A trip to the German Capital
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| By the dome- Transparent Government and Nice Cakes! |
It’s difficult to believe that just over
twenty years ago there was a concrete wall separating the two halves of
Berlin. Today, the fact that it was put
there to stop the inhabitants of the socialist East escaping to the West defies
belief.
Anyway, we defied the strike by the public
sector workers and headed off to Berlin for a few days. As usual we were on a
budget so our Airport transfer from Tegel into the centre was made, in the rush
hour, by bus and then two S-bahn underground trains. Good value though at 2E30 for a zone AB
ticket.
These
were the first of many trips on Berlin's Public Transport. The automatic ticket
machines give quite a number of options. On subsequent days we opted for a day
ticket, go anywhere for a little over 6 Euros which isn’t bad.
Our expert advisers told us that the area
around Nikolaiviertel was a good place to stay so we booked an Apartment within
a stone’s throw. Our budget Apartment was on the 16th Floor of a
twenty floor residential tower block. I know that does not sound very inviting
but it really was OK and it had a lift!
It was quiet and clean and had everything
we needed for three nights, including a kitchen with the vital microwave to cook up my
porridge.
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| Tower Block View - by Night |
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| Daytime View - not bad for a Tower Block |
Naturally, the views were good and included
a row of riverside pubs in nearby Nikolaiviertel. So that’s where we headed off to.
Like most of Berlin, this area was flattened during WWII. It has been tastefully reconstructed and, presumably, looks like a sanitised version of pre-war days.
Our hostelry of choice was the Georg Brau,
next to a bronze statue of Saint George slaying that Dragon again. It was nice and busy, the beer was great and
I had a Pork Knuckle (Schweinhaxe) with sauerkraut and potatoes, a particular
favourite. A really good ‘welcome to Berlin’.
TW had a long list of places she wanted to
see over the next couple of days. Days are short at this time of year so we needed to move quckly :-
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| Brandenburg Gate |
The Brandenburg Gate – this is one of the
world’s iconic images. I thought it was marred a little by people dressed as
East German and Russian soldiers. Have your photo taken with someone who would
have shot you twenty-odd years ago? I think I would find a comfortable no-man’s land or DMZ to put them in. I think there might be vacancies between North
and South Korea?
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| The Reichstag |
The Reichstag – we knew this was a popular
attraction and that we might have to queue. What we didn't know was that you
had to book on-line 4 days in advance due to heightened security. Luckily we
remembered that there was a restaurant at the top near the dome. We
phoned up and booked afternoon tea for the following day. Security was really tight with passport checks and scanners, we felt like we were going abroad. The Reichstag visit was the highlight of the trip. Coffee and cake, a wander up and down the
dome and we looked down on where Mrs Merkel had made her speech in the Bundestag that very
morning.
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| Looking down on Government |
It was a surprisingly nice cake, we had expected one of
those posh Nouvelle Cuisine tarts with a sprig of mint on top. Reality was a
big fruity lump of crumble. I could definitely get interested in Politics if it
would bring me in contact with a proper pudding. Must be what attracted Mrs
Merkel, she definitely looks like she is into cakes.
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| Tourists |
Very clever design for the dome and the
spiral walkways within. Not sure I understand how we managed to walk up one spiral
and down the other without them appearing to cross? I would not like to be a
window cleaner there, but the idea was to bring transparency to the political
process by putting in lots of glass.
Bike Ride – Tour de Berlin!
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| TW at the Victory Column on her e-bike |
Berlin is really bike friendly so, despite
the cool weather, we rented bikes from Take A Bike. TW had energy deficit so
she took an electric bike (a Giant Twist Freedom) to whizz around on. We had an
absolutely brilliant little Tour of Berlin, mainly on cycle paths. There is a really
good map showing all the cycle routes. Berlin is surprisingly compact so we
managed to see lots and even get home for lunch.
We saw Checkpoint Charlie and were
underwhelmed. A lot of our cycle route followed the path of the Wall. It’s now marked
by a row of cobbles as much of it has been demolished. Particularly enjoyed the
ride through the Tiergarten and then along the River Spree.
Unter den Linden – Under the Linden tree
Have always thought this was a good name
for a main street. Why we call ours all ‘High Street’ beats me. Lots of
reconstruction work still going on as they restore the buildings to their former
splendour. It’s an easy pedal under the Linden Tree from the Brandenburg Gate
down to the Berliner Dom
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| TV Tower |
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| Sony Centre |
Fernesehturm – Monstrous TV Tower with a
revolving satellite on top. We didn’t bother going up, the view from our Tower
Block was good enough for us.
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| Santa's Helper |
Potsdamer Platz – lots of modern rebuilding
around here. We played with the Gadgets in the Sony Centre and had a coffee in
an Australia themed cafe. The waitress was a bit dopey, we had a heluva job
ordering a coffee and a mineral water. I think we would still be there if we
had decided to eat something!
Markishes Museum
We actually went to a Museum, well it was
raining and it was a good place to leave our bags on the last day. The Museum
follows the history of Berlin from Medieval Times until today. Highlights were
the old photos. Unter den Linden was very smart in the early 1900’s. Lots of horse
poo on the streets then though! TW was a bit concerned for the ladies who were all
wearing long dresses. Must have been very messy?
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| Wall Flower |
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| Marie-Elizabeth Luders House - some library! |
Time to head off to Austria!
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