Travelogue: Berlin
Tuesday: Off to Berlin
-Amazing how quickly time flies. J and I wake early to get a traditional English Breakfast at the upscale Wolseley. It's a pretty old building and I enjoyed the cafe crema I got.
-I head to London Gatwick for an Easyjet flight to Berlin Schonefeld. Aside from being charged 45 pounds for having more than one bag (ugh) it's an efficient flight to Berlin, and we land early. Border control and various German guards are all very stern and no nonsense (zero chitchat or smiles), while all other German people I encounter are very friendly. Interesting.
-The public transportation proves very easy to use, with everything running efficiently, cleanly, and on time. More or less what I expect from Germany. I take a bus to a U-Bahn (subway) that takes me right near my hotel for less than 4 euros. Amazing.
-The weather is unseasonably warm when I arrive, which I'm very pleased about, and Berlin proves to be an extremely affordable city. I'd been briefed by a friend who lived in the city for 2 years on what to expect and his observations proved both true and helpful. Apparently, May is the month of white asparagus, which is a popular delicacy in Berlin and on virtually every menu as a special in all the restaurants. I try a white asparagus soup which tastes good, but I have to admit I don't see what all the fuss is about. I doubt I'd pay for an entire entree of the stuff.
-Walked about Kreuzberg, where my hotel is located, as well as Mitte, which is nearby. The hotel is a very affordably priced Holiday Inn Express and probably the nicest one I've ever been in. It is immaculately clean, the service is good, and it is located near several public transportation stops as well as some supermarkets. Naturally, I try some local junk food while I'm in the area including a heavily advertised pink Magnum ice cream bar (seriously, I saw the advertisements everywhere in both London and Berlin).
-For dinner, I have pork tenderloin with fries and black forest mushroom cream sauce. It's fine. I have to say that German food, like British food, is not my favorite. It's hearty meat and potatos stuff, very filling, but I much prefer the non-entrees like German mustard and cakes/sweets, and British tea & scones/pastries.
Wednesday: Exploring Berlin's Museum Island
-The weather for the entire trip is lovely--no rain and mostly sunny skies. I start off each day with the pretty good continental breakfast at my hotel (sliced meats and cheese, fruit, and surprisingly good coffee out of a machine).
-Using the Berlin Welcome Card, we get included admission to a ton of museums, public transportation, a boat tour, and hop on/hop off bus. It's a pretty good deal on the whole, and very handy with a booklet that tells you how to use it.
-Z and I head to the Botanischer Garten (botanical garden) first, which is a bit outside of the city center near a very cute residential area. The garden itself is excellent, with lots of space and very nice collections in the greenhouses.
-Then we head to Museum Island, which is an island bounded by the Spree River and a canal. Like Oslo, a whole bunch of museums are clustered conveniently together and we get admission from the Welcome Berlin card. The first we visit in the Pergamon Museum, which has a decent Greco-Roman antiquities collection and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. Then we head to the Altes Galerie, which holds a collection of German art. German art is a reflection of German culture: detail oriented and technically skilled. There, I get a cafe creme and a madeleine at the cafe.
-I visit the Berliner Dom, which is a grand old church that was bombed in the war and heavily reconstructed afterwards. Visitors are allowed to go all the way up into the dome and even outside, which gives a great view of the city and is very fun. A lot of stairs, though.
-Z and I stop at the Altes Museum, which houses a nice Greco-Roman collection, including some ancient and amusing dirty/sexually themed art.
-All the museums are pretty small (a couple of floors and not too huge) as well as pretty empty in May, which is wonderful. We get through them quickly and then move on to Checkpoint Charlie, which is an interesting little museum documenting the separation of Germany thanks to the Berlin Wall, as well as personal stories of people who tried to cross from one side to the other. Strange to think that this piece of history was so recent.
-The last museum of the night was the somber Topography of Terror, a free museum documenting the rise of Nazism and the the Holocaust in Germany. That combined with the Stumble Stones (small plaques on the ground memorializing Jews that lived in various neighborhoods of Berlin) and the very stirring Holocaust Memorial serve as reminders of Germany's not-so-distant past.
-Z and I go to a nearby pub frequented by Berlin locals. I try a wheat alcohol free beer (alcohol free beer turns out to be relatively common in beer gardens) and rissoles, which are giant pork and beef meatballs with potatos. It's hearty pub food.
Wednesday: more museums and sights
-It's a bit of a chillier day with more clouds, so we head off to some indoor sights first. We go to the Bode Museum, which has some Roman statuary as well as Byzantine art.
-Then the Humboldt Box, which is an exhibition building geared more towards locals and completely in German. As far as I could tell, several exhibitions talked about the reconstruction of the former Berlin Palace in the area, which was destroyed several decades earlier.
