Berlin

October 1, 2021

My solo adventures (sorry mom!) started with an 8:37 bus to the Koblenz train station and a 9:13 train headed to Berlin. I arrived around 3:10 pm and walked 40 minutes to my hostel. Since I only had a short amount of time in Berlin, I had to maximize my time, so I immediately checked in and started exploring. The first location was a bridge where spies met to exchange messages in the Cold War, but I passed the East Side Gallery portion of the Berlin wall along the way.

Oberbaumbrücke

Then I passed by an ice cream place along the way that was vegan AND sugar free! It was called Duo - Sicilian Ice Cream and I left a very good review for them. I got the flavors hazelnut and gianduja, which is also hazelnut haha.

My next stop was a neighborhood called Graefeststraße but along the way I passed some beautiful buildings and churches.

Evangelische Emmaus Ölberg Kirchengemeinde

Then I walked to a nearby neighborhood called Kreuzberg.

The sun was going down so I decided to head back to my hostel.

October 2, 2021

I was up by 8 and had started exploring right away. My gps was routed to the Victory Column. The first thing I saw was the Berliner Fernsehturm (in the daylight this time), some unknown buildings, and the Berliner Dom.

Berliner Dom

Brandenburger Tor

Bellevue Palace

Then I made my way towards Reichstag and the Memorial to Murdered Jews.

Reichstag

I made my way to another part of the Berlin Wall and went inside the Topography of Terror. These two sites are next to each other and explain the Holocaust terrors and the Cold War. Next, I met Maxime's sister and her boyfriend in a different part of the city and we walked around, got cinnamon rolls, and then went to park to eat them. We decided to go to Checkpoint Charlie next, so I took the metro to meet them there since they biked to meet me. (Under the McDonald's sign, too many tourists). 

We read the informational signs about the checkpoint and escapes and then went inside the exhibit about the Cold War. Next we went to the Spy Museum! It was interactive and they had a laser beam game that I beat on the hardest level. So I'm basically Sarah Walker from Chuck. Since the Berlin döner is better than the rest of the country, we got döner for dinner. 10/10. They had left their bikes closer to Checkpoint Charlie, so we walked back in that direction and saw the French Cathedral, New Church, and the Berlin Concert Hall.

Neue Kirche

Konzerthaus Berlin

Französischer Dom

I was told that the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was a must see in Berlin and it was on my list so I took the metro to get there. Most of the original church was damaged but the steeple remained somewhat intact in the bomb raids of 1943.

I took the metro back to my hostel and enjoyed the rest after walking 15 miles, according to the apple health app.

October 3, 2021

I was up early again since my train was at 12:30 and I still had things to see! I walked to St. Nicholas' Church and then to Mauerpark, which is where the Berlin flea market is. I walked around there for a while until I needed to head towards the train station. Along the way was the Berlin Wall Memorial.

St. Nicholas' Church

Mauerpark flea market

Berlin Wall Memorial

I really loved Berlin! I had a great time there, although it was short. The train ride, however, was long. I didn't get home until 8 pm.