Skip to main content

Day 6: Berlin!!

Image
By
Where we stayed 
We were tired today! Alto ought we were relaxing out in the countryside with Kati we squeezed a lot in and we also did a fair bit of exercise too! So, a combination of that and the hostel dorm being too warm!! It was warmer in that room than it was outside!! A cold shower in the morning and at night helped us keep cool (and smelling relatively nice!). 

What we explored
We got the train into town and headed straight to the Brandenburg Gate where our walking tour was setting off from. There we met 'tall posh Rob' from Durham and he was our tour guide for the following three hours!! We learnt a lot about Berlin's history, some of which we already knew but a lot that was new to us and very interesting! We saw some of the key sites along the way too....another fantastic thing about these free walking tours!

The Holocaust memorial

Check point Charlie

Hitlers bunker (not the actual thing as it was destroyed and is now noting more than a 'glorified' car park) 

The Berlin Wall,


We also passed by the Nazi book burning memorial which was spectacular, a window in the ground on the site of where the nazis burned over 260 books. So under this window is a sculpture by a Jewish artist of a small room lined with enough book shelves to hold the estimated number of books destroyed that day. 

We also passed by Museum island and several beautiful sculptures and statues. After the tour though we were pretty exhausted from three hours of walking in the sun and so we headed to a place that had free wifi and something to eat, and of course some cold beers! We'll show you what we are below! 

After lunch we got the we're to the east side gallery, the longest piece of the Berlin Wall that still stands. It was wonderful to see that the locals had turned what was such a somber place into a creative and colourful area. Art and graffiti on the walls and as it happened the day we were there they were holding a small free music festival with several small acoustic stages, some food and drink vans and places to sit and relax in the sun while you listened to some music :) it was very pleasant! 


What we ate...
For lunch we went to spreegold where we had some of the best salad we've had since we started traveling! 
(Photos to follow)

In the evening we wondered around Alexanderplatz, around the square and round the spectacular tv tower! We managed to score a place to eat dinner under the TV tower there and ate some of the yummiest Currywurst!! (Much better than last night!!!) A couple of glasses of beer and we headed back to the hot-as-hell-hostel! 

Comments

  1. Unknown30 August 2016 at 14:02

    Brings back happy memories! Loved Berlin! Shame about your hostel - hope you get some sleep tonight! :) x

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Zagreb and the not so orient express.

By
Not going to lie, this was not the most productive day we've had so far. We had the majority of the day to spend in Zagreb before we needed to board our first night train of the trip. However, we couldn't do anything with our big heavy rucksacks so we had to lug them about wherever we went. To be fair we did do a lot of walking the previous day, so we felt quite content with exploring the areas closer to the train station.  So, first of all we walked up to the grand hotel that used to serve as a rest stop for travellers of the great Orient Express. We considered having a wee coffee just to experience a small slice of what it might have been like to live such an affluent life (the hotel has been visited by the likes of Queen Elizabeth...). I would love to say that we did... But we gazed at the fancy waiters in their fancy suits and then took a look at ourselves and settled upon having our pack lunch in the gardens with a view of the hotel instead. We we haven't had a great e...
1 comment
Read more

Day 8: Prague! Astronomical clocks, goulash and monsoon weather!

By
Where we stayed The Hostel Advantage on Sokolská street. A lovely little colourful hostel in the heart of Prague, a ten minute walk from the main train stations and a 20 min (if you have long legs like me) to the old town of Prague. The room was very comfortable and the staff was nice. Also, good reliable free wifi!!! :D not to be scoffed at, especially when you're only booking your accommodation a few days in advance!! We really enjoyed our two days here! (Past tense as this is a back blog...too many days hit us at once! 🙃) What we explored As this has become routine now, another city, another free walking tour! We LOVE these!  If I have tale wary explained this concept, these tour guides work on a tips only basis, they do this job because the this love their city and have a passion for sharing the stories of its present and history with visitors. It's not there to rip you off, only to inform and it's made so that everybody, regardless of their budget, can enjoy and learn...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 9: Prague to Budapest

By
Day 9: Prague to Budapest We managed to wake up relatively early today and were packed and fed by 9 o'clock. We then chilled in the lovely Advantage hostel lounge for a couple of hours and used their free Internet to plan our route a bit more and to book some further accommodation. Last night we also confirmed dates with the two friends that we'll be staying with. We are a very excited to see  Zoe in Switzerland and David in Italy and explore their beautiful countries with a couple of locals!  But for now, goodbye Czech Repubic, we are heading to Hungary!!  After we checked out of the hostel we had a wonderful stroll through a local park (Riegrovysady) as we headed to the train station. We grabbed some food for the train and had lunch at a European classic ;)  (Last nights dinner was a bit expensive so today we're allowed to  be cheapskates!!!)        After fighting with a cash machine at the train station trying to figure out this new money ...
Post a Comment
Read more