-The weather cleared up a bit, so we hopped on the Hop on/Hop off bus tour, which brought us around Berlin to sights like the Reichstag (cool architecture), Brandenburger Tor, Hauptbanoff (a modern new central train station for Berlin) Holocaust Memorial, and Tiergarten. Tiergarten was pretty, but a bit smaller than I expected. Nice, though.
-I took a quick gander through the Berlin Zoo and Aquarium. It was a small, but decent zoo.
Thursday: Berlin Food Tour
-Z and I went on a Mitte food tour, where we got to see some of the cooler hipster areas and back gardens away from the usual tourist routes. Like London, Berlin is undergoing gentrification, with rents rocketing. As far as European cities go, the cost of living and rent is still extremely reasonable in Berlin, but I'm guessing that in the next 5-10 years that will begin to change.
-On the food tour, we tried a variety of things from currywurst to beer to a Berliner donut (probably my favorite). I also tried sweet baby's breath ice cream, a green ice cream with a subtle, faintly sweet flavor. Interesting stuff.
-After the food tour, Z and I did some walking before going to see a show in a circus tent in the Tiergarten. It was a fun show from Australia, and a good time.
-I ended my last evening in Berlin with a walk along the River Spree to an open air swing/lindy-hop dance party. It was a nice atmosphere, with lights reflecting on the river and the museums around us, and a wonderful note to end my time in Berlin on.
Tuesday: flight home to NYC
-Last morning in Berlin, I load up on breakfast and head to the Tegel airport on public transportation. Once again, my ticket costs less than 3 euros and the trip is fast and easy. Gotta love German efficiency.
-Tegel airport is an oddly set up one, and strangely small considering Berlin is an international city. After walking around in a ring and passing through security, there is not much to do but wait for your flight at the gate, since there's no shopping after security.
-I fly to Dusseldorf, and receive a snack and beverage on the flight, which surprises me. I try the Sour cream and wild onion flavored bag of potato chips, which taste different than the sour cream and onion flavor popular in the US. Another popular item: apples and apple flavored things. Apple juice and apple sauce is found everywhere.
-Dusseldorf is a bigger, more modern airport. There's still not a lot to do in my 5 hour layover, so I go to hang out in te Air Berlin lounge, which is shared with Ethihad and Emitates Airlines. They're not much to look at, decoration wise, especially after I've been in American Express Centurion lounges, but there's decent free food and a surprising amount of free liquor. Most of the food is mediocre, but the potato salad and cherry tomatos are surprisingly excellent. As is the chocolate cake. I try tonic water for the first time, as well as a carbonated apple juice, and various mysterious snack items ranging from packaged meat to spreadable cheese.
-Amazing how quickly time flies. J and I wake early to get a traditional English Breakfast at the upscale Wolseley. It's a pretty old building and I enjoyed the cafe crema I got.
-I head to London Gatwick for an Easyjet flight to Berlin Schonefeld. Aside from being charged 45 pounds for having more than one bag (ugh) it's an efficient flight to Berlin, and we land early. Border control and various German guards are all very stern and no nonsense (zero chitchat or smiles), while all other German people I encounter are very friendly. Interesting.
-The public transportation proves very easy to use, with everything running efficiently, cleanly, and on time. More or less what I expect from Germany. I take a bus to a U-Bahn (subway) that takes me right near my hotel for less than 4 euros. Amazing.
-The weather is unseasonably warm when I arrive, which I'm very pleased about, and Berlin proves to be an extremely affordable city. I'd been briefed by a friend who lived in the city for 2 years on what to expect and his observations proved both true and helpful. Apparently, May is the month of white asparagus, which is a popular delicacy in Berlin and on virtually every menu as a special in all the restaurants. I try a white asparagus soup which tastes good, but I have to admit I don't see what all the fuss is about. I doubt I'd pay for an entire entree of the stuff.
-Walked about Kreuzberg, where my hotel is located, as well as Mitte, which is nearby. The hotel is a very affordably priced Holiday Inn Express and probably the nicest one I've ever been in. It is immaculately clean, the service is good, and it is located near several public transportation stops as well as some supermarkets. Naturally, I try some local junk food while I'm in the area including a heavily advertised pink Magnum ice cream bar (seriously, I saw the advertisements everywhere in both London and Berlin).
-For dinner, I have pork tenderloin with fries and black forest mushroom cream sauce. It's fine. I have to say that German food, like British food, is not my favorite. It's hearty meat and potatos stuff, very filling, but I much prefer the non-entrees like German mustard and cakes/sweets, and British tea & scones/pastries.
Wednesday: Exploring Berlin's Museum Island
-The weather for the entire trip is lovely--no rain and mostly sunny skies. I start off each day with the pretty good continental breakfast at my hotel (sliced meats and cheese, fruit, and surprisingly good coffee out of a machine).
-Using the Berlin Welcome Card, we get included admission to a ton of museums, public transportation, a boat tour, and hop on/hop off bus. It's a pretty good deal on the whole, and very handy with a booklet that tells you how to use it.
