The thought of the trip popped up as our beloved husbands decided to go on a road trip to Paris without us. Apparently boys trip is more fun than the family trip. Duh!
Why should boys have all the fun. So here we go!
We had a couple of cities in mind when we first discussed the trip. However, we ended up taking a flight to Berlin. One word to describe the trip: Fabulous!!!
After dropping off our luggage at the hotel, we headed to Brandenburg Gate. This is an ideal spot to start off in Berlin. We took numerous selfies and pictures with the emblematic gate as the background and then walked towards the German Bundestag (the German Parliament). We couldn't get inside as the tickets were already sold out. So if you want to visit the building's dome and terrace, you must register online on the official Bundestag website before you travel to Berlin.
After roaming around the Reichstag Building (Bundestag), we had a small lunch break near the Brandenburg gate. If you ever go to Berlin, please try Currywest, an authentic German dish with hot dog, chips and curry powder served with currywest sauce; you'll love it.
The next stop was the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, situated within a walking distance from the Brandenburg Gate. It is absolute entertainment if you have crazy friends like mine, taking crazy pictures and selfies with the waxworks of famous and historical peoples. It took us around an hour to explore the museum.
After the museum tour we walked to the Holocaust Monument (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). This open-air monument with large stone slabs is an interesting way to remember the terrible events that took place in German-occupied Europe.
As it was nearing the sunset we took a short metro ride to Alexanderplatz to have a view of the Berlin Cathedral. Unfortunately as the cathedral was under maintenance we couldn't check out its enormous interior, nor climb to its observation deck at the top of the dome.
The city of Berlin has a vibe of its own. It is so much fun to roam around and enjoy the culture and the architectural design of the city. We signed off our day with a delicious a dinner at one of the restaurants in Alexanderplatz.
We started off the next day with a delicious Thai lunch in Alexander Platz.
It was showering outside, so we decided to have some indoor fun with a tour to Little Big city and Berlin Dungeons. Little big city features in attention to detail, the big moments and little stories from the past 750 years of Berlin. Many historical buildings, holograms, countless projections and over 6,000 residents not only show history but also bring it to life.It is cute to see, but it could get boring as well if you don't enjoy reading through the history.
Dungeons experience wasn't up to my expectation as it was more of predictable drama. But I greatly appreciate how they try to bring out the 800 years of dark history through an interactive story telling. The free fall at the end of the show was the only part that was thrilling.
After the show we took a bus to Potsdamer Pltz, one of the biggest shopping sites in Berlin. This square is one of the most important and modern parts of Berlin. Once divided by the Berlin Wall, it still houses a section of the wall. In the center is the Sony building, which at night is brightly illuminated.
We then walked towards the TV Tower to check out the 360 degree view of Berlin City. Berlin is beautiful at night. However, if you want to take some pictures, I recommend climbing the TV tower during the day. We finished off the day with a bite of hot dog as we had an early morning flight to catch the next day.
Berlin has lot more to it than we ever explored. The museums, the leftover monuments from the war and the list continues. So if you ask me, if I would come back again to explore the unexplored Berlin. Yes, coz why not!
Transportation: Now for those who are wondering about the transportation facilities in Berlin, you can buy a travel ticket online or from the airport, which gives you unlimited travel in trains, buses and trams. Travel card is available for 12 hrs, 24 hrs, 72 hrs and even for a week. Tickets are categorized into two zones AB and ABC.
AB zone ticket covers Berlin City and the Berlin Tigel Airport. ABC zone ticket is few euros extra depending on how long you are taking the card for and it covers Berlin Schönefeld Airport and the outer city areas as well.
Accommodation: You have variety of options including hostels, apartments and hotels. Make sure you book as early as possible to avoid the FOMO the greatest deals.
We stayed at Wyndham Gardens, Berlin Mitte. It cost around 125 pounds for 2 nights for 3 adults. But the hotel room was pretty nice and spotless.
Tickets:
Travel Card for 24 hours, AB zone: €20
TV tower ticket = €21.50
Madame Tussauds Berlin + Berlin Dungeon+ Little BIG City Berlin= € 27.
The tickets are available for 1,2 or 3 attractions and the Little big city tickets are free with any of the tickets. You can choose among different attractions including Madame Tussauds Berlin, Berlin Dungeon, Aqua Dom & Sea life Berlin, and Legoland Discovery Centre Berlin.
