"Berlin! Berlin! Wir fahren nach Berlin!." ("Berlin! Berlin! We're going to Berlin!")Reaching Berlin was on many levels a personal triumph for me. First of all, I very nearly didn't make it here because of a disastrous airport mixup back in Barcelona, but that's another story.
Secondly, of all the European cities, I really wanted to see this one, because it had the most turbulent history, and just 20 years before, it was impossible for me to have walked across the Brandenburg Gate because the Berlin wall was still in place. Well, I was 3 years old then so I'd have probably stumbled across, but that's not the point. It was also poignant that I'm non-Aryan, and I'm walking free in a city that once housed madmen who deemed killing non-Aryans perfectly normal.
Lastly, this was the last leg of my solo trip, and also the last holiday destination of my exchange, so if I had survived somehow all the way to this point and still had enough money and energy to have a blast, I knew that I would end this exchange on a high.
I did have a good time in Berlin. In slightly under 3 days, I traversed the whole length and breadth of Berlin, even heading into the outskirts in the North and South to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and Potsdam. I basically walked till my feet were blistered in 3 or 4 places, covering distances of up to 15km each day, and I got even more chaotah. But it was worth it, because I knew my experience would be been lesser had I taken the easy way out and skipped places.
Day One
Brandenburg Gate. A symbol of unity and all that is German, it is probably also the most iconic symbol of Berlin.
The Jewish memorial within Berlin. The uneven height of the stones made it extremely fun for me experimenting with the self-timer on my camera. I know, it's not supposed to be a place for fun but I'm a tourist.
The former site of Hitler's bunker. Well, what do you think of its new purpose?
A segment of the Berlin wall. 
Checkpoint Charlie, the former border between East and West Germany.
The Reichstag made entirely out of chocolate. 
Gendarmenmarkt. A square with the concert house, the French cathedral and the German one, the German one identical and opposite the French one but of course a little taller than the French one because this is Germany. My guide proclaimed this the most beautiful spot in Berlin but I found a nicer looking one later.
I found it extremely funny that this church was dedicated to Saint Hedwig. A CS joke I know but its still damn hilarious.
The History Museum and the TV tower, the former symbol of East Berlin, in the background.
The Berliner Dom at Lustgarten, next to the Museum Island. I think this place was prettier than Gendarmenmarkt, but that's probably because I prefer greenery and fountains.
The East Side Gallery. A grittier Berlin that what most of us expect, but no less important. This 1.3km section of the Berlin wall is the longest preserved section of the original wall, and it is the heart of Berlin's underground scene, with political messages aplenty.
Some girls adding their own messages to the Berlin wall and taking a picture of it afterwards.
This made me think. Simple in delivery, yet what a message.
A unusual bridge spanning the River Spree.Day Two
The Reichstag. The seat of Germany's government, and the theme of endless WWII games where you had to clear this building. It was really unreal to see this thing in real life and realise I'd spent hours shooting Germans out of this building in Call of Duty or Medal of Honor or something.Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp - I won't post many pictures of this place because it made me sick to the core. However I will post the more important pictures so you can see for yourselves the kinds of conditions people were made to endure.
Arbeit Macht Frei - Work makes you free. The same sick and empty phrase that marks the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau and other infamous concentration camps. This was the first real concentration camp, set up in 1936 outside Berlin as a model for others to follow, both in its design and treatment of prisoners.
The guide giving us a talk about the place. Behind her is the former roll call area, where prisoners had to stand while their numbers were individually called out. On a particularly cold winter night of minus 20 degrees, over 180 prisoners lost their lives on this square, dropping dead as they froze to death, because all they were given to wear was one layer of blue striped pyjamas.
Conditions inside one of the barracks, each housing 400 people. The whole place was covered in filth, simply because there weren't enough toilets, and people were squeezed together on the bunk beds 3 to each bed, and the remaining prisoners were stacked on top of each other on the floors.
A marker for one of the destroyed barracks. The stones above represent stones left by other Jews. Jews have a custom of putting a stone to mark places where Jews have died. 
The grounds of the prison within the prison, where inmates were subjected to "special treatment", out of sight of the other prisoners. People were hung from these poles from their arms bound behind them, so that as they were beaten on these poles their arms would eventually be torn out of their sockets.
The foundations of the former execution chambers and the crematoriums. The Germans would kill people, then loot them of everything that could be used, their tooth fillings, their bones, hair etc. They even sold ashes to rich Jews requesting remains of their relatives in the camps, but of course whose ashes those were was dubious. The Germans made a profit off every prisoner killed. Small wonder they had money to finance their war effort.
The worst building in the camp, the Pathology lab, where terrible medical experiments were done on people. It felt awful to just be in that place, because even 60 years on you could still smell the antiseptic, and buildings that old aren't supposed to smell like anything. It was literally, the smell of death. When the guide told us to head down to the cellar mortuary to take a look, all of us actually hesitated because nobody really wanted to go down there. I won't post the pictures I took inside because I feel uneasy even looking at them now.
A quote left by one of the survivors of the camp.Potsdam - City of Palaces
This place used to be the palace grounds of the former Kaisers. However, the Germans still haven't found enough money to restore all the buildings, so come back in 10 or 20 years really, or you'll just see a lot of scaffolding. It is a common story throughout Berlin actually, because so much of the country was bombed in WWII they are still raising money to restore all of the historical buildings.
The first and last pictures are the main palaces of Potsdam, the Schloss Sanssouci and the Neues Palais.Day 3
A bombed out church, partially restored and then left as it is to serve as a reminder of the effects of war in Berlin.
I walked into Tiergarten, the biggest park in Berlin, and right into its heart, the Siegessaule, a tall tower that overlooks Berlin, crowned by a golden angel on top, the same angel that crowns the Bradenburg Gate.
This tower is actually the site of the annual Love Parade, a gay festival, as a picture in its museum attests.
However, I was to see something very different. Note how empty the road leading up to the Bradenburg Gate is.
I walked right into a strike by taxi drivers all over Berlin without realising it. The strike was mainly peaceful, but it sure was quite an experience. The moment the drivers saw me taking pictures they started unfurling their banners, and shouting slogans at me.
I decided to queue up to get to the top of the Reichstag because I hadn't the time the last 2 days, and while in the queue I was entertained by this group of mimes with their act. Basically the 5 of them would control different body parts, and they would move them according to the actions they wanted. It was really good, and I was amazed at how coordinated it all was. Of course it wasn't free, but I was happy to tip them at the end.
The guy on the right has the longest handlebar mustache I've ever seen on a person in real life. I was utterly fascinated by it. He reminded me of Josef Stalin. Haha.
Snapping a picture in the roof of the Reichstag. I liked the mirror effect. I know, boliao.
The top of the roof.
The glass roof of the Reichstag from the outside. 
Wurst :-)Currywurst :-)))
What is currywurst? The best thing in Berlin. Ridiculously expensive here, so I'm going to make my own back in Singapore. It's a chopped up German sausage in ketchup with curry powder over it. So easy to make, yet it tastes so darned good. I bought one at every single currywurst stand I saw. That's probably where all my money went.