Berlin

Brandenburg Gate

We arrived in Berlin over five weeks ago so I guess it’s time to write something about our stay! 

Although we’ve been to many parts of Germany in the past, this was our first time in Berlin…long overdue.  We found it to be a fascinating City, an interesting mixture of old and new and sometimes a mixture of the two at the same time. 

The modern Dome on the Reichstag may seem odd to some but I think it works!  Out of the ashes of WWII and the years of a divided Germany, the new and modern Germany rises out of the old Reichstag building….becoming a symbol of today!  The juxtaposition of the old and new reminds me of the I.M. Pei pyramid entrance to the Louvre in Paris – disliked by some but admired by many.  Over time the Pyramid has grown on me. After all, Parisians hated the Eiffel Tower at first and the Centre Pompidou had many more detractors in the past than today.  Sometimes architecture is ahead of its time. 

Thanks to Rick Steves’ book on Berlin we learned about reserving a time to visit the Reichstag Dome.  It is very easy on-line but I recommend doing this early – I made the reservation about a month in advance.  It was very nice walking past the long lines trying to get a cancellation for that day or a ticket for the future.  Since we were in Berlin the last week of August, it was still very crowded with tourists.

  

The views of Berlin from the Dome are fabulous.  We took our time walking up the spiraling ramp to the top viewing area of the Dome because we kept seeing interesting reflections and views that begged for picture taking!   We think this is a “must see” when in Berlin. 

There is always controversy – especially on Trip Advisor – about taking a Hop-On-Hop Off bus.  But, we almost always take one on our first day in a new City.  Yes – they are full of tourists and yes – the commentary can be less than ideal…sometimes hokey.  However, these buses give us a quick overview of the main tourist areas and I can build my “mental map” of the city we’re visiting. 

I found the English commentary good, in fact, quite funny at times.  It featured two men talking – one with a British accent and the other with an American.  There were many biting comments about both the Nazi and Communist eras.  The statue of Marx and Engels is an example.  They mentioned that the two were called the Pensioners during the Communist days.  They are sitting on or standing by narrow rectangular “boxes.” The commentary mentioned that the East Berliners joked that these were actually suitcases and Marx and Engels were waiting to emigrate. 

Marx and Engels - The Pensioners waiting to emigrate from the Old East Berlin

On Trip Advisor there were many recommendations for bus 100 as a DIY hop-on-hop-off – (Rich Steves mentions it too.) We took this bus one day and ended up standing the entire time – I think everyone read the same entry on TA or bought Rick’s book!  (In 2008, we were sitting in a café in Montepulciano, Italy when I started counting how many people walked by carrying either Rick Steves’ Tuscany or Italy books!!  He must be doing well – but we do like his recommendations and his off-beat humor.)

View from the Hop-On-Hop Off Bus

Check :Point Charlie

Even though it was still the busy tourist season, we easily got good seats on the open top deck.  We also find the top to be a great place for pictures because you are “up in the air.”   We took the 1.5 hour trip around almost twice and then got off at Gendarmenmarkt, considered to be one the most beautiful squares in Europe.  The German and French (Huguenot) Churches and the Konzerthaus are on the square – but there was another very important reason for getting off here.  The most famous chocolate shop in Berlin, Fassbender and Rausch, is on the edge of the square!  Of course, we had to go. Our extensive study of hot chocolate demanded it.    We had wonderful hot chocolate and pastries in the second floor restaurant – Schokoladen-Café and we then HAD to “tour” the amazing chocolate shop on the first floor.  From here we took the U-Bahn back to our apartment.

This brings me to transportation in Berlin.  It is a well integrated system of buses, metro, and trams.  We used all during our stay.  There are various options – day passes, books of tickets, and passes for longer periods.  It was a little difficult figuring out at first but if you are used to urban transportation systems, it is not any worse than others.  We loved the trams which run, primarily, in the old East Berlin.

Tegel Airport is not far from the City but is quite old and antiquated.  The new airport for Berlin, Brandenburg, is a local joke.  It is now €5 billion over-budget and four years behind schedule as of now.  The latest we heard while in Berlin was that it may not open until 2016. This seems to be contrary to the reputation of German efficiency. 

We took a car service from Tegel to our apartment – first time we have done this.  In Germany, they have a relatively new service – My Driver– a division of the Sixt Car Rental Company.  The reason we used this is that we were getting into Berlin early in the morning and we could book this on-line and pay by credit card in advance.  Like Uber, the service includes tax, tip, luggage, and airport extras.  We took the service back to the airport because we had to leave the apartment by 5am on a Saturday and did not want to be standing on the sidewalk wondering if the taxi would show up. It was not much more than a taxi and having someone standing at the exit of customs with our name on a sign was welcome sight after a long transatlantic flight. 

Our apartment was another from Vacation Rentals by Owner.  It was a very modern, large studio with everything we needed for a short four night stay.  It was near U-Bahn and Tram service and was in the old East Berlin. The street we were on was interesting.  There were many old buildings – most were repainted and in good shape.  There were a few that looked derelict.  Sidewalks were not in good shape something we found in many parts of this section of the City – which surprised us some.  (Old City Managers always look at infrastructure – it’s an occupational hazard!)  To get to our apartment, we had to go through a wide gate that fronted on the street.  This opened onto a large inner courtyard with several mid-rise apartment buildings with very modern architecture.  It was a different world behind the old facades that fronted on the street. 

Because our first day was dedicated to jet lag recovery, we really only ended up with three days in Berlin.  We never made it to any of the world-famous museums…so there is plenty to do on a return visit!