DAY 1
Arrival experience and tips
Plane landing was good, though we were detained inside the plane for 30 minutes! No explanation was given (if ever there was, I didn't get it since I could not understand German). But most likely this is an indication of how busy Berlin-Tegel airport is on terms of plane traffic! Then, another 30 minutes of waiting for the luggage to come out of the belt! So if you are visiting Berlin, and will meet someone at Berlin-Tegel airport for your arrival or transit, timing would be a bit of a challenge!
First order of the day: pay homage to those who contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall
I was misty-eyed as I strolled along the whole stretch of Bernauer Str., the street where part of the wall was opened in 1989, and which now has become like an open street museum where one can listen to, watch and read harrowing personal experiences from separated families, when the WALL was up. I quietly spent time reading, watching and listening to all the documents made available on the street, and at the same time wishing for peace among nations, among families, among colleagues, among acquaintances and among "ex-lovers" and "ex-friends".😊
But in the end, I felt good to be reminded again that I have to struggle against the tendency to build personal walls before those who hurt me.
I kept on walking till I hit the Memorial Wall, the remains of the inner Wall at Brunnenstrasse.
Second order of the day: experience the "Biergarten" (Beer Garden)
I went to a local Biergarten called Prater Biergarten at Prenzlauer Berg, a portion of the Pankow district in northeast Berlin.You cannot get more local beer drinking experience than this!
Prenzlauer Berg was known for its strong support for East Germany's diverse counterculture such as the bohemians, gay community, Christian activists, state-independent artists, etc., and a key area for the 1989 peaceful revolution/breakdown breakdown of the Berlin Wall. It is beside the Mitte district.
I ordered a higher-priced beer called wheat beer clear and for my late lunch, a grilled sausage (currywurst) and a baked potato, which was splattered with curd cheese with herbs! This was a good lunch with a really good beer for only 13euros.
DAY 2
Museums and monuments galore!
Before anything else, let me just say that on my second day in Berlin, the city gave me the impression that is is full of life, full of young people and has so much to discover in terms of history and culture, and so I love Berlin (though Paris still comes first in my list)! Not to mention everyone I came across with were nice to me. For instance, one bus driver let me ride the bus without a ticket - I didn't realize (before boarding the bus) that I couldn't use any bank card to pay for bus tickets bought inside the bus, and I didn't have any cash at that moment.
Like Paris, Berlin has so many museums and monuments worth visiting. Berlin's Island of Museums is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and houses 5 museums, though I only visited two of the five, to allot time for other museums/galleries/places of interest! As I only had 5 full days to discover the city, I chose those that I thought I would find interesting.
On my way to my first monument destination (The Berliner-Dom), while walking along Karl-Liebknecht street (which for me, by observation, was the busiest street in Berlin!), I came across a demonstration in support of the legalization of cannabis/marijuana. Part of the street was closed from vehicles due to this peaceful rally.
The demonstrators were singing and dancing on the street, so it felt more like a festivity :-)
And I stumbled upon St. Marianne Church and the monument of Martin Luther King just in front of it.
After taking some photos, I moved on to my first monument/museum stop.
1) THE BERLINER DOM
Address: Am Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee = 7€
The official name of this massive monument is Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church in Berlin. Located in the Museum Island and constructed in 1905, it is Berlin's biggest protestant church. For more information on the history of this imposing architectural piece, you may click on the following link, https://www.berlinerdom.de/besuchen-wissen/ueber-den-dom/baugeschichte-bis-1905/
It is worth going inside Berliner Dom for its beautiful interior and the 360-degree view of Berlin from the top of its tower. Just be cautioned that to reach the top, one has to go through 267-step set of stairs! Definitely not for the faint-hearted! Lastly, if you have time, check out the performances inside the Berliner Dom. Well, there are also performances outside it by budding (and maybe struggling!) artists- check out this video.
2) The NEUES MUSEUM
Address: Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: 12€
This museum houses artefacts that provide information on the evolution of ancient cultures and is famous Nefertiti Bust, a sculpture believed to be created in 1345BC and discovered in 1912 by a German archaelogical team in the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose in Amarna, Egypt. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nefertiti_Bust)
Taking close up photos were forbidden, so many visitors (and that included me!) contented ourselves with a long-distance shot :-)
Another valuable item inside this museum is the Berlin Gold Hat, a 490-gram-thin-gold-leaf hat, long and slender, believed to date back to the year 1000 BC (Late Bronze Age, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Gold_Hat ). In this part of the museum, taking photos were allowed, so here's my best shot of it :-)
After two museums, I decided to take a relaxing early dinner in a typical Berlin Biergarten called "Boulevard Friedrichstrasse" at the Mitte district. I ordered Half-duck "gudrun", and it did not disappoint! I paired it with a glass of draft blond beer called Radeberger Pils.
