After having slept (leaning on the drop-down tray table) through the majority of the tiddly hour and a half flight, only waking up to endure Mr. SniffyMcSnifferson snorting away next to me (blow your Goddamn nose, mush) me and my Dad arrived in Germany! Hurrah! And having just stepped off the plane, we witnessed our first typically German sight- a tall, very blonde man, with turned up jeans and big stompy boots, sporting a frown- me and my Dad instantly transforming into stereotypical tourists, poking each other, pointing and whispering, 'Look at that very German man' 'Typical German, typical German' turns out he was a cockney.
Before touching down in Berlin and witnessing its delights myself, I will admit I had a very warped view of Germany, only having learnt about the two world wars, I'd always thought it grey, dreary and depressing, but the weather was beautiful and everyone was considerably jolly, their voices sounding sing-songy because of their accents (how insulting I know...) Plus, they have double decker trains (!) and instead of the mundane 'bing-bong' before announcements, they have some accordian ditty.
We made our way underground and overground (like Wombles) to our hotel, and what a hotel it was. Shiny tiles, sparkling mirrors, a wall with pretend roses sprouting out of it, and some monstrous horseback rider bursting through another. How grand.
Not only was the hotel extravagant, but it was nextdoor to a metro station, and we got complimentary Becks everyday and there was a little packet of gummy bears on our pillows when we first arrived. Best hotel ever.
Wow, Berlin was hot. Which was oh so lovely, but it did mean I was completely PARA about suncream application, coating myself in it at least 3 times an hour, resulting in a very sticky (but beautifully coconut scented) me.
My Dad goes to a pub back in England which is run by a German man, his wife is English, and before we went, she told him that there are lots of people walking around with massive sausages in very small buns- there are A LOT of ridiculously large sausages and A LOT of silly little buns in Germany. The vendors have gas backpacks, so they cook the sausages wherever they go, they have umbrellas on top of them so come rain or shine, they are always there.
We worked our way to Alexanderplatz via U-bahn (tube)
from there we caught the open-top bus tour, showing us the sights of Berlin for 2 hours. It was very good, but this bloody baby kept crying and I couldn't hear my headphone lady giving the info, which was very upsetting. But then, that became rather unimportant, as the warmth and the gentle movement of the bus sent me off to sleep. Goddamnit.
After a wee rest and a well needed shower and spruce up we headed back out for some scran. The hotel lady was very helpful and told us where was good to go, so we took her advice and ended up in this lovely place (Senefelderplatz) full of lovely little bars and restaurants. First port of call was a bar, we happened upon this rather unusual beach themed number playing country and western music, so settled there where I was on the Mojitos. We went on to dine at an Italian restaurant and drink in a German styled pub- which had cider :) :)
(Enjoying our food)The following day it was even hotter and sunnier, so naturally I was creamed up to the max. We worked our way to Alexanderplatz again and found a little cafe in which to have some breakfast, we both decided upon the 'Good Morning Berlin', which consisted of a bread roll, a hard boiled egg, and a portion of jam, butter and honey. I'm not entirely sure if that really warrants the name 'Good Morning Berlin' but it was actually rather enjoyable.
(Came across this fantastic fountain, think it's depicting Neptune or Poseidon, was amazing!)We went on the bus tour again, this time I managed to stay awake and see everything. Hurrah!
(Me enjoying the audio guide)
(Some matey we happened upon, sitting outside a wooden toy shop)
(These are images of part of the Berlin Wall, artists have painted murals on it, making it the largest open-air gallery in the world)
(Other sights from the bus tour- Cathedral that was built in the 1920s but is meant to look 500/600 years old)
(Railway station built for the World Cup)Once that tour was over, we embarked on another, only this time, on a boat (after sourcing the correct vessle for the tickets we had previously bought). It was very lovely and pretty, bathing in the sun, and going up and down the river Spree, looking at all the unusual buildings, and listening to the explanations on the audio guide. However, this piece of technology was a tad erratic, choosing when to divulge information, mine working independently from my Dad's, both of us at some point during the trip just listening to 'hold' music whilst everyone else was receiving vital info.
Our plan for the next day was to take a closer look at some of the monuments we saw on the bus and to venture up the TV Tower- the tallest tower in Europe don't you know, to experience 360 degrees of Berlin. WOW.
Once showering and primping, we made our way to the 'restaurant quarter' again, and after far too much traipsing past lovely restaurant after lovely restaurant we decided to settle on Thai cuisine (that was once having a drinky in some tapas bar, with the most uncomfortable seating, looked comfy, slid around everywhere). The food was absolutely delicious! I had some coconutty, creamy, potatoey curry with sticky rice, and a couple of cocktails (naturally) I had to waddle home.
