Berlin

The last instalment of my Germany trip. I had high expectations of Berlin as it was the reason why I made my way northwards. A friend described Berlin as "eclectic and historical". My aunt said that Berlin is quite different from the rest of Germany and well worth a visit.

To be honest, Berlin fell slightly short of expectations. It had none of the medieval beauty of the Romantic Road or Munich and the standard of German food here was below par. What it does have, however, is a rich history and culture. Though steeped in history, Berlin has recently witnessed a rebirth with the collapse of the Berlin wall. Geographically, most of the historical sights are situated in East Berlin.

Once again, to get ourselves oriented, we joined a 4-hour walking tour, this time with Insider Tours at EUR 12 per pax. The meeting point was in the East at Hackesher Markt station. Saw this quirky group of buskers outside the station and was immediately attracted to their retro outfits! Pay special attention to the lady on the right - yeah, she was "typing" away on her typewriter. The music created was unusual but not unpleasant :)

The walking tour took us to the main historical sights in Berlin. Before we embarked on our journey, our guide Barry gave us a pretty detailed history of Berlin, which I remember little of. First stop: Berlin TV Tower, tallest structure in Germany.

I like the name of this garden...hehe. Didn't see any nude sunbathers though.

Altes Museum, part of the cluster of museums on Museum Island. Sadly, there wasn't enough time to visit any museum this time round.

Berliner Dom

Konzerthaus Berlin

Barry with the red face who hails from Ireland. He likes to bring us into shady areas coz he said the sun might cause his face to turn purple.

A rowdy beer bike which distracted us from the serious stuff.

Checkpoint Charlie, one of the crossing points between East Berlin and West Berlin.

Remnants of the Berlin Wall

The Holocaust Memorial

Brandenburg Gate

After the walking tour, we went to the East Side Gallery, a 1.3km-long section of the wall, to admire the murals painted by artists from all over the world.

Most famous mural - The Brotherhood Kiss, featuring 2 socialist dictators performing a normal ritual of kissing in 1979.

Some of the other murals which I liked.

We also took a day trip to Potsdam, a UNESCO World Heritage site about 45 minutes from Berlin. By the time we got there, it was lunch time and we decided to go to the No. 1 rated restaurant in Potsdam on Tripadvisor - a Cambodian-Vietnamese establishment called "My Keng". Food was awesome and innovative, so definitely worth a mention here.

Tom yum soup with white button mushrooms and succulent prawns

P's duck rice with curry that came a generous helping of duck meat.

My beef glass noodles infused with herbs and topped with rocket salad.

There were many palaces in Potsdam but due to time constraints, we narrowed our visit to the most famous one - Sanssouci palace, which basically means "palace with no worries". Wandering through the palace gardens was a delight in itself, as there were many beautiful structures to behold.

The art gallery

Sanssoci palace. The tour of the palace was a rip-off - EUR 12 for 30 min with audio guide.

The windmill

The Orangerie

The Neues Palais

The last part of our Berlin adventure involved some shopping near our hotel in West Berlin - Ku'damm and the luxury department store - KaDeWe. Sadly, the shopping scene in Berlin was a let-down and so we didn't buy as much as we thought we would. Which is not a bad thing I suppose :)

As always, I'm looking forward to my next travel destination. On my agenda are:
1. Nepal
2. Turkey
3. Eastern Europe (Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, Poland)
4. Russia
5. Hokkaido