I took advantage of my brother's visit to Europe for work and went to meet him in Berlin, a city that was still unknown to both of us. We spent 5 days together, with lots of love and lots of confusion, but we also met a friend who has lived there for a few years. I got a lot of information from my friend, on the blog Simply Berlin (super, ultra, mega complete!) and I also took advantage of an itinerary from a friend who lives in Rio. So traveling was easy! 🙂
We managed to see a lot in these 5 days, but you could stay for a week or more and still not see everything the city has to offer. There are many museums, monuments, parks, cool restaurants, different shops, clubs, etc. There is a lot to see and I think there is something for everyone. Many of the attractions are free (yay!), but we ended up spending a lot on transportation, because the city is huge and you can't do everything on foot (my parameters right now are Dublin...lol).
I'll write the details of our itinerary day by day, but I want to quickly talk about transportation:
- For the busiest days, we opted for the daily passes that give you unlimited transport for 7 euros per person.
- For quieter days, we take the single passes that cost 2.70 euros and are valid for two hours.
The two types above are valid for buses (M), subways (U), trains (S) and trams (T) and yes, it is quite possible that you can use all of them to get to the attractions faster. We buy some of the passes from the bus drivers and others we buy at the subway stations from newsagents. You have to validate the single passes in the yellow machines to start counting the two hours. If you don't validate them and a ticket inspector catches you, the fine is more than 50 euros!
We also rented a bike from the hotel and I think the same model as our hotel applies to almost all hotels in the city. From what I understand, they charge 1 euro per hour for up to 6 hours of use or 12 euros for more than 6 hours but less than 24h. They give you a locker quite powerful, because apparently bike theft is a common thing in Berlin, and then you are free to ride and lock your bike bike wherever you want. It’s not that system with several stations spread throughout the city, you know? My friend even said that there is one, but I think the focus is not on tourists…
Now let's get to the details of our trip! 🙂
I put a map with the attractions we saw each day and the details of the tour right after. I summarized the description of the attractions quite a bit, because links are of the website Simply Berlin and the girl is a beast at explaining the details of everything!
Day 1 – Thursday (07/28/2016)
I took the flight from Aer Lingus at 7:10 am and I arrived at the airport Tegel in Berlin around 10am. What a horrible airport with no infrastructure for tourists! It doesn't even look like a first world airport. I left my terminal and went to the other terminal to catch the TXL bus, which leaves every 5 minutes. I bought a single ticket valid for 2 hours from the driver himself and got off at Turmstr./Beusselstr station to catch the bus (106) to our hotel.
We stayed at Pestana Berlin Tiergarten (current rating 8.9) and we paid 314 euros for 4 nights (78.50 euros per night without breakfast). The hotel is super modern and comfortable, but the wifi Our room didn't have 100% and the indoor pool didn't have heated water when we entered. I didn't like its location very much, because there's not much nearby, but we didn't find anything as modern and comfortable for that price. Some photos:
Since my brother only arrived in the city at night, I left my things in the room and went out for a walk. I took advantage of the fact that the bus ticket was still valid and took 2 buses (200 and M45) to Charlottenburg Palace. This palace was built in the 17th century as a summer home for Sophie Charlotte, the wife of the Elector of Prussia Friedrich III, but was seriously damaged in World War II.
You can walk around the gardens for free, but I wanted to go in and see the rooms and paid 11 euros (with an audio guide) + 3 euros to be able to take photos (you get a red bracelet and have to show it in every room – that sucks!). I found some rooms really cool, like the Golden Gallery and the Porcelain Cabinet, but the others are quite common.
After the museum, I walked through the gardens (nothing special), passing by the New Pavilion, Belvedere and Mausoleum (all of them can be visited, but I didn't want to pay extra).
I left the palace and sat down to eat something at the snack bar across the street, which was the most touristy place possible. Despite the location, the waiter didn't speak English and thought that speaking louder in German would make me understand that the sandwich was made of cheese and ham. Oh, bummer...
After lunch, I took bus 109 and got off on the street Kurfürstendamm, better known as Kudam, which was the main shopping center of West Germany. Here you will find all the fancy shops, but you will also see the more basic ones (not on the same block). I got off near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, or Church of the Assumption, which is one of the city's most striking attractions. This church was almost completely destroyed in World War II and was not restored on purpose, so that people would remember what happened. Next to it, they built an octagonal church with more than 20 thousand squares of glass, whose blue light inside is very interesting. I really liked the contrast between the two and seeing the details of the church that was not restored.