The following day's weather could not have been more different, although our hotel room was impossibly warm, it was in fact blustery, drizzly and chilly outside. Not expecting this, we ventured out without appropriate clothing, taking refuge in 'Milly's Cafe' we had a breakfast of ginormous sandwiches, mine filled with melted mozzerella and tomato, Dad's with some sort of egg concoction. Once outside again we decided we should source more layers, so dashed back to the hotel. Although the plan for today included the 360 degree experience up the TV Tower, it was such a miserable day that there was cloud surrounding the viewing area, so we gave that a miss and went on to start the day with the Topographie des Terrors.
(TV Tower on a less cloudy day)Once in Potsdamer Platz, and having walked the severely long way round, we arrived at the exhibition, which actually starts outside the building. Situated at one part of the Berlin Wall, which still remains, and the site of a hotel which became the base for Hitler and his SS/SA/Gastapo, which does not remain, the exhibition basically documents what happened in Germany before, during and after the Second World War.
The display was very good, so detailed and really made you think how much crazy, inhumane stuff went on, and not very long ago in the slightest. Everyone knows what Hitler was about and the actions he implemented, but when it is laid out infront of you, you really cannot believe how the world let this happen.
When we'd finished there, we went round the corner to see Checkpoint Charlie, where official vehicles were inspected and perhaps allowed through to the other side during the time when the Berlin Wall was up. The Wall separated East and West Berlin, the Russians had possession of the East side and the Americans/English had the West. The Wall went up overnight, to prevent those in the East escaping into the West, people had family on the other side and faced the eventuality that they may never see them again. The Russian side was very poor and run by communism and the West was well developed, between 125 and 206 people died trying to get over the Wall, many were simply shot by guards.
There were some German ladies dressed up as American soldiers holding U.S. flags either side of Checkpoint Charlie, it was a strange thought that they were Germans, pretending to be Americans. Anyway, after many tubes and a short stroll through the Tiergarten (beautiful woodland/park with wonderful lakes and friendly, hungry duckies!) we arrived at the Victory Column. The absolutely ginormous and beautiful satue commemorates three of Germany's victories in battle (a long, long time ago).
(View from the bus)
I know this sounds ridiculous, but I forgot that in order to get to the top of this statue, there would be stairs involved, I assumed some sort of lift, and when I realised it was steps, I still didn't consider what an unfit bitch I am. 280 steps later, I realised. It was somewhat breezy up there, a little scary, thought myself or my Dad might blow off. The figure at the top is meant to be Victoria, goddess of victory, she is made of bronze and gold plated, to give you an idea of the sheer scale of the column, Victoria herself is 8.3 metres tall and weighs 35 tonnes. For some reason everyone refers to her as 'Golden Lizzy' I don't really understand why.
(Mosaic that features around the lower part of the column- detailing the rise of Germania)In the evening we decided to venture somewhere new for din dins, and so walked to the Nikolai quarter and happened upon a wonderful little Italian bistro where the maitre d had an astonishing beer belly.
(This statue of George and the dragon was round the corner- don't really know why, but it was pretty bloody good)After a lot of fresh, tasty food, we returned to the hotel in the hope of having an early night, after a quick night cap of course. Oh. Two cocktails and a liqueur (I say liqueur, it was Dooley's) later, we went up to bed.
We had to get up early doors to pack, check out of the hotel and fit as much into our last day as possible! Out of the room by 9.30am we made our way to the Jewish Memorial. It is a pretty awesome sight to behold, with block after block of concrete portraying the magnitude of the genocide.
The information centre for the memorial was underground, it was very well laid out with detailed information about the holocaust, introducing biographies about Jewish families so you can relate to the poor people. There was quite a lot of controversy in regards to this memorial though, for the fact that it was only made for the Jewish community, nevermind the fact that a lot of other innocent people died due to the Nazi regime, homosexuals, the disabled, those considered 'lazy' et cetera, et cetera. Another major boo boo, was that the blocks are coated in this product which renders them 'graffiti-proof', the company that manufactured this product, also provided the gas which was used by the Nazis to kill those in the concentration camps. Oh dear...
Once finished there, we had a quick mooch around Alexanderplatz, then collected our baggage from the hotel and made our way to the airport.
(The symbol of Berlin is the bear, and there are these 'Buddy Bears' all over the place, decorated in different ways, here is one showing the underground map)Waving goodbye to Berlin was actually quite sad, unlike Marrakech where we felt we had had our fill, there is still so much of Berlin that we did not have time to see, and I would happily go back there to experience more of the arty, quirky things and the unusual night-life. Berlin was so much prettier than I expected it to be and I very much enjoyed the wonderful food, fantastic cocktails and having another adventure with my Dad. Awwww.
