WHY GO: For history. You'll leave feeling like a more educated person.
FOR HOW LONG: I think you can cover most in three full days; if you're a lover of it, there is always more to go back for.
WHAT'S MY BUDGET: Cheap! 3 days is doable with about €110 spending money each.
WHERE TO STAY: Near to Friedrichstraße - we were impressed by the Arcotel
GETTING AROUND: I'm a walker, but there's a great tube system if you can wrap your head around it. It's also all paid for on a trust system. When you buy a ticket, make sure you get it franked on the small yellow machines before you board, or undercover travel police will bust'yaaaa.
LANGUAGE: I have absolutely no understanding of German. And again this is the same drill, everyone will know English, but it's a hell of a lot easier if you know some German - if only to understand a menu!
Berlin stands out for me against other European cities. It's bleak, historic, surreal, cultural, plus the majority of it is architectural u-g-l-y. Grey building blocks form a city that you can't visit without being confronting by what it stands for. And rightly so. Its an incredible place to have survived such devastation and still stand tall on the tourist map. I found it super quiet for a capital city, which was astonishing on its own, as within fairly recent history, those same streets were being marched upon by nazi troops and built upon by communist authorities.
My boyfriend and I went to Berlin to surprise my brother for his 30th birthday. I love surprising people, and teaming up with his girlfriend meant he actually had no clue - so already this city break was one to remember. As my brother is a trivia loser, I didn't research much about the city beforehand as I knew I'd have a personal tour guide. If you don't have such an honour (or geek in your family), it's definitely somewhere you should research a bit before you go, so you know the significance of what you're looking at.
THE MUST SEES:
THE WALL LINE: There are tonnes of places around the city you can see parts of The Wall. One of my favourite things about Berlin is that it tells it's history in a very frank way. It's honest and doesn't beat around the bush. Throughout the city there is a brick line which shows the exact path of the Berlin wall. There are two really good places to see this; Checkpoint Charlie, (the most known crossing point between the East and West), and at the Topography of Terror, as the brick line becomes the wall.
MEMORIAL TO THE MURDERED JEWS OF EUROPE: This memorial is made up of over 2,700 concrete slabs arranged in a site just smaller 5 acres. The slabs are different heights but all in line. It gives you the illusion of disorientation and confusion amongst strict order. When you walk among the slabs you feel like you're in a maze, although each block is in line.
MEMORIAL TO HOMOSEXUALS PERSECUTED UNDER NAZISM: I saw this memorial at night, so it may have a different effect on you if seen in the day. But I found the memorial was slightly tucked away; which does mean when you see it's much more blunt.
JEWISH MUSEUM: I don't want to say too much about this and ruin it; but I'm not a real museum go-er and really enjoyed it. All I will say is that on the bottom floor there's three architectural experiences, that I think are worth the €8 ticket price on their own. Check in your coat to have the full experience!
EAST SIDE GALLERY: Possibly the biggest outside gallery, made up of 105 paintings, this is something special. It's a shame that to keep it in it's current condition the wall has a gate in front of it; but we were lucky enough to see Vrubel's famous addition, "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love" on a day without it. Totally worth seeing for yourself.
BERLINER DOM: If you get a clear day whilst you're in the city, this is a great thing to do. Berlin Cathedral is right on the canal, and for €7 you can do some sightseeing. When you walk into the cathedral - just look up to the 70 meter high dome. Woah. This bit you could do on a rainy day but... but if you're up for climbing the 270 steps, make sure you also do the Dome walkway. You walk around the perimeter of the dome on the top of the cathedral and it's a beautiful view.
BRANDENBURG GATE: Probably the most iconic landmark of Berlin. It was bigger than I expected and looked amazing, all lit up, at night. You can even still see the bullet holes.
If you want more history...
TOPOGRAPHY OF TERROR: This is a more sombre museum. If you want more brutal honesty about what happened in WWII then definitely go. But I wouldn't recommend this to everyone. It's an amazing resource if you want to read and hear more, but it's also very shocking and hard hitting to those not prepared.
If you're not sticking to a budget...
TRABI SAFARI: We didn't do this but I think it would be a great way to learn about the city. If you fancy an alternative tour, I think it's worth checking it out.
If you've had enough history...
FLEA MARKET, Mauerpark: If you've got your history fix, and it's a sunny day, this flea market is awesome. Sunday morning, street food brunch, "vintage" shopping. BOOM.
CHRISTMAS MARKETS: If you're going in the winter like us, they're everywhere and they're cute. If you're wondering around the city you'll find loads of them and they're worth a stroll. They're not full of the tack like other markets I've been to.
MUST CONSUME:
GLUHWEIN: DIVINE. Our weekend away was in December, so with Christmas markets, come Glühwein. And boy, they were great. with great portions.
BURGERMIESTER: Possibly the best burger in the planet. At least Germany. Or at the very least Berlin! I recommend going to the branch in Kreuzburg, right by the Kottbusser Tor metro as although there's no seating, it's all served from an old public toilet, and I mean, who doesn't want the burger from a toilet.
FALAFAL/HUMMUS: Berlin wasn't as hipster-ville as I expected! But there is still Falafal and hummus points everywhere, and of course they're great, so enjoy them. (If you want a meaty version, there's also Donner 'Kebap' places eeeeeeeeeeeh-verywhere)
CURRYWURST: just cause you can
COCKTAILS: Damn, they are cheap and happy hours are everywhere. They're often cheaper than normal drinks. I think we got our cheapest ones for €3.50
LAGER: Apparently... I mean, I'm not a lager drinker, but it's super popular here and if you do like it, you can't really go wrong. You may as well go all out and have a beerstein! (I'm trusting Char on this one)
MUST PACK:
LAYERS: If i can give you any advice. Its layer. Please, please layer. I've never felt cold like it. (But in all seriousness pack for the season... as I've heard it's also super hot in the summer)
BOOTS/TRAINERS: It's a good walking city. Cycling is easy here to with bike hire everywhere!
PHRASE BOOK: They'll go a long way
CITYMAPPER: It's worth getting a good map if you can't download citymapper in advance, and one that includes the tube and train lines. They're great if you can get the hang of them.
AN OPEN MIND: You'll learn a lot more.
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