Long Weekend in Berlin

Holiday Ratings
Recommended days	10
Budget	£
Difficulty	Easy

This was my second visit in to Berlin and this long weekend the most important thing was seeing my daughter who lives there. I hadn’t seen her since Christmas so that rather than sightseeing was a priority. My previous visit was for my 50th, detailed here , so we’d seen most of the highlights that we wanted to already. This made the trip less stressful than normal as there was less pressure to go out and we could focus on spending time together.

Pre-arrival Tedium

Travel really can be hard work and I’m not sure whether modern tech and methods actually improve things. We had a 5 hour drive last night to the airport hotel and then 5 hours sleep before starting today. We waited for a shuttle bus, queued for security and then queued for boarding. Two and a half hours after leaving the hotel we were on the plane. With hindsight, my favourite thing, we could have driven to a port and got the ferry last night, stayed in France and then driven to Berlin at our own pace with far less hassle. Probably less cost too!

The flight was decent enough although I forgot I had pre-ordered breakfast so I actually had 3 meals before 11AM – breakfast at the hotel, a breakfast bowl at Joe the Juice and then Thai green curry and a chocolate croissant on the plane! I also managed to finish the first series of Life on Mars at last. Covid formalities took quite a while at customs but then from the number of people that hadn’t filled out forms before boarding I guess it isn’t surprising. Imbeciles.

Off to Potsdam

We stopped at the information bureau to find out train information to Potsdam and the lady there was superb, tickets booked and all explained in a few minutes. The train was silent, clean and on time and 40 minutes later we were in Potsdam. Our hotel, the B&B Potsdam, was a few minutes walk from the station so we were finally able to dump our bags and stand up straight. After a quick freshen up we headed out, with only a vague sense of direction, towards old Potsdam.

Sanssouci Park

The weather was a bit varied between drizzle with a cold wind interspersed with bright sunshine bursting through the clouds, changing every few minutes. We saw some interesting old ish (18th century) buildings and then eventually got to the Sanssouci Park. This is a huge area, formerly part of the Prussian royal family’s estates, that incorporates churches, museums, gardens fountains and some beautiful buildings. There are plenty of pathways although signs are somewhat sparse so good old Google Maps served to navigate us to the highlights, although we still missed quite a lot. We spent a good half day and you could easily stretch that to a day to see all the attractions.

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The Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum is a huge Italianate church built in the 19th century but I couldn’t see any information about it while we were there. It is easy to spot due to the huge tower and well worth a visit, both for the interior and the photogenic location.

The park has large terraced gardens, lots of fountains and statues and all the usual adornments of a despotic ‘noble’ class. It was all very pretty though and now free for everyone to enjoy. The Chinese House, built by Fredrick the Great, was a particular favourite with beautiful colours and design. All this walking built up an appetite, surprising after the amount I’d already eaten, so we stopped for a rather delicious chocolate and cherry cake and coffee at a cafe next to the windmill and overlooking the gardens.

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We walked back to the hotel and were both pretty tired. I had a shower and then we both fell asleep for an hour before Natalya arrived. It was so nice to finally see her after 8 months! After a hug and chat we all left for another walk into Potsdam. We saw more of the historic centre this time, visiting the Dutch quarter and the modern city gates before settling on our dining choice for the evening, a Vietnamese restaurant. We had a fantastic time eating and catching up and it was almost 11 by the time we got back to the hotel so sleep was most welcome!

Potsdam Old Town

Saturday I felt like I slept really badly but Natalya and I were up just after 7 and went for another walk around Potsdam and had a gorgeous raspberry croissant and coffee before Sofia joined us at 9. We had a lovely breakfast in Miss Green Bean including the obligatory cheesecake and then waddled back to the hotel to collect our bags. The old city is actually very compact so navigation is easy and there are 4 east-west streets in the grid so it’s nice to wander around although it would be nicer still if it was pedestrianised. The train into Berlin was even easier this time as we had Natalya to guide us so we just chatted and looked through old photos on my phone while the city passed us by.

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Hackescher Markt

Our hotel, the Adina Apartment Hotel, was again only 5 minutes from the Hackescher Markt station which was an excellent choice. Our check in was again, superb with better English than half the hotels I’ve stayed in in the UK. The apartment we had was great, plenty of space and a nice kitchen too. The kids went to the nearby supermarket to stock up whilst I unpacked, made a coffee and sat down to write notes in peace. It was actually sunny too so a bit of a waste of the weather but so nice to put my feet up!

After some footling when they came back we eventually left and went our separate ways, them to do clothes shopping (or Natalya to show Sofia where the shops were anyway) and me to just amble around. I crossed to Museum Island, five minutes walk away and did some photos before taking a meandering route to the Jewish Memorial. I was intending to carry on the the Brandenburg Gate (about 20 minutes walk) but everything was blocked off with barricades and riot police. The marches/protests for the afternoon included anti vaxxers, a pride march, a protest against the Venezualan government and then one against the Chinese. Poor police! I walked back towards the hotel via Unter den Linden, a much used navigational reference in my exploring, which was relatively crowded and then after more wandering I met up with the girls and we had a coffee to go with our selection of chocolates before going back to the hotel to rest our feet.

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It was also nice not to have to wear a mask as they are still a requirement for any covered space in Berlin. The buildings of Berlin are a mix of modern and restored nineteenth century ones but some, such as Museum Island, still retain the bullet holes and shell damage from the Soviet capture of the city. Huge swathes of the city were flattened so there are lots of open areas now that were previously urban developments.

