So in January me and my boyfriend Chris took a long weekend trip to Berlin, Germany.
We were there Friday to Monday and I just wanted to share our trip with you, I also like to document my travels so I have something to look back on.
It was a good few months ago now so my memory is a little hazy.
Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery
Me standing in the centre of the road just in front of the Victory Column
Brandenburg Gate
We stayed in the 4 star hotel Pestana Tiergarten. It was a super friendly hotel and our room was super clean and modern. The only thing I didn't like was we had two single duvets on our queen size bed and it kind of got annoying because they didn't stay in place ha ha. Oh and our room was sooooo hot at night even though it was actually minus temperatures outside. Luckily we had air con and could open the window. But these are very minor issues, I probably sound like such a snob!
Check out the Pestana Hotel HERE
We were pretty central in Berlin but it is a huge place and we literally ended up walking about 10 miles a day. Tiergarten park was just behind our hotel and is a really beautiful place to walk through. We were in walking distance of the Brandenburg Gate, so we took a stroll there first.
The weather was beautiful, clear blue skies everyday but wow was it cold. Luckily me and Chris had our thermals and North Face coats, but even with those I was still shivering.
The TV tower
We did most of the touristy things such as The Fernsehturm which is the huge TV Tower. Up there is an observation deck and also a revolving bar/restaurant. It's a good job we didn't choose the restaurant because Chris was petrified when we got up there and weirdly enough you felt like you could feel the tower moving, but I'm guessing you can just feel the movement from the revolving restaurant.
It was 13 euros to go up to the observation tower and you step into a lift which takes you to the top. You can literally feel your ears popping as you go higher up into the tower, up to 203 metres high. The views were stunning and luckily I'm not scared of heights so I could enjoy the views, we didn't spend too long up there as poor Chris was about to faint. Definitely a place I'd recommend.
Another place we visited was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
One thing I would say about Berlin is that you really feel sentimental being at the centre of the war and it really puts it into perspective.
Anyone can visit this memorial as it just located by the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin. It is on an area of about 19.000 square metres and is free to visit. A place I think is worth viewing.
Had to get my shades on!
The prison and Berlin Wall at the Topography of Terror
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Another place I would recommend visiting is the Topography of Terror.
The Topography of Terror is located on the grounds of where the Secret State Police Office with its own "in house" prison used to be. As you can see from my photographs part of the prison is still there and you can actually walk around it. There is also part of the Berlin Wall there too.
Inside you will find an archive of imagery and documents right from the beginning of the war, up until it ended. It explains how and why the war started, the millions of people killed and how it ended. Some images are very graphic and I learnt things I never even knew happened, I came out feeling very emotional. I think its really important to visit these kind of places because we never want to forget that the war happened and its important not to become ignorant about it. It also felt crazy that we were standing on the grounds of a place where so much happened.
Standing by the Berlin Wall at the Topography of Terror
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During our trip we also visited East Side Berlin which is more of the quirky younger side. We didn't spend a lot of time there but we took a walk along the East Side Gallery (see images above) which is a memorial of Freedom. A lot of the wall is covered by metal gates now so that people don't destroy the art but also because people were trying to take bits of the wall.
We also went to a cool trainer shop called Overkill where they had many unique trainers which you can't buy anywhere else. We finished the day off with a Burgermeister at around 5pm.
Burgermeister is located in an old public toilet house beneath the old tracks of the subway in Kreuzber. First of all we had to que for a good half an hour in the cold to get into the place to order, we were then given a number that would come up on a little screen. After about 40 minutes our number was called and we could collect our burgers, finding room to stand in a corner to eat was the difficult part unless you wanted to eat outside in the cold. The burgers were about a 7/10, a little bit overdone but good for the price of around 4 euros. Me and Chris try a lot of burger places and we weren't that impressed, the waiting so long kind of ruined it too. But its definitely an experience!
Our burgers in Burgermeister
You have GOT to try Currywurst, it is the tastiest thing ever
The Flea Market at Gesundbrunnen station
Overall we had a great time exploring Berlin, I have given you a little look at our highlights.
One thing I'd recommend is finding out what's around your hotel before you visit, although we were quite central we didn't feel like walking far to try and find food in the evenings especially as we had been walking 10 miles a day. So we ate in the hotel a couple of nights but it would of been nice to find some unique restaurants. I'd also recommend visiting a flea market, we went to one at Gesundbrunnen station and it was what you'd call a proper German Market.
The locals are super friendly and taxi's around the city aren't too pricey. If you're planning on going in the winter, be sure to take your thermals!
Oh and PLEASE do not visit Berlin Zoo and fund the concrete living conditions of the poor animals that live there.
I hope I have covered enough areas for you and you've enjoyed this read.
Lauren x
Overall we had a great time exploring Berlin, I have given you a little look at our highlights.
One thing I'd recommend is finding out what's around your hotel before you visit, although we were quite central we didn't feel like walking far to try and find food in the evenings especially as we had been walking 10 miles a day. So we ate in the hotel a couple of nights but it would of been nice to find some unique restaurants. I'd also recommend visiting a flea market, we went to one at Gesundbrunnen station and it was what you'd call a proper German Market.
The locals are super friendly and taxi's around the city aren't too pricey. If you're planning on going in the winter, be sure to take your thermals!
Oh and PLEASE do not visit Berlin Zoo and fund the concrete living conditions of the poor animals that live there.
I hope I have covered enough areas for you and you've enjoyed this read.
Lauren x
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