Berlin

Back to the Europe trip. Been almost 3 years, so it's just going to be the pictures talking rather than anything else. Especially when I didn't have the intention to write up my travels then hence, the lack of information and pictures.

We started the journey from Brussels on an overnight train with Eurostar. For a moment in the train, it almost felt like I was a refugee on the run with the state of the carriage in first impression. But honestly, it was a pretty comfortable sleep. It was just cold. But it worked out perfectly for us, as we spent the entire day in Brussels, hop on the train to Berlin and arriving there bright and early (Okay, maybe not so bright =P). And saved on one night of hotel stay.

Arriving in Berlin Hauptbahnhof :

Christmas tree

Being the overnight train, we arrived there fairly early, somewhere between 5-6 a.m if I remember correctly. We spent a bit of time walking around the station trying to find a way to get to the hotel And we weren't even sure if the hotels would take us at that hour.

Anyway, we finally caught a cab in from the main doors and off we went to the hotel, who were absolutely the greatest as they allowed us to check in that morning at about 7 a.m. or so. Oh my, we were just so glad to have a bed to sleep in while we wait for one of our other friend to join us from London. We stayed in Mercure Berlin City Hotel OST.

Brunch @ a random cafe down the road
*not the greatest*

Berlin TV Tower

We didn't waste much time and headed right back into the heart of the city, making Alexanderplatz our main transport terminal. After spending ages trying to find something that we could read, or someone who could speak English, we ended up at the DDR museum.

Outside DDR Museum

Located just opposite the river from Berlin Cathedral, the interactive museum was indeed a very hands on experience. Depicting the lives of East Berlin during the German Democratic Republic time, it was a very interesting museum in it's displays and notes.

Among the displays were :

Beach time!

GDR apartments

There was a mushroom of these apartments throughout the time and even now, we can see it on the outskirts of town and even sometimes, along the tram systems in town.

Kitchen layout

And being so close to Berlin Cathedral, I managed to pester the other 3 to visit it with me =). How could I walk away from it when it was just less than 50 metres away?!?!

Berlin Cathedral

And of course being Christmas, the church had a beautiful Christmas tree on display! The Cathedral also had a museum above and a 'balcony' area that allowed us to look down on the city.

Paper model

=D

And we then settled for a hot cuppa near the DDR museum. Always a good choice when it's freezing cold and when you're in good company. A lot has changed since then, but it was still a good trip worth penning down =).

Christmas decorations

=D

We then went to the Jewish Museum Berlin to finish off for the day. Another really interesting museum. A little scary/eerie at some points but that was mainly when I was reading about what happened during the Holocaust and during the war. I really felt for them, especially when I was standing in the Holocaust Tower.

It was also in Berlin that I built a relationship with museums on holidays. I remember every single cringe I had when a friend was talking about visiting all these different museum on this trip before we went, but honestly, I think you've opened my eyes to history. And now, as anyone can tell, I am a fan of visiting all these museums/prisons/historical sites in all the different places that I've visited.

One of the displays in the museum

Shalechet (Faling Leaves) by Menashe Kadishman

A truly gripping moment here when I stepped into the area. The wide opened mouth of the many faces here was a startling display of suffering and sadness during those times.

The wishing tree

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Started the next day with a visit to Charlottenburg Palace in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. It was a fair walk from the train stop and I remember having to ask a couple of people for directions. Anyway, all's good as we did finally get there.

Charlottenburg Palace

It is the largest palace in Berlin and as all palaces in Europe, was packed with tourist. Cameras were not permitted in the place during that time, hence the non-existent pictures in my camera.

The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and given to Sophie Charlotte, wife of Friedrich the Third.

We spent a few hours here with headphones taped to our ears for information. Think the rest were quite bored by the end of the first couple of hours and was just there to humour me. Hehehe.

So, off we went for lunch!

I've heard so much about sausages in Germany that I just have to try some. We ended up at one of the local restaurants opposite the palace which was packed with people. The only trouble we had was that the menu was completely in German and the waitress couldn't really speak English. So we ended up pointing at other patrons' meals to order ours.

And then we headed off to one of Berlin's Christmas Market. Must bigger than the one in Brussels, it was located in Gendarmenmarkt, which is one of the most popular squares in Berlin.

