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Berlin Day 2 - Sightseeing

Published: 07.03.2018

Saturday, 15.04.2017

Our second day in Berlin (actually our first full day) was dedicated to sightseeing. After breakfast, we set off at 9 o'clock. Again, we took the subway towards Alexanderplatz, where we wanted to start our tour. As soon as we entered the station, the first homeless person (?) asked us for money. Others followed. Eventually, I got really annoyed.

DDR Museum

When we arrived at Alexanderplatz, the weather was so awful that we decided to visit the DDR Museum. Many other people had the same idea, so the museum was incredibly crowded. Which was a shame, because the museum itself is really well done. You can do many interactive things there, like driving a Trabi, although you can't really do it because all the good things are already taken... So we didn't stay there for long, as it was getting more and more crowded over time, and we escaped back outside, where the weather was still rainy, cold, and windy.

Sightseeing Tour

So we walked across Museum Island towards the Brandenburg Gate. There, we took some photos, even though it was raining.

We continued to the Reichstag. We briefly considered visiting the dome, but then we saw the incredibly long queue and decided against it. So we only looked at our government building from the outside.

Then we took the bus to the Victory Column. You could also visit it from the inside and climb up to the tower, but only for a fee, and we didn't feel like climbing the many stairs at that moment. Besides, the view wouldn't have been worth it with such weather.

We went on to Kurfürstendamm and had planned to make a stop at the KaDeWe, among other things, to escape the terrible weather. Unfortunately, that was hardly possible due to the crowds of people, so we gave up on the idea.

Instead, we found the nearest snack bar and had our first Berlin currywurst! :D Throughout our short stay in Berlin, we had eaten a total of three currywursts... that should last us for the whole year!

Continuing our attempt to ignore the weather, our sightseeing tour took us to the Holocaust Memorial. When we arrived there, I found it unacceptable that some people were climbing on the stones, playing tag, and taking duck-face selfies. It was very inappropriate at this place, in my opinion. This is a memorial for the murdered Jews during the Holocaust, not a playground!

We then went on to Potsdamer Platz, which was within walking distance. There, we also saw a section of the Berlin Wall.

Our actual goal there was the 'Panorama'. We had read that from up there, you had a great view over Berlin, and it was also much cheaper than the TV tower. Additionally, we could take the fastest elevator in Germany all the way to the top. When we arrived at the top, the view was indeed not bad, but the wind was not to be underestimated.
We had a coffee at the café up there and then made our way back.

By now, the rain had stopped, so we made another photo stop at the Brandenburg Gate to take some pictures in the dry.

Next, we went to Checkpoint Charlie, although to be honest, there wasn't much to see there. Besides, it started raining heavily again, so we got back on the bus that took us to Nikolaiviertel.

After that, we were really exhausted, so it was time to head back to the hotel. Eventually, the sun came out a bit.

Evening Program

We arrived back at the hotel around 6 o'clock, where we rested a bit before getting ready to go out. The plan was to have dinner and then go for some drinks. We had dinner at the 'Kartoffelkeller', where they served all kinds of potato dishes. For the price, I had expected a slightly better taste though.

Afterwards, we went in search of a bar. We had heard that there was always something going on at the Hackesche Höfe. Either the people there were already hiding, or we were too early? Anyway, when we arrived, there wasn't much going on. So we wandered around Berlin, looking for a bar where we could have a drink. We're probably the only people who couldn't find a good place to drink in Berlin :D In the end, we did find a cozy bar. However, we didn't stay long because around 11 o'clock, we suddenly got so tired that all we wanted was to fall into bed :D

And so ended our long and exhausting day! For the next day, I hoped for good weather because it simply wasn't enjoyable in the rain...

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