-Z and I head to the Botanischer Garten (botanical garden) first, which is a bit outside of the city center near a very cute residential area. The garden itself is excellent, with lots of space and very nice collections in the greenhouses.
-Then we head to Museum Island, which is an island bounded by the Spree River and a canal. Like Oslo, a whole bunch of museums are clustered conveniently together and we get admission from the Welcome Berlin card. The first we visit in the Pergamon Museum, which has a decent Greco-Roman antiquities collection and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. Then we head to the Altes Galerie, which holds a collection of German art. German art is a reflection of German culture: detail oriented and technically skilled. There, I get a cafe creme and a madeleine at the cafe.
-I visit the Berliner Dom, which is a grand old church that was bombed in the war and heavily reconstructed afterwards. Visitors are allowed to go all the way up into the dome and even outside, which gives a great view of the city and is very fun. A lot of stairs, though.
-Z and I stop at the Altes Museum, which houses a nice Greco-Roman collection, including some ancient and amusing dirty/sexually themed art.
-All the museums are pretty small (a couple of floors and not too huge) as well as pretty empty in May, which is wonderful. We get through them quickly and then move on to Checkpoint Charlie, which is an interesting little museum documenting the separation of Germany thanks to the Berlin Wall, as well as personal stories of people who tried to cross from one side to the other. Strange to think that this piece of history was so recent.
-The last museum of the night was the somber Topography of Terror, a free museum documenting the rise of Nazism and the the Holocaust in Germany. That combined with the Stumble Stones (small plaques on the ground memorializing Jews that lived in various neighborhoods of Berlin) and the very stirring Holocaust Memorial serve as reminders of Germany's not-so-distant past.
-Z and I go to a nearby pub frequented by Berlin locals. I try a wheat alcohol free beer (alcohol free beer turns out to be relatively common in beer gardens) and rissoles, which are giant pork and beef meatballs with potatos. It's hearty pub food.
Wednesday: more museums and sights
-It's a bit of a chillier day with more clouds, so we head off to some indoor sights first. We go to the Bode Museum, which has some Roman statuary as well as Byzantine art.
-Then the Humboldt Box, which is an exhibition building geared more towards locals and completely in German. As far as I could tell, several exhibitions talked about the reconstruction of the former Berlin Palace in the area, which was destroyed several decades earlier.
-The weather cleared up a bit, so we hopped on the Hop on/Hop off bus tour, which brought us around Berlin to sights like the Reichstag (cool architecture), Brandenburger Tor, Hauptbanoff (a modern new central train station for Berlin) Holocaust Memorial, and Tiergarten. Tiergarten was pretty, but a bit smaller than I expected. Nice, though.
-I took a quick gander through the Berlin Zoo and Aquarium. It was a small, but decent zoo.
Thursday: Berlin Food Tour
-Z and I went on a Mitte food tour, where we got to see some of the cooler hipster areas and back gardens away from the usual tourist routes. Like London, Berlin is undergoing gentrification, with rents rocketing. As far as European cities go, the cost of living and rent is still extremely reasonable in Berlin, but I'm guessing that in the next 5-10 years that will begin to change.
-On the food tour, we tried a variety of things from currywurst to beer to a Berliner donut (probably my favorite). I also tried sweet baby's breath ice cream, a green ice cream with a subtle, faintly sweet flavor. Interesting stuff.
-After the food tour, Z and I did some walking before going to see a show in a circus tent in the Tiergarten. It was a fun show from Australia, and a good time.
-I ended my last evening in Berlin with a walk along the River Spree to an open air swing/lindy-hop dance party. It was a nice atmosphere, with lights reflecting on the river and the museums around us, and a wonderful note to end my time in Berlin on.
Tuesday: flight home to NYC
-Last morning in Berlin, I load up on breakfast and head to the Tegel airport on public transportation. Once again, my ticket costs less than 3 euros and the trip is fast and easy. Gotta love German efficiency.
-Tegel airport is an oddly set up one, and strangely small considering Berlin is an international city. After walking around in a ring and passing through security, there is not much to do but wait for your flight at the gate, since there's no shopping after security.
-I fly to Dusseldorf, and receive a snack and beverage on the flight, which surprises me. I try the Sour cream and wild onion flavored bag of potato chips, which taste different than the sour cream and onion flavor popular in the US. Another popular item: apples and apple flavored things. Apple juice and apple sauce is found everywhere.
-Dusseldorf is a bigger, more modern airport. There's still not a lot to do in my 5 hour layover, so I go to hang out in te Air Berlin lounge, which is shared with Ethihad and Emitates Airlines. They're not much to look at, decoration wise, especially after I've been in American Express Centurion lounges, but there's decent free food and a surprising amount of free liquor. Most of the food is mediocre, but the potato salad and cherry tomatos are surprisingly excellent. As is the chocolate cake. I try tonic water for the first time, as well as a carbonated apple juice, and various mysterious snack items ranging from packaged meat to spreadable cheese.