After the early dinner, I decided to take a stroll back to my hotel passing through the Spree river and it was a good decision as I came across a lively bar by the quai where Berliners were dancing on the quai (a bit similar to quai Saint Bernard in Paris), though majority were just sitting by the quai with a glass of beer.
Images of Alexanderplatz by evening
DAY 3
Still museums and monuments galore!
3) The Mauermuseum or popularly known as Checkpoint Charlie
Address: Friedrichstraße 43-45, 10117 Berlin, GermanyE
Entrance fee: 14.50€
Though I found the museum a bit "disorderly" in its presentation/layout form, it is worth visiting as it is a presentation of the breakdown of the Berlin Wall from the point of view of the Americans who were stationed in this exact location. Of course, what I found most interesting was former American President Reagan's speech where at the end he exhorted former Russian President Gorbachev, "Mr President, bring down these walls!", a sharp contrast to the incumbent American President whose mostly-promoted project is the building of the wall at its border with Mexico.
What is also good about Checkpoint Charlie is that aside from Berlin Wall breakdown stories and facts, current and past autocratic regimes and the harrowing stories of victims are also featured.
4) The Bradenburg Gate
Address: Pariser Platz, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: Not applicable, it is visible to everyone§
The 26-meter high neoclassical structure is claimed to be Berli's most famous landmark. It was catapulted to global fame during the fall of the Berlin WWall in 1989, centuries after Friedrich Wilhelm II commissioned its construction in 1721, not for political reasons, but simply "to mark the end of the boulevard Unter den Linden". In November 1989, hundreds of thousands o Germans from both sides marched to the Brandenburg gate to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall (which symbolized the reunification of East and West Germany) and the end of the Cold War. This is also where Ronald Reagan famously exhorted Gorbachev to break down the walls. For Germans, it now represents German unity and freedom, and for people all over the world, it represents freedom, tolerance and cosmopolitanism".
5) Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe Museum and Information Center
Address: Cora-Berliner-Straße 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: 4€ for audio guide; guided tours are qute pricey, but there are free Public Guided Tours for Individuals in English on Saturdays at 3 p.m. (English), reservation is not required.
(https://www.stiftung-denkmal.de/fileadmin/user_upload/projekte/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/pdf/Faltblaetter/StiftDenk_Holo_ENG_2015_Web.pdf)
I have nothing much to say here except that my heart was heavy - it was one of the saddest periods in human history, but it's good to know these things for us to be reminded that any human being is capable of doing horrible things and we should always be united in strength in ensuring that these horrible periods in history will never be repeated in any part of the world.
For dinner, I wanted to try something local and a contrasting experience with the previous evening's dinner at the bier garten, so I chose Lutter & Wegner Weinstube (Mitte District), a bit sophisticated, which serves authentic German-Austrian food. Though I was warned with the inconsistent level of its customer service, I took my chance solely for food reasons. Luckily I got both great food and service. Maybe because I went early at around 730pm (few diners by then). Anyhow, the waiter who led me to my table was polite and professional. When I was seated, I was approached by another equally nice server who readily provided me some dish suggestions. I followed one of his suggestions for the main, which was Schnitzel (the other one was Sauerbraten) and I didn't regret it. It was so good - meat tenderness was just right and it was tasty. Their aperitif drink was also very good, which was a combination of sloe berry and ginger!
DAY 3
Still museums and monuments galore!
6) East Side Gallery
Address: Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: €
(to be written)
7) Alte Nationalgalerie
Address: Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: €
This museum boasts of a collection international art from 1800 onwards, including works from famous French Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet and Edouard Manet, as well as famous German artists such as Adolf Menzel (Realist), Max Liebermann (Impressionist) and Caspar David Friedrich (Romantic landscape artist). It is home to sculptor August Rodin's "The Age of Bronze", Menzel's "Flute Concert with Frederick the Great", Manet's "In the Conservatory", among others.
