Have you ever - been to Berlin

Berliner Dom

So I finally get to visit Berlin this summer and I spent a full two days there. I was staying at Mitte, the central of Berlin but I still got myself one of those city passes – Berlin Welcome card to get around because the city is huge and the main attractions are pretty spread-out. I took a single journey train from the airport which cost me a few euros and got myself a 48h city pass when I arrived in the city.

The Berlin Welcome card come with:

• The travel pass within the city
• Discounts on certain main attractions and restaurants
• A city map with a guide

Do you really need the city pass? I would say yes. Not so much for the discounts because honestly I still find myself paying for most of the attractions but for the ease of travelling within the city and a single trip ticket costs about €2.80.

DAY 1 Itinerary

East Side Gallery

East Side Gallery aka the Berlin Wall, is essentially the remaining part of the Berlin Wall which features plenty of graffiti and most of them speak about political events. Even years after the wall came down, there are people who still think that they can solve a problem or separate the world by building a wall.

Berliner Dom

Altes Museum

This Protestant Cathedral is within walking distance from the Museum Island. There is a green garden in front of the cathedral with a fountain in the middle. As you can see, it is a good place to chill and soak up some sun on a nice day out during summer, and also perfect for photo taking! The Museum Island is called the Museum Island because this area is made up of 5 museums in one place, not exactly a museum on an island, which is what I thought it would be. Bear in mind that most of the museums are closed on Monday. If you are a museum person (not really for me), I strongly advise you to plan extra time for your trip because they are just SO MANY museums in Berlin that you wouldn’t want to miss out.

Alexanderplatz

Now a shopping area and a transit junction. Apparently here, you can find a World Time Clock (Weltzeituhr) somewhere nearby in form of revolving cylinder that shows the time around the world, pretty cool huh? I don’t have a picture to show you but you can always google it and see it yourself when you pay a visit.

Fernsehturm

Fernsehturm, the Berlin TV tower with panoramic view. Not going to lie but I still prefer the radio tower in Liverpool.

Berlin Wall Memorial

Berlin wall memorial is an open air exhibition that was built to commemorate the deaths during holocaust and tell the history. The memorial ground stretches quite a distance (more than 1km I think) along the former border strip and you can see different installations here and there as you walk through it. Prepare some tissue papers if you are faint-hearted.

DAY 2 Itinerary

Jewish Museum

One of my favourite

Topography of Terror

Another historic museum with a permanent indoor documentation centre and an outdoor exhibition on the site. It tells you a lot about Nazi regime and SS until the end of war. Basically in Berlin, you do get a lot of that.

Checkpoint Charlie

So this is the famous crossing point at the Berlin Wall from East Berlin to West Berlin during cold war. Today, it is more like a symbol representing the separation between east and the west. I wonder if the two gentlemen were just there for tourists sake or were they actually useful.

Holocaust Memorial

This area is made up of concrete blocks arranged in grid pattern on uneven floors like waves. Underneath the monument, there is another museum where you can see the process of prosecution of Jewish people in Germany before and during the war. The museum is free but I didn’t manage to catch a glimpse inside because they only allow certain number of people to go in at one time which makes the queue really long.

Brandenburg Gate

Reichstag

Stazi Prison

This museum is a little way out from the tourist loop of the city (you can take a tram from Alexanderplatz) but it is definitely one of the must-see in Berlin! This former Stazi prison is well-refurbished and preserved to give people the authentic impression of how the prison was like before this. You will see various different cells and plenty of interrogation rooms that were used to detain and interrogate political prisoners during post world war time. Almost everything is still like as it was and it’s like history coming alive in front of you with explanation from the ex-inmate tour guides (they speak both German and fluent English)!

Burgermeister

Finally the exciting part- Foooood! Burgermeister is a burger joint that offers cheap (under €5) and interesting burgers and fries located right at Schlesisches Tor. Did I mention that the burgers are made in an old public toilet? Look at the line before you get grossed out. I would assume the line is always this long so just be patient in the line because trust me it’s worth the wait. Special thanks to Siow for the recommendation!

Alright. That’s all and hope to see you again Berlin!