I left there and went to see the most famous department store in Berlin (perhaps in Germany), the Western House (aka KaDeWe). It is the second largest department store in the world (second only to Harrods, in London) and has 7 huge floors with everything you can imagine. The main highlight is the top floor of the store which has a restaurant in the style of buffet with a sensational view. I loved the ice cream, the view and the merchandise, but I found everything expensive for my standards.
I quickly entered the mall Bikini Berlin, which is much prettier on the inside than on the outside, and then I stopped at a supermarket to buy snacks for the evening. As we had already imagined, my brother arrived at 11 pm exhausted and we had dinner in the comfort of our room.
Day 2 – Friday (07/29/2016)
We woke up, had breakfast in the room and got ready to visit the famous dome of Reichstag, but we ended up missing the visiting time because my brother had to work at the last minute. Following the suggestions of all the blogs and friends, we booked through website official the visit to the dome, choosing the day, time and entering our full names and dates of birth. If you are interested, you can do the full tour of the building (they say it is really cool), but you will need to plan well in advance, because when I went to look, there were only spaces available for 2 months later.
The Reichstag houses the German parliament (Bundestag) and is associated with important moments in the country's history. It was here that the German Republic was proclaimed in 1918 and also where the Russians raised the flag of the Soviet Union after their victory in World War II. For more details, see this very well explained link from the blog Simplesmente Berlim.
We left the hotel around 11am and took bus 100 to see the Reichstag building at least from the outside. It is huge (137 meters long and 97 meters wide) and very beautiful.
We went in right there Tiergarten to visit the Soviet War Memorial (Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Tiergarten), which was built by the Soviet Union to honor the Red Army soldiers who died in World War II.
From there you could see the imposing Brandenburg Gate, which was built in the 18th century and is one of the city's main tourist attractions (if not the main and best-known).
We walked a little to the Holocaust Memorial, which is a monument dedicated to the 6 million Jews who died in the war. It is a very large space with many gray blocks at different heights on an uneven surface that gives a straight-up agony. This was the architect's goal, so don't be alarmed if you feel a little unwell inside. We visited the free museum there and I was impressed by the exhibition. It is worth going in there.
We went to the Potsdamer Platz, which is full of modern buildings and intersections, and we decided to have lunch inside the Sony Center, a complex with restaurants, cinema, office and even luxury flats, which has a very interesting roof. We chose the most German restaurant there, the Lindenbrau, because we wanted to prove the typical dish of the city (currywurst) and the delicious wheat beers. It was a very touristy lunch, but super pleasant. 🙂
We walked to the most famous chocolate shop in town, Fassbender & Rausch, and I made sure to buy a bar of each chocolate. They have bars with 35% of cocoa up to 80%! I'll try them little by little, but I can already say that the only one I tried with 47% (Costa Rica) is delicious. (Oh, we went up to the store's cafeteria to try the sweets in their café on the last day of the trip. It's also really worth it!)
This wonderful store is in the square Gendarmenmarkt, which is considered by many locals to be the most beautiful in the city, perhaps because it has two almost twin churches on opposite sides and a beautiful building on the Concert Hall in the middle. We first visited the church closest to the store, the German Cathedral, which is currently a museum, and then the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral). In the latter, we paid 3 euros per person to climb the tower and it was a disappointment, because the climb is quite steep and at the top there are some small windows with bars and dirty glass. The view is beautiful if you ignore these details, but I don't think it's worth it...
We walked to the Unter den Linden Avenue, considered one of the most beautiful and most important in the city, but it was all under construction so we couldn't enjoy the beauty of its pompous buildings. We crossed the bridge and faced the Berliner Dom, which is the largest and most important Protestant church in the city, having been built at the end of the 19th century. We thought about going in, but since it cost 7 euros per person (with the climb to the dome) and we had to meet my friend, we ended up leaving it for the last day (it's worth paying the 7 euros, by the way!).
We met my friend at the train station Alexanderplatz, which is one of the city's main squares (where the enormous Berliner Fernsehturm – TV Tower ) and we took the subway to the Tempelhofer Park. This park is huge and is where the now deactivated airport is located. Temple of the Savior, which served in the Cold War to transport supplies to West Berlin. I thought it was really cool to see people riding in bike, rollerblading and enjoying the sun…my friend said they often have barbecues too.
From there we walked to a very different place, the Klunkerkranich. This bar/club is on the top floor of a shopping mall, where there used to be a parking lot, and from there you can enjoy a sensational view of the city. I highly recommend it!