(to be continued)
Visiting these two museums easily took one whole day. After visi
Arrival experience and tips
Plane landing was good, though we were detained inside the plane for 30 minutes! No explanation was given (if ever there was, I didn't get it since I could not understand German). But most likely this is an indication of how busy Berlin-Tegel airport is on terms of plane traffic! Then, another 30 minutes of waiting for the luggage to come out of the belt! So if you are visiting Berlin, and will meet someone at Berlin-Tegel airport for your arrival or transit, timing would be a bit of a challenge!
First order of the day: pay homage to those who contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall
I was misty-eyed as I strolled along the whole stretch of Bernauer Str., the street where part of the wall was opened in 1989, and which now has become like an open street museum where one can listen to, watch and read harrowing personal experiences from separated families, when the WALL was up. I quietly spent time reading, watching and listening to all the documents made available on the street, and at the same time wishing for peace among nations, among families, among colleagues, among acquaintances and among "ex-lovers" and "ex-friends".😊
But in the end, I felt good to be reminded again that I have to struggle against the tendency to build personal walls before those who hurt me.
 |
| This photo is mounted on the facade of a building along Bernauer Str. |
 |
| This photo is mounted on the facade of a building along Bernauer Str. |
 |
| Bernauer Str. "open street museum", which culminates at the Memorial Wall. |
I kept on walking till I hit the Memorial Wall, the remains of the inner Wall at Brunnenstrasse.
 |
| Remains of the inner wall at Brunnenstrasse. |
 |
| Memorial Wall; remains of the inner wall at Brunnenstrasse, the first obstacle from East Berlin side |
Second order of the day: experience the "Biergarten" (Beer Garden)
I went to a local Biergarten called Prater Biergarten at Prenzlauer Berg, a portion of the Pankow district in northeast Berlin.You cannot get more local beer drinking experience than this!
Prenzlauer Berg was known for its strong support for East Germany's diverse counterculture such as the bohemians, gay community, Christian activists, state-independent artists, etc., and a key area for the 1989 peaceful revolution/breakdown breakdown of the Berlin Wall. It is beside the Mitte district.
I ordered a higher-priced beer called wheat beer clear and for my late lunch, a grilled sausage (currywurst) and a baked potato, which was splattered with curd cheese with herbs! This was a good lunch with a really good beer for only 13euros.
Museums and monuments galore!
Before anything else, let me just say that on my second day in Berlin, the city gave me the impression that is is full of life, full of young people and has so much to discover in terms of history and culture, and so I love Berlin (though Paris still comes first in my list)! Not to mention everyone I came across with were nice to me. For instance, one bus driver let me ride the bus without a ticket - I didn't realize (before boarding the bus) that I couldn't use any bank card to pay for bus tickets bought inside the bus, and I didn't have any cash at that moment.
Like Paris, Berlin has so many museums and monuments worth visiting. Berlin's Island of Museums is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and houses 5 museums, though I only visited two of the five, to allot time for other museums/galleries/places of interest! As I only had 5 full days to discover the city, I chose those that I thought I would find interesting.
On my way to my first monument destination (The Berliner-Dom), while walking along Karl-Liebknecht street (which for me, by observation, was the busiest street in Berlin!), I came across a demonstration in support of the legalization of cannabis/marijuana. Part of the street was closed from vehicles due to this peaceful rally.
 |
| Natural cannabis are found to be medicinal. |
The demonstrators were singing and dancing on the street, so it felt more like a festivity :-)
And I stumbled upon St. Marianne Church and the monument of Martin Luther King just in front of it.
 |
| Saint Marien church |
 |
| Monument of Martin Luther King |
After taking some photos, I moved on to my first monument/museum stop.
1) THE BERLINER DOM
Address: Am Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee = 7€
The official name of this massive monument is Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church in Berlin. Located in the Museum Island and constructed in 1905, it is Berlin's biggest protestant church. For more information on the history of this imposing architectural piece, you may click on the following link, https://www.berlinerdom.de/besuchen-wissen/ueber-den-dom/baugeschichte-bis-1905/
It is worth going inside Berliner Dom for its beautiful interior and the 360-degree view of Berlin from the top of its tower. Just be cautioned that to reach the top, one has to go through 267-step set of stairs! Definitely not for the faint-hearted! Lastly, if you have time, check out the performances inside the Berliner Dom. Well, there are also performances outside it by budding (and maybe struggling!) artists- check out this video.
