So I'm abroad again! This time on a trip to Berlin with the Bristol Uni German Society - which I'm vice-president of, just saying - and so far on Day 2 it's going brilliantly!
After viel Stress of organising the trip (people dropping out, flights changing price suddenly etc) we have finally made it here, and we are staying in the nicest hostel possibly on earth. It can only just still be described as a hostel (the bunk beds) as the restaurant, bar, pool and general atmosphere is definitely hotel. It was even rated as 2nd in the Guardian's Top 10 Luxury Hostels in Europe! I shall do a separate blog reviewing the hostel. For now though, back to the trip!
Despite a bit of a stressful evening on my part - delayed train back to Bristol Monday morning, cash machine eating my card in the afternoon - we managed to get everyone (who turned up...) on the right flight at the right time! On arrival at Berlin Shoenefeld we all bought our Welcome to Berlin travelcards, which for €36,50 gets you unlimited travel in and around Berlin and so many discounts everywhere! Definitely get this if you are ever in Berlin for a week.
We then successfully herded everyone onto 2 trains to Warschauer Platz where our super snazzy hostel was situated. After a cosy night in and an insanely giant buffet breakfast the next day, we were ready to hit Berlin!
Starting with mastering the epic U/S-bahn system of Berlin, we managed to navigate our way to the infamous Brandenburger Tor, once the symbol of the German Empire, then the gate dividing East and West Europe, now a top tourist attraction - also strangely apparently a popular hangout for men dressed as Mickey Mouse, Darth Vadar etc.
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| The Brandenburger Tor... and Darth Vadar |
After a quick photo stop we still had an hour and a half until meeting everyone for our tour of the Reichstag, the German parliament building. So we decided to stroll up to the gold Victory Collum. *WARNING* do not be fooled! It is NOT a stroll away, actually a 3 day hike (nearly). In the rain it was, as some might say, "totes not worth it". Although if you have a speedy means of transport it is a rather nice photo opportunity.
We then zipped back to the Reichstag so fast in our panic that we were early for our tour. Luckily they let us in anyway. Our ticket (we found out...) was just to go up the 'dome' on top of the building, but really this is the most exciting bit (no offence Angela). On the way in to the dome we were given an audio tour, which gave us a low down on all the sites we were seeing through the huge glass panels with a history of each place. As a free trip it was the best way to see the city from above, deffo choose this over the TV Tower (Fernsehturm) which is frankly over-rated!
From the Reichstag we walked to the Holocaust memorial, which is something everyone must see if they are visiting Berlin. The memorial itself is hard to explain, and is really something which must be experienced in person in order to fully understand the impact that it has on you. The museum below the memorial is very moving, with extracts from letters of those affected by the Holocaust. Everyone must go there, but leave an hour and half to look round and 2 hours to recover from the emotion of it all.
To try and recover from the museum experience we wandered down to Potsdamer Platz for a spot of shopping. After a BubbleTee (YUM) and stocking up on -,59€ Milka bars, we were ready to head back to the hostel and chill ready for the next day of extreme walking!
