of the city and go to a few markets that only run on Sundays.  It is getting cold, so I decided to get a winter hat, something that I did not bring with me.  There were a few street performers at the market, but most have put away their skills for the colder months.  After going back to revisit some of the historical sites from the bike tour a few days prior, I decided to take an "Alternative Tour" of Berlin, which was a great tour!  I really got an insider's view of how the people of Berlin live their lives.  The street art, art studios, underground club and bar scene and sports were the main focus for the day.  By the end of my stay, Berlin became a great city.