Berlin

Friday Berlin

Didn't have to rush for the train today, so had time to drop into the bakery to stock up for the trip. Trained south from Amsterdam into Germany to Duisburg, where we changed to an eastbound train to Berlin. Two lovely, comfortable, quiet smooth trains in one-day. Watched a movie on my PDA while Mandy and Ashley slept. Took the S-bahn a couple of stops to the hostel. Very nice -- large rooms -- equipped with the Internet and Wi-Fi, cafe, bar, laundry gets done etc, but everything is charged extra. Extra for sheets, towels, coffee, internet, breakfast etc which gets a bit tiring. Communal toilets and showers, but plenty of them are so wasn't a problem. We even had to make up our own beds. Wandered around Mitte looking at tea options, and to our surprise found we were back to reasonable prices and food and lots of cheap options. So what did Ashley do? He chose McDonald's! After fighting the internet along with half the guests who are also trying to log on, we gave up and found an internet cafe for Ashley to use. Berlin looks like a busy, big city with lots to see and do.

Saturday Berlin

Joined the 'Famous Insider Walk' after breakfast. The guide was very good and kept us walking for almost 4 hours with a coffee break in the middle. Saw the TV communications tower, Berlin Wall remains, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler's bunker (well the car park where it used to be anyway), the Jewish Holocaust Museum, Reichstag Parliament, Brandenburg gate, where the Nazis burned the books at Babelplatz, the remains of the Kaisers Palace, the remains of the East German parliament, Berliner Dom, Museum Island, a number of cathedrals, Unter Den Lindon (under the lime trees) and lots else. Well worth it, and we didn't finish to about 2:30pm. Were very cold by the end, so we walked back to Mitte very briskly and had fish and chips for lunch. Ashley went off to do some shopping whilst Mandy and I went to a large department store having a sale, and bought her some boots for her Christmas present. At tea time we found a good cheap Asian food shop and had a lovely meal as they were attempting to close. Rested in the room and did some laundry after tea.

Sunday Berlin

Had a lovely walk before breakfast. Sunny but very crisp. Couldn't find a shop open at breakfast being Sunday. Started by taking a couple of connecting trains to the Mauer museum built on the site of the church caught in the Berlin Wall no man's land called the death strip. They have kept part of the two walls and the death strip intact and has built a viewing tower. Not as comprehensive as we were hoping, but serves a different purpose of remembrance. Then a train to the Zoological Gardens station which was the old West Berlin terminus for trains coming in through the protected corridor in East Germany. It had all the main West Berlin shops and services, but is now being overtaken by Mitte. Saw the remembrance cathedral which has been left in its bombed state. Then out to the Berlin 1936 Olympic Stadium and the walked down Jesse Owens Strasse. Was used for the 2006 soccer World Cup final. Back to the TV tower in Alexanderplatz, a short queue, then up to the top for lunch in the revolving restaurant. Got right round twice. Mandy and I went back to Checkpoint Charlie as it got dark to read the boards we hadn't finished, then take away for tea. Really the first city that I haven't allowed enough time in -- we really needed another day to see what we wanted.