The famous WeihnachtsZauber on Gendarmenmarkt

Loved the surroundings

There was quite a bit to see in this market, and was definitely more packed than the Brussels Christmas Market. There was a large amount of food being sold here, both in stalls and 'cafe/restaurant' settings, ornaments, displays, nuts, snacks and the must-try-if-you're-there Gluhwein.

Some of the things on sale

Gorgeous items

I love this pictures - all the canopies and stars
*It felt almost magical*

We headed off to the Haus Am Checkpoint Charlie Museum for the rest of the evening, spending a couple of very insightful hours there. The museum ws started in 1962 but was only a very small place, making up from just a couple of apartments but now, is a very large museum eventhough it did not appear that way on first impression.

The museum bear some resemblance to the others that we've been to, in terms of depicting the lives of the citizens during the GDR time. But this museum also offered a lot of information about how the people felt about the regime and also how they tried to escape to the other side of Berlin. There were so many stories to be told, so many moments that was just so upsetting or touching. How families stand on each side of the walls to meet, without really seeing or touching. All while still in the fear that you might very well just be shot for doing so. Or the many escapade methods that has been devised and used and some successfully and others not so. The Berlin Wall does indeed have a very strong history.

Outside the Museum

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The next day had a couple of us getting up early to head into the shops so that the other two could get a bit more sleep. But what was more fun than being in the shops for me was the chocolate shop near the U-Banh! The displays were just out-of-the-world!

Outside the metro station

Check out the chocolate displays!!

The famous Berlin gate

Don't know what this was...

The chocolate tower

And the chocolate Santa! :D

We did a bit of shopping before heading to another museum or display centre. I had to go to the place on my own to meet the others, which was a little daunting considering that I can barely read the road signs. But as usual, a good samaritan came to my aid. I still thank my lucky stars for each time anyone comes to my aid when I look lost in a foreign country. Anyway, this wonderful man not only pointed me to the direction of the museum, but actually walked me there so that I don't get lost again. Hahaha. Yes - to a lot of my friends, I probably do have that perpectually lost look that screams help =P

A bit of confusion happened while we were meant to meet here, so we probably lost about 2 hours trying to get back to the hotel and to return to the place again to visit the place together. I was a little annoyed I have to say, since we were already quite pushed for time. But then again, that's the whole point of the trip - to travel together. So, it was all good =).

Finally we're entering! =D

Definitely worth a return trip after that 2 hours because I really quite liked the centre. Perhaps it was the strong and interesting history of Germany and Berlin. I love historical museums/centres.

Can't really remember much of the actual displays, so am just going to put up random photos. A lot of the photos had us in it, which made it quite hard for me to find those without people in it.

Ah.. if only men still dressed like that..

Parts of the Berlin Wall

Directions in life

'Ouch'!

Sniffling out

Quote : "The Ministry of State Security has a particularly invidious method for detecting undesirable citizens. Human body odours were captured and archived using smell preservatives. A Stasi employee collects a "suspects' " body odour with a specially prepared sterile cloth. The cloth is then concealed in the upholstery of an ordinary looking chair. The "suspect" who is offered this char leaves his "smell-mark" this way. The cloth is then preserved in an airtight jar. Smells stored like this can then be used when needed. Sniffler dogs can learn the smell and track down or identify the person concern."

*shudders*

The entry fees also include a visit to a nearby bunker, which is located probably a 3 minute walk from the centre. Can't remember how many it was able to occupy, it just looked a little eerie to me and definitely not somewhere I would have wanted to end up in. If I remember correctly, I don't think that bunker was ever used.

Bunker beds

And oh, I almost forgot! The pedestrian traffic lights in Berlin was really cute. It wasn't your usual green and red man. Theirs had hats on them and looked really quite adorable! There was a traffic light display in the centre and I suppose they do know that it's darn cute, so there was even sponge ornaments of them!

Berlin's pedestrian men

As it was New Year's eve that night, we settled for a nice dinner somewhere close to the centre before heading back into the central city for a walk in the city with all the other happenings in town and ultimately ended up with a cuppa near Postdamer Platz. We headed back to the hotel as one of us was quite ill, so we bought some beers back. Not a bad choice - we had a display of fireworks for at least 15 minutes from our room! Perfect end to the year and that holiday! =)

=)