 |
| View of Berliner Dom from across Karl-Liebknecht Street |
 |
| Random artists playing on the Berliner Dom grounds to entertain the public and at the same time earn their keep! |
 |
| Berlin Dom Entrance ticket |
 |
| Altar inside Berliner Dom |
 |
| Part of the view from the top |
2) The NEUES MUSEUM
Address: Bodestraße 1-3, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: 12€
This museum houses artefacts that provide information on the evolution of ancient cultures and is famous Nefertiti Bust, a sculpture believed to be created in 1345BC and discovered in 1912 by a German archaelogical team in the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose in Amarna, Egypt. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nefertiti_Bust)
Taking close up photos were forbidden, so many visitors (and that included me!) contented ourselves with a long-distance shot :-)
 |
| Nefertiti Bust, photo taken from outside the room |
 |
| Berlin Gold Hat |
 |
| Summary of Neues Museum collection |
After two museums, I decided to take a relaxing early dinner in a typical Berlin Biergarten called "Boulevard Friedrichstrasse" at the Mitte district. I ordered Half-duck "gudrun", and it did not disappoint! I paired it with a glass of draft blond beer called Radeberger Pils.
 |
| Half-duck "Gudrun" at Boulevard Friedrichstrasse |
 |
| Strand Bar No.1 by the quai of the Spree river, acroos Island of the Museums |
Images of Alexanderplatz by evening
DAY 3
Still museums and monuments galore!
3) The Mauermuseum or popularly known as Checkpoint Charlie
Address: Friedrichstraße 43-45, 10117 Berlin, GermanyE
Entrance fee: 14.50€
Though I found the museum a bit "disorderly" in its presentation/layout form, it is worth visiting as it is a presentation of the breakdown of the Berlin Wall from the point of view of the Americans who were stationed in this exact location. Of course, what I found most interesting was former American President Reagan's speech where at the end he exhorted former Russian President Gorbachev, "Mr President, bring down these walls!", a sharp contrast to the incumbent American President whose mostly-promoted project is the building of the wall at its border with Mexico.
What is also good about Checkpoint Charlie is that aside from Berlin Wall breakdown stories and facts, current and past autocratic regimes and the harrowing stories of victims are also featured.
4) The Bradenburg Gate
Address: Pariser Platz, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: Not applicable, it is visible to everyone§
The 26-meter high neoclassical structure is claimed to be Berli's most famous landmark. It was catapulted to global fame during the fall of the Berlin WWall in 1989, centuries after Friedrich Wilhelm II commissioned its construction in 1721, not for political reasons, but simply "to mark the end of the boulevard Unter den Linden". In November 1989, hundreds of thousands o Germans from both sides marched to the Brandenburg gate to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall (which symbolized the reunification of East and West Germany) and the end of the Cold War. This is also where Ronald Reagan famously exhorted Gorbachev to break down the walls. For Germans, it now represents German unity and freedom, and for people all over the world, it represents freedom, tolerance and cosmopolitanism".
Address: Cora-Berliner-Straße 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: 4€ for audio guide; guided tours are qute pricey, but there are free Public Guided Tours for Individuals in English on Saturdays at 3 p.m. (English), reservation is not required.
(https://www.stiftung-denkmal.de/fileadmin/user_upload/projekte/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/pdf/Faltblaetter/StiftDenk_Holo_ENG_2015_Web.pdf)
I have nothing much to say here except that my heart was heavy - it was one of the saddest periods in human history, but it's good to know these things for us to be reminded that any human being is capable of doing horrible things and we should always be united in strength in ensuring that these horrible periods in history will never be repeated in any part of the world.
For dinner, I wanted to try something local and a contrasting experience with the previous evening's dinner at the bier garten, so I chose Lutter & Wegner Weinstube (Mitte District), a bit sophisticated, which serves authentic German-Austrian food. Though I was warned with the inconsistent level of its customer service, I took my chance solely for food reasons. Luckily I got both great food and service. Maybe because I went early at around 730pm (few diners by then). Anyhow, the waiter who led me to my table was polite and professional. When I was seated, I was approached by another equally nice server who readily provided me some dish suggestions. I followed one of his suggestions for the main, which was Schnitzel (the other one was Sauerbraten) and I didn't regret it. It was so good - meat tenderness was just right and it was tasty. Their aperitif drink was also very good, which was a combination of sloe berry and ginger!
DAY 3
Still museums and monuments galore!
6) East Side Gallery
Address: Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: €
7) Alte Nationalgalerie
Address: Berlin, Germany
Entrance fee: €
(to be continued)
Visiting these two museums easily took one whole day. After visi
No comments:
Post a Comment