Berlin 2010 - Part 1

Arriving In Berlin

Sunday - August 1st 2010

After I finished my summer work, we decided to take a short trip to Germany's capital city Berlin. I was always interested in Berlin's history, especially in the history of East Berlin and of the German Democratic Republic. So I was very happy to finally go there.

We left Salzburg in the early morning and arrived in Berlin around noon. At first we drove to our hotel and checked in. We stayed at the Mövenpick Berlin near the Potsdamer Platz, which was a modern and comfortable hotel. The room was beautiful and we enjoyed our time there a lot.

Our Room

Bathroom

After we dropped our luggage off in our room, we were on our way to the city. Our first stop was the Potsdamer Platz. That's a new area which was created after the Berlin Wall was removed. The most prominent building is the Sony Center with its great architecture.

Potsdamer Platz

Trabant Car

Sony Center

Subway Station

Since we were hungry, we took the subway to a vegetarian snack bar called Vöner. The food was okay, but I don't need to go there again. Afterwards we made a visit to Cupcake Berlin, where we enjoyed some very delicious cupcakes for dessert. By the way a funny sparrow tried to steal my cupcake.

Lunch

Blueberry Cupcake

Choclate Cupcake

A Sparrow stealing my Cupcake

Later we headed to Alexanderplatz, where we toured a free exhibition about the time when Berlin was a devided city. It was very interesting and we spent over an hour there.

Television Tower near Alexander Platz

Then we walked to the river Spree and did a boat tour. We purchased our tickets and boarded the ship. Since the weather was so nice and warm, we chose to sit outside. With a glass of beer we enjoyed the boat tour along the river Spree. The ship passed several Berlin landmarks, like the Cathedral, the Chancellor's Office, the former site of the Palace of the Republic or the Reichstag (Parliament), and so it was a great way to see the city. Later we returned to the hotel and had a drink at the hotel bar.

Berlin

Berlin

Cathedral

Berlin

Berlin

Reichstag

Chancellor's Office

Berlin

Berlin Bode Museum

Berlin

Alexanderplatz Weltzeituhr

Hotel Bar

Berlin 2010 - Part 2

Sightseeing In Berlin

Monday - August 2nd 2010

Our hotel package included a wonderful breakfast buffet which offered coffee, tea, cheese, all kind of eggs, fruits and cereals. The restaurant even prepared something special, like grilled vegetables, for Claudia.

Breakfast

Afterwards we walked through the city and visited Checkpoint Charlie, the famous crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie

Then we decided to see the Jewish Museum of Berlin. It was okay, but after being to the one in Prague, too, it was nothing new. The exhibition was interesting, but we didn't spend too much time there.

Jewish Museum

Jewish Museum

Jewish Museum

Jewish Museum

Around noon we had lunch at the Yellow Sunshine Bistro, a vegetarian restaurant that serves burgers and fries. The portions were huge and the food was really good.

Yellow Sunshine Bistro

Veggie Burger with Fries

Dessert

Afterwards we were on our way to the famous department store KaDeWe - Kaufhaus Des Westens (Department Store of the West). It's currently the second largest department store in Europe, behind Harrods in London. There we bought some American products which aren't available at home.

KaDeWe

KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens

KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens

KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens

KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens

KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Near the KaDeWe department store was the Hard Rock Cafe and of course we had to go there. We had a wonderful cold Berliner Pilsner beer and enjoyed our time there.

Hard Rock Cafe Berlin

Berliner Pilsner

We returned to our hotel and dropped off all our shopping stuff and got ready for the evening. Dinner was at a Thai restaurant near the Brandenburg Gate. We shared spring solls as a starter and then I ordered Baked Vegetables, while Claudia opted for a Thai Curry. Both dishes were very good.

Spring Rolls

Baked Vegetables

Thai Curry

We spent the rest of the evening at the Brandenburg Gate and at the Parliament, because we wanted to go on top of the Reichstag. The building features a glass dome from where you have a great view over Berlin. Unfortunately the line was so long that it wasn't possible for us to go up before the building closed its doors. So we took some pictures and walked back to our hotel and enjoyed a cocktail at the hotel bar

Brandenburg Gate

Reichstag

Berlin 2010 - Part 3

Bus Tour And GDR Museum

Tuesday - August 3rd 2010

Again we had a fantastic breakfast with grilled vegetables, eggs, rolls and fruits. The restaurant was in the courtyard of the hotel under a glass dome, which could be opened when the weather allowed that.

Hotel Restaurant

Breakfast with Grilled Vegetables

Breakfast

Today we had planned to visit the DDR Museum. Since I had to do a paper about the GDR in school, I was always interested in the former second German country. So that place was perfect to see how life was back then in the East. Although the exhibition wasn't that big, it was very informative.

GDR Museum

GDR Museum

GDR Museum

GDR Museum

Berlin

Afterwards we got our tickets for the bus tour and did a round trip. Since it was already noon, we tried a Burrito Restaurant called Dolores. The burritos tasted really good and shouldn't be missed during a visit in Berlin.

Dolores Restaurant

Dolores Burrito

In the afternoon we did a second bus tour through the city. During that tour we passed several landmarks, like the Reichstag,  Bellevue Palace, which is the official residence of the German President, the Sony Center or the German Chancellery.

Hotel Adlon

Reichstag

Bellevue Palace

At the Potsdamer Platz we got off the bus and visited the Sony Center, before we walked back to the Brandenburg Gate to see the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Sony Center

Sony Center

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Today we went to the same Thai restaurant like yesterday, but that time it was a huge disppointment. The food wasn't good and the service was bad either. It was amazing how the same restaurant showed two different faces. Claudia tried a noodle dish and I had the Tempura Vegetables again. We both didn't like our choices.

Thai Noodles

Tempura Vegetables

We spent our last evening in Berlin at the Hard Rock Cafe. Before we went to bed, we had a last drink at the hotel bar. We chose the Bahama Mama, the favorite cocktail of Dr. Kelso from my favorite TV series Scrubs. 

Hard Rock Cafe Berlin