A friend of hers met us there and we went to an Italian restaurant Masaniello, which has delicious pizza and great prices. We ended the day really well. 🙂
Day 3 – Saturdayo (07/30/2016)
We started the day by visiting the Topography of Terror, a memorial that is in the place where the headquarters of the Secret Police (known as the Gestapo), which It documents the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis with many shocking photos and texts. Admission is free and I think we spent more than an hour there. It’s impossible not to leave feeling shaken…
We walked a few streets and arrived at the famous Checkpoint Charlie, what andwas a military post on the border between West and East Berlin during the Cold War. They controlled there the passage of members of the Allied Forces and foreign diplomats between West Germany and East Germany.
We had lunch nearby at a very tasty Asian restaurant, Kori & Fay, and to my delight, with good prices too. Japanese food here in Dublin is a fortune!
We took the subway and got off at the station warschauer, because we wanted to see the most beautiful bridge in the city, the Oberbaum Bridge, and we also wanted to go to East Side Gallery, where you can see another 1km of the famous Berlin Wall. I found the place to be quite dirty and messy, but apparently people love it there. point.
We noticed that there was a party going on with several electric trios playing electronic music and lots of excited but incredibly polite people. Later we found out from my friend that it was a demonstration in favor of immigration and cultural diversity. 🙂
We decided to walk to the Alexanderplatz, but I don't recommend doing that, because the distance is great and there is nothing interesting along the way. We stopped at a German restaurant inside an open-air shopping mall, Food Lounge Berlin, and we took the opportunity to rest, charge our phones and drink more quality wheat beer.
Some time later, we met our friends and went to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant, Lemon Leaf, which is one of their favorites. Good food, very fair prices and the neighborhood is wonderful, with many options of bars and restaurants. We walked slowly, stopped at some convenience stores to buy drinks like the locals (this is very common there!) and then walked to a very different place where there are several clubs and alternative bars (on the map I marked the Cassiopeia). We loved the tour!
Day 4 – Sunday (07/31/2016)
We bought the unlimited transport pass and went to have breakfast at the place my friend considers the best in the city, the Bastard, which is located in the Kreuzberg neighborhood. A very simple, alternative and crowded place, but with delicious food. I loved the pancakes! 😛
We walked around the neighborhood and tried to eat the best cheesecake of the city in the Five Elephant, but unfortunately there were no more. The place was packed (I read somewhere that they won the award for best coffee shop), The service was pretty bad, but we managed to eat a carrot cake that was really good. I wanted to go back there to try it cheesecake, but I understand that it has to be very early, so here's a tip.
We took the subway and then the tram to a neighborhood that my friend recommended and that I thought was really beautiful. We got off at the station Eberwalder Str. and we walked to the Senefelderplatz, passing through the smaller streets around. The buildings are very beautiful with their elaborate facades, different from the rest of the city. Lots of cool restaurants and bars, for a change… how many good neighborhoods does this city have? 🙂
We popped into the biggest Flea Market in the city inside the Mauer Park, and man, it's really big! They are stands of a fair with pieces of all types and qualities and lots of people walking around. I thought it was really cool!
We took a tram and in less than 5 minutes we arrived at Berliner Mauer District, the Berlin Wall Memorial. It was possible to better understand the history of the wall and see some sad facts about it, such as some unsuccessful escapes.
It started to rain heavily and we decided to go back to the hotel and go out for a quiet dinner later, close by. After a well-deserved rest, we walked to the Italian restaurant L'Osteria, with great atmosphere, service, food and prices. I recommend it!
Day 5 – Monday (01/08/2016)
We did checkout, we left our bags at the reception and rented a bike inside the hotel to finally exercise around the city. We went to have breakfast at a place recommended by our friends that has a really cool view of the city. It's a cafeteria on the top floor of the building Telekom Innovation Laboratories, which is number 1 on the map above. The food is from a cafeteria, that is, very poor, but the view is worth it, look:
We cycled to the Victory Column (Siegessaule), but although it was possible to climb it, we only took photos from below.
We continued along the same street, passing by Brandenburg Gate, for the Unter den Linden Avenue and we only stopped at Berliner Dom, the city's cathedral. We paid 7 euros per person to see its beautiful interior and also to climb up to the dome, from where you can see a really cool view of the city.
We left the church and cycled to Gendarmenmarkt, where we had lunch with typical German dishes at Augustiner at Gendarmenmarkt. After lunch, we made sure to stop by the best chocolate shop in town again, Fassbender & Rausch, but this time we went to the café on the second floor and ate the pies. How delicious, my God!
We cycled back to the hotel, said goodbye (his flight was earlier than mine) and I took the opportunity to walk around KaDeWe before meeting my friend. We walked through the old Jewish quarter, which is close to the Hackershermarkt. Some of the buildings have been restored and are so cute! We had a coffee there and then I headed to the airport. So much to see in 5 days, right? 🙂
