Berlin

After 30 minutes of forethought we booked a quick 4 day trip to Berlin to visit some friends and to see a bit of the amazing city. 16 Euro got us return bus tickets from Prague to Berlin, complete with movie and free coffee! Who would have thought a bus company would be better than our JetStar flight from Perth to Singapore?


Berlin is a city where it seems 'survival of the most alternative' is their motto. Every bar, cafe, restaurant and boutique has something about it which is quirky and cool, weather it is a cleared out old Theatre turned bar/cafe or a Sushi train restaurant where the sushi is actually floating around the room on little boats on a stream! Most people who live in Berlin seem to have a lot of disposable income, something we don't see much of in Prague, so everyone is always out and about having coffee or a drink with friends. Bars are packed every night of the week and in the morning almost everywhere is deserted until at least 10:30 in the morning!

'Kjosk' Bar. A double decker bus turned kiosk selling snacks and drinks. Seating in the gardens under umbrellas. Amazing!

Berlin is a combination of buildings with varying degrees of history. Buildings that survived WWII are few and far between and any that did stand the War have since been repaired to their former glory. The difference in building design between East and West Berlin is very noticeable. East is full of concrete blocks functioning as apartments, hotels or business buildings. West is composed mainly of new looking buildings, with obvious western influence. Both sides of Berlin are beautiful in their own right, if anything, East is more exciting and alternative, full of interesting boutiques and bars.

An artist alley way, one of many. Leading to an art store, cinema and little bar

We visited the Reichstag, which in itself is an imposing structure, even without knowing its history. We managed to secure a place in a tour of the Cupola (glass dome on top of the Reichstag). If you ever find yourself in Berlin, make sure you secure a spot to go and visit the Reichstag. A few emails were required, but thanks to our friends, we were able to get our names on the 'list' to go and see inside. The views from the Cupola are amazing, and with a free audio-guide to help us along, we fast became experts on the buildings making up the Berlin skyline! This is one of the best things we did in Berlin and it was free!

The Reichstag - German house of Parliament

Inside the Reichstag Cupola. Mirrors reflect light down into the  Plenary Room  (under the mirrors, with the glass roof) to help reduce the need for unnatural lighting. 

The best way to see a city is to hire bikes for a day and just ride around - which is exactly what we did. Riding around a main city is unnerving, especially when you're not familiar with the road rules! Some roads have bike paths on them, but most didn't. You just have to brave riding on the side of the road, which is barely big enough for the car, let alone us as well. The experience was fantastic though and we were able to see so much of the city. From Alexanderplatz, past the Brandenburg Gate, down to the Victory monument, though the Tiergarten and around to the Reichstag! A big day full of interesting sights and ending with dinner at a Mexican place with 1 euro Tacos and Tequila. Amazing. 

Berliner Dom (Cathedral)

Brandenberg Gate

Berlin is a mecca for artists of all kinds, particularly East Berlin. Kunsthaus' (Art Houses) are ripe in Berlin, with a really popular one on Oranienburger Strauss called Kunsthaus Tacheles. The building itself was originally built as a Jewish department store in East Berlin. After serving as a Nazi prison for a while it was partially demolished. Once the Berlin wall was taken down the building was taken over by an artist collective who called it Tacheles (Yiddish for 'straight talking'). You can now find a building with huge colourful, graffiti-style murals painted on the exterior walls and a modern art Ghetto inside. The artists sells their works and are all squatting illegally. We all agreed that this is the weirdest place we have ever been to. The overwhelming smell of urine when you enter the building and make your way up the stairs to the artists area is really something else!


The East Side Gallery is well worth a visit too. The Berlin Wall East Side Gallery is a 1.3km-long section of the wall near the center of Berlin. Approximately 106 paintings by artists from all over the world cover this memorial for freedom and make it the largest open air gallery in the world. Being open air, the wall is therefore not protected. From its initiation in 1990, the wall is constantly being restored from graffiti, vandalism and erosion. The most recent project was in 2009, so most of the wall is still in great condition. 

One of the paintings on the East Side Gallery

Overall we had an excellent time in Berlin, it is well worth a visit for its crazy mix of alternative fashion/culture and its sobering history. Make sure you head out from the city centre though if you want to experience the 'new' Berlin!