The evening was spent eating microwaved pizza while it rained outside and watching the making of Bohemian Rhapsody on iPlayer. Not ideal but a chilled time together. Sunday I actually slept through until 7.30. I got organised for a run with Nat but by the time we got downstairs it was hacking it with rain so we did an exercise class instead. After a shower and breakfast and with much chivvying for Sofia we managed to walk the 5 minutes to the Neues Museum for our timed entry and be almost on time.

Neues Museum

The museum was fantastic, almost as good as the British Museum with a huge amount of Egyptian and classical civilization artifacts and an eclectic mix of Celtic, Bronze Age, Merovingian and assorted medieval stuff, mixed in with prehistoric items, on the top floor. There were an excessive number of guards, about one to every eight visitors, which felt a bit strange. There was plenty of information in English and Natalya and I loved it although Sofia got a bit swamped and left before going to the third floor.

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Eddyline cruise

We eventually left too after a couple of hours and there was a bit of drama about meeting up but eventually we got sorted and had a coffee outside before enjoying, and I really do mean that, a salad at Dean and David. We were all feeling a little footsore so walked back to the hotel for a pause and debated our next step. The weather was still abysmal so we opted for a cruise on the Spree so we could at least be under cover. We chose Eddyline as it was just opposite the cathedral and had the shortest wait and it was fantastic. Everything was in English and there were maybe 12 other tourists on a boat that could have seated 80. The woman giving the tour was superb, utter disrespect for the government and particularly Merkel and a great sense of humour, probably improved by knowing her audience! I didn’t actually take any photos as the rain was so heavy but there some great insights into the city’s history and buildings and the fee was worth it for the commentary alone.

After the cruise we were feeling rather peckish, no idea why as we’d had a huge lunch and had then just sat on our arses. We walked the short but wet distance to a Mexican restaurant and had a decent meal and lovely chat, fuelled by beer and gin! The walk back was equally wet and we were glad to finally reach the hotel.

On Monday I had another lie in as there was no point in waking up early. At 8 Nat and I went for a gentle sightseeing run through the Brandenburg Gate and into Tiergarten and then back to wake Sofia up and have a shower.

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East Side Gallery

We eventually left around 10.40 to go to the East Side Gallery, about 40 minutes walk away, art works of varying levels painted on one of the few remaining stretches of the Berlin Wall. We stopped for a coffee at a place Nat recommended and I had a pea protein milk latte, interesting and rather nice! It was quite a long walk and this area of East Berlin looked distinctly dodgy, or ‘edgy’ in the new parlance. Basically I wouldn’t walk anywhere near it after dusk.

Some of the artwork was iconic and we walked the length of the gallery even though it was still bloody raining. Sofia got fed up and went to a shopping mall while Nat and I persevered and saw a famous bridge too before meeting up for a Starbucks, much to Nat’s disgust!

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We took the train back to the hotel and after a coffee the girls went off clothes shopping again while I started on the interminable paperwork for our flight back. It was still raining and getting rather tedious now. At 6 we all headed out for dinner and our chosen venue was actually the only place we saw in Berlin that was full so we settled for Mexican against and had massive burritos before Sofia headed back to the hotel (by a very roundabout route as she got lost!) and Nat and I met Fabian for our Berlin Photography tour.

Berlin Sunset Photography Tour

This was absolutely fantastic and we both learned so much including stuff on my phone I never knew existed! Some simple but great ideas and a different way of looking at things and it’s certainly given me some new options to experiment with. We finished at almost 10 and then Nat and I got the train to the hotel before I walked her back to the station with her suitcase. A long day for all of us but a very enjoyable ending to it. Tuesday I slept in late, waking after 7.

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Early Morning Run

I did a lovely run to Checkpoint Charlie and then past the Holocaust Memorial, through the Brandenburg Gate and back to the hotel. It really is such an easy city to navigate with wide streets and a grid pattern. I can think of several English cities that would benefit from being flattened and then rebuilt too! Sofia and I footled for a bit and eventually left to have a healthy chocolate torte breakfast at Starbucks.

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We did a bit of shopping and had a chilled morning before returning to the hotel, storing our bags and walking to meet Natalya at her work. This was a lovely little neighbourhood coffee shop and it was nice to see her working and interacting. The walk had built up an appetite so I had a chocolate croissant and coffee before we walked to the nearby park for lunch. I never really visit or sit in parks in the UK but the seem pleasant and safe in Germany, certainly from our brief experience anyway.

We walked back to Natalya’s work, chatted with her boss for a while over another coffee and then Sofia and I walked back to the hotel but then decided to leave the luggage there. I visited the new Jewish Synagogue which was heavily guarded and not an over exciting visit. No photography was allowed, the dome was closed and about half the exhibits were only in German. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I certainly wouldn’t revisit. I walked to our dinner venue, chosen by Nat and met up with the kids.

Tajikstan Tearoom

Dinner was in the Tajikistan Tearoom so we sat on cushions on the floor and enjoyed black Russian tea, sweetened with jam! There were also rum soaked raisins, cookies, toast, dumplings and vodka to keep us busy. It was a different and lovely way to finish our break.

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We collected our luggage, walked to the train station, said goodbye to #1 daughter and took the train to the airport. Progress was quick until passport control when they noticed that they hadn’t stamped our passports on arrival. This meant that we couldn’t leave as we technically weren’t there. This little Kafka-esque scenario took 40 minutes to resolve but we were eventually let through into the chaos that is a Ryanair boarding. I know it’s ridiculous to complain with the recent events at Kabul, very much a case of first world problems distorting perspectives! So ended another long weekend in Berlin with plenty of great memories.