Hi Everyone,

Berlin was so cool. Great food and grand sights to see.

I stayed at my first large hostel - St. Christophers. It had some pros and cons. Everything is very laid out and super easy to understand, but it felt a bit like nickel and dimming you and trying always to get in your pocket. You want a late check out? that's easy just 5 Euros. Don't have a padlock? Need a towel? 2 for 1 drinks... at OUR bar downstairs. Etc. Breakfast was only 5 Euros a day if bought in advance and I sprang for it. I'm glad I did. It was not like an all you can eat breakfast buffet back home, but there was turkey, cheese, boiled eggs, toast, cereal, fresh fruit, juices, and more. Was well worth the 5 Euros. The hostel was also located essentially right in the middle of downtown and right next to the metro/subway which was super handy.

My first day of exploring I put on just under 28,000 steps and toured all over the damn place... or so I thought. That night in the bar while I was working away on this video, a wonderful lady called Danielle introduced herself to me. She had ordered way too much pizza and wondered if I would care to have some. During that conversation I realized I had missed out on some very key places to go and visit. Namely, the Memorial for Murdered Jews in Europe being the biggest one. I had walked all around it yet totally missed it. She and I decided to go check it out together the next day and to also go and see the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park.

There sure was some confusing and funny stuff a'happening in Germany. Their go and stop signals for pedestrians are wack. Found out later on that it is intentionally kind of their thing - Ampelmann. The subways run like clockwork and are super clean just as one would expect from Germans. The locals do not ever break the rules not even the those pedestrian lights. No cars anywhere in sight yet they are all piled up and waiting for the little green man before they dare dart across the road.

Danielle is a veggisaurus and I am a meat-i-tarian, but we found a great compromise for dinner after a long day of walking at a place called Burgermeister. They have a better than decent option for veggie lovers and I got to eat some deliciousness. They have a side option of fries with cheese - thought about warning them about infringement on our Canadian staple of poutine, but I thought better of it. You don't add any gravy and we do not have any problems.

The city is magnificent, stoic, and grand. It could be I am bringing my own experiences and emotions to the equation here but I'm going to now say what I feel like saying... I could feel on the town and on the people a mixture of sadness and optimism. Sadness in that the scars of the past will never heal - they must live with some element of shame forever. Optimism in that despite that previous fact, they have decided to continue moving forward in a much more humble and understanding fashion. Each individual looks to what the others have done and tries to find their own path complementing the overall direction forward - being very mindful of trying never to offend, but to challenge, and to live their lives as best they can. I think some of what I am describing is part of the magic that is Berlin and I cannot really find words to fully describe this feeling. You have to be here to feel and get a small peak at starting to understand it like the little one I got.

Highlights maybe not captured in the video:

• As I start flying my drone for those utterly spectacular and breathtaking night shots over the city, there is a booming voice on a loudspeaker coming from the United States Embassy right next to me that "THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH!!! THE EMBASSY IS NOW CLOSED. ALL PERSONS MUST LEAVE THE EMBASSY IMMEDIATELY". Turns out I don't think it was ME, but umm... they never found my ass!. :) Talk about heart attack inducing though lol.

• I think it is already a safe bet to say that this 3 month global pass for the train is going to end up being well worth it. When I look and add up the individual fares for all the stops I hope to get to, It could be as much as only 1/3 the overall cost having gone with this pass.

• Like the late great John Pinette, I always thought my stomach was Italian, but I definitely have a love for frankfurters and various other tubes of meat. Shopping at the grocery store was very difficult - couldn't settle on just one kind. I think Grace was onto something when all she could think about when coming to Canada was to check out the grocery store. I've hit at least one in every country I've been in so far and I agree, there are hidden pockets of wonderfulness in each.

Huge thank you to Danielle for reaching out and touring around with me - It was so much fun!

Such a great time so far peeps - I'm excited and full of energy.

Off to Prague next.

Eric