Saturdays Are For The Boys | Riley Stephens

For the first time in what felt like far longer than a week, I was finally able to sleep in past 8 am. The E3ers that stayed in Berlin for the free weekend decided to explore some parts of Berlin we had not seen. The day began with two essential ingredients for success – caffeine and high-speed internet from a local coffee shop. My plan to get ahead on school work while I had usable WIFI went rather poorly, considering that I did not touch any school related material during our three-hour stay. As the time approached 2:00 pm, our growling stomachs told us we needed to find some food immediately. Without delay, we found the nearest Asian burger joint. Yes, you read that correctly. The burgers from Shiso Burger were unlike anything I had experienced in my twenty years of nonstop burger taste testing. With our wallets empty and our stomachs now full, we determined there was simply no other choice than to make our way down to Alexanderplatz for some shopping.

Upon arriving, we were welcomed by a demonstration focused on animal cruelty within the food industry put on by the infamous hacktivist group Anonymous. Dozens of groups composed of masked men and woman holding laptops and monitors displaying graphic videos from the food industry organized themselves into perfect squares at the center of Alexanderplatz. In true college spirit, we wrapped up our outing with some shopping at Primark, potentially the cheapest store in Berlin. Fortunately, I was able to postpone doing laundry again by purchasing two full outfits and a pair of shoes totaling only 20 euros! We returned to the hostel to prepare ourselves for what would turn out to be an unforgettable victory of Germany over Sweden that night. The last-second goal that pushed Germany into the lead caused thousands of people gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate to lose their minds with excitement. After partying in the streets with what felt like half the population of Berlin, we concluded the celebration with my favorite German food, a Turkish döner kebab.