Ascension Day in Berlin: Humboldt Forum and tour through what feels like the whole of Berlin

We set off early in the morning by train, which actually brought us to Berlin almost on time. Then we took the S-Bahn to Alexanderplatz, near where our hotel was booked.

Since we were able to check in at lunchtime, we set off in bright sunshine past the Red Town Hall towards the Humboldt Forum.

We also strolled through the streets of Nikolaiviertel, which is located right on the banks of the Spree.

With a view of the other bank with the Humboldt Forum and Berlin Cathedral, we took a lunch break. When the waiter brought the bread as a starter, a piece fell to the ground, which delighted the sparrows, who were waiting for food everywhere on the restaurant terrace.

There was initially some dispute over the bread, but once the order was clarified, one of the sparrows fed three other birds. Their feathers looked a bit fuzzier and so we deduced that they must be last year's young birds that are still being fed by their mother...

We continued to the Humboldt Forum, which was built on the site of the Berlin Palace destroyed in World War II and blown up in 1950/51. Some historical facades were reconstructed, while other parts were rebuilt in a modern style.

This resulted in a 30,000 square meter exhibition area, which houses various museums.

There was a video animation and an exhibition in the sculpture hall that showcases original sculptures from the former palace.

In the basement, you could see old wall sections that testify to the history of the monks and kings who lived here.

After these historical impressions, we continued to the Museum of Ethnology, where wooden figures from Cameroon, boats from Oceania, and musical instruments from various parts of the world were on display.

One floor above, the Museum of Asian Art showcases ancient Indian and Chinese works.

A Japanese tea house has also been recreated, although there is currently no tea ceremony taking place.

Not all exhibitions were fully visible yet, as some parts are still under construction and are scheduled to open in autumn 2022.

As a conclusion, we went up to the rooftop terrace, which offered a beautiful view of the surroundings.

We had not covered much ground on our Berlin tour yet, but we continued. We walked a stretch on the grand avenue 'Unter den Linden' before turning towards Gendarmenmarkt.

We treated ourselves to an ice cream sundae for refreshment before taking a look at the French and German Cathedrals on the square from the outside.

We then went to Checkpoint Charlie, the former border crossing to the American sector.

We walked through the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz

and passed by the Tiergarten towards the Brandenburg Gate.

We then walked back to Alexanderplatz along 'Unter den Linden', where our tour ended.

For a nice view, we went up to the observation terrace of the Park Inn hotel with the hope of being able to have a cocktail at the bar. After taking the elevator to the 35th floor, we had to climb another 80 steps to reach the terrace. Along the way, there were encouraging signs:

As it turned out, you could only look in two directions from the terrace and even though the entrance fee of 6 euros was not very high, we found it a bit much for a location with a prison-like atmosphere...

Cocktails were only available in bottles at the cash register, but at least there were lounge chairs set up behind the grid, through which you could look out onto Alexanderplatz and the city beyond.

This concluded our first day in Berlin and we were happy when we were back in our hotel room after our 11-kilometer tour, to rest for the next day.