Berlin Looks Good for Being 800 Years Old

Friday March 25, 2016 - Berlin, Germany

Today was the first morning since our trip began six days ago, that we were able to relax. I slept in late, while mom’s morning adventure consisted of exploring the expansive hotel breakfast. Although it was not included in our hotel rate, apparently it was worth it, with a full spread from fish to meat, mushrooms to eggs and bread of all types and descriptions.  Overcast and rainy, there was little incentive to move quickly to see the sites. Today was the perfect day to get a late start.

Our elegant hotel was in former East Berlin and we wanted to explore East Berlin’s history. This was a perfect day for the Hop On Hop Off bus (HOHO). A chance to see Berlin from the comfort of a dry bus with an audio guide. Just across the Gendermenmarkt plaza we could see the HOHO station from our hotel window. 

At 11:45am we came downstairs and, after a quick stop in the lobby, we had our vouchers in hand for the HOHO. A few minutes later we were on our way following in the wake of an Easter parade that had crossed the plaza earlier.

Pro Tip - Spend time researching what you want to see, and where you want to visit before selecting accommodations. Sometimes the #1 tripadvisor hotel in the city is not the right answer for your trip. In our case, if we had chosen, we could have walked to almost all of the sites we wanted to see in Berlin, saving significant transportation costs.

It was no accident that our hotel was conveniently located to everything we wanted to see. For the next 15-20 minutes via the HOHO we passed by a handful of Berlin sites, including a few grand (and I mean GRAND) churches that survived the allied bombings in WWII. Approximately 70% of Berlin was destroyed in the war, and as the city is a tad over 800 years old, any historic remaining structures are coveted. Berlin has been in a state of renewal for some time, as you can tell by all the construction in the city. It was interesting to note that one or more buildings had a skin or facade draped over the entire building to conceal ongoing construction. Gives the building a clean and uncluttered look.

Our first port of call was the Brandenburg Gate, perhaps the most iconic location in Berlin today. Since its erection in 1791, the gate has served as a grand entrance to and partition of Berlin - east from west. The gate is one of the most popular and visited landmarks in Berlin. Do you remember when Michael Jackson held his baby over the railing at his hotel? That was at a hotel 600 ft from the Brandenburg Gate.

Unfortunately, it started pouring rain so we stood underneath the gate for a while until it turned to a light drizzle. From there we walked in front of the U.S. Embassy, which is adjacent to the Gate, and across the street to the The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. A very large, very impactful memorial, that was new to both Mom and me. We tried to go into the information center and museum below the memorial, but there was a long line that was moving slowly. A visit for another trip.

After a brief stop at the souvenir shops on the perimeter, we walked back to the Brandenburg Gate, where I grabbed some street food (sausage and fries with a dollop of mayonnaise), and we were back on the HOHO. Initially the driver didn’t want to let me on board with my messy looking food, but acquiesced with a plea to be careful.

We cruised around the Bundestag (German Parliament) and disembarked the HOHO at the Berlin HBF stop. The station was even more impressive during the day and quite busy. It was time for lunch and we stopped so mom could have a quick bite to eat sans mayonnaise or milk products.  This is no ordinary train station. It has a glass roof, suspended platforms and lots of light. The Berlin Central Train Station, considered the biggest train station in Europe, is state-of-the-art, has 5 levels and countless shops, restaurants and conveniences for travelers with over 300,000 passengers per day.

Mom Tip: The WC requires a small fee to enter so have some change on hand. A woman attendant has a very small office in the WC and, as you can imagine with a 24 hour attendant, it’s all very clean. If you ask for a bathroom or a washroom no one will understand. Water closet it is!

With stomachs full and rain continuing, we hopped back on the HOHO. The HOHO runs in a loop and the next item on our list, Checkpoint Charlie, was the stop before our hotel. So we hunkered in and did almost a full loop on the HOHO pressing noses to the window to see the city sights. We passed the Tiergarten (the Central Park of Berlin), numerous embassies, glitzy shopping areas and the house of the German Chancellor before arriving at Checkpoint Charlie. It was still overcast, and occasionally drizzling, but at least the heavy rain had stopped.

 As the bus passed the Berlin Wall on the way to Checkpoint Charlie, I almost shouted at the driver, Stop Stop! The Berlin Wall was on my top list of tourist sites. I remember when the wall came down in 1989. If you were an adult at the time it’s not something you will soon forget. As it turns out I would get to visit the wall but not before stopping at Checkpoint Charlie, a place Darin had previously visited.

Checkpoint Charlie is a heavily trafficked tourist area. It was the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. Although the barricade and checkpoint kiosk is still there, now there are campy actors, dressed in Allied WWII uniforms, who pose for pictures with tourists. Stop if you must but I did not see any need to linger and Darin and I went next door to the far more interesting Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie - Mauer Museum - founded by human rights activist Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt.

One of the must-visits of the Checkpoint Charlie destination is the oddly curated Mauer Museum. It’s clearly a labor of love with an extraordinary number of artifacts stuffed into its many rooms to keep alive the stories of those escapees who risked their lives to win their freedom. There are news stories of escapes and objects displayed that were used to escape over, under and through the Berlin Wall.

Worth the visit, however be prepared to spend at least a good two hours, and most of your patience. There is a lot to read and see. This museum captures the real politik, daily struggles and ingenuity of Germans living in a divided Berlin. The audio guide is helpful, but you must leave an I.D. card as collateral, and on the second floor a feeling of claustrophobia can set in because the small subdivided rooms seemingly go on forever.

Our museum visit took longer than expected and we missed the 5:30pm cut off for visitors to board the HOHO which stops at 6pm. As we mulled over the situation, and mom’s reluctance to walk back to the hotel, we were fortunate enough to grab an off duty HOHO a little after 6pm. The driver graciously drove us the one stop to the Gendermenmarkt - and we walked across the picturesque plaza to our hotel.

For the next couple of hours we relaxed and planned out our remaining full day in Berlin. Our trip was going to be cut short and we would be leaving Berlin Sunday morning instead of taking our originally planned 8pm flight from Berlin to Brussels. We initially tried to cram 1.5 days of activities into Sunday, our remaining day. This would allow us to visit, as planned, the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May 1945. Unfortunately, the travel logistics were complicated (the camp is near Oranienburg, north of Berlin) and take most of the day, so we reluctantly decided to leave the visit for another trip.  A leisurely day in Berlin seemed the perfect choice. We ordered room service, which again took forever, and had lights out by 11pm.

Pro Tip - I said it before, and I will say it again, status matters! It is common in European hotels to charge for internet. We were able to have free high speed internet, and many free bottles of water during our stay due to our hotel status. That’s a real cost savings!

Mom Tip - It’s okay to relax and have little indulgences. Two bathrooms in a hotel room are better than one. Sometimes taxi’s are better than walking. Hop On Hop Off is perfect on a rainy day. Room service can be a Godsend.  It’s okay to save a ‘must see’ activity for another time - or another year.