48 Hours in Berlin

Berlin in Under 48 hours!

With the boys schools starting Monday and University classes needing to be taught, we only had a weekend to squeeze in a trip to Berlin. Ok, so 48 hours is really not enough time, but sometimes you just have to take what you get.

My older son had an opportunity to stay in a Hostel at the beginning of the school year when his class had a week long trip to Wangerooge, an island in the North Sea.

In my mind, a trip to Europe would not be complete without a stay in a Hostel, so we tried it ourselves. My son was not thrilled at the prospect (there was no TV or pool), but the rest of us were thrilled.

I chose City Hostel Berin, which is in what was once East Berlin. Our room had 2 bunk beds, a small table and chairs, and a bathroom. The room was rather spartan, but it fulfilled all of our needs (except for a TV apparently). Breakfast the next morning was better than I expected. There was plenty of all the traditional German fixin's, including rolls, meat, cheese, boiled eggs, cold cereal, quark, and so on.

This profile is of the WW2 resistance fighter Gerog Elser. He died in Dachau after trying to assassinate Hitler.

Our first night in Berlin we reviewed a lesson we should have already learned. Do not buy/order Nachos in Germany. It is always disappointing. That red stuff down there is not salsa, it s marinara sauce! And that green stuff? It was not guacamole!

If you walk around in Berlin, you may see this little guy. He is the Ampel Man, and he was the crosswalk indicator in the East Germany.

Berlin is full of interesting and quirky bits of history. The picture below is of the Hotel Esplanade. Construction finished in 1908 and cost more to build than any other Hotel in Germany at the time. Much of it was destroyed in 1944/5. In 1996, it was moved about 800 feet and incorporated into the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz.

Once our boys were asleep, we walked to Brandenburg Gate to see the night time effect. If you ever get to Berlin, take the time to see it at night.

The next morning we dragged our boys out of bed and followed the path we walked the night before. Most of the tourist sites we saw are very close to where the city was divided. Pretty much all of the Berlin Wall has been torn down, but bricks mark where it once stood.

One of our first stops was the Reichstag. This is where the German parliament meets, and you can walk up inside the glass dome. There is no cost to see the inside, but you do have to reserve a pass several days in advance. Some people bypass the hassle of waiting in line by reserving a table at the restaurant. However, from what I could gather from online reviews, the food was pretty bad and over priced so we just skipped it.

After walking around a bit on our own, we walked back to the Brandenburg Gate to wait for the free walking tour of Berlin we had signed up for. If you have a limited time in Berlin, this is a good way to see many of the highlights. The tour was three hours long and we walked just about the whole time. The guides are paid with tips, so you only pay what you deem it was worth.

A little way through our tour we sat for a few minutes at the Holocaust Memorial, seen below.

The Bear is depicted on the Berlin coat of arms, but it more famous as the mascot of the city. You find these "Buddy Bears" scattered around the city.

Checkpoint Charlie was important because this is where the Foreigners and Allied forces could cross between the East and West. It was considered more accessible since it was controlled by Allies as well. The Berliners tore it down when the wall fell, but rebuilt it after they figured out it would be a good tourist attraction.

Halfway through our tour we stopped for a pick me up. We opted for (a rather expensive) hot chocolate. The novelty of it made up for the cost. At least that is what I keep telling myself. It was a cup of steamed milk to which you added chocolate chips to make it chocolaty.

As we made our way to Museum island, where our tour ended, we passed this art installation dedicated to mothers who had lost children in wars.

Buskers are very common in every bigger city we have visited. We have never seen an Organ man with a live monkey, but a stuffed monkey is common, although missing here.

Even though this building, the Berliner Dom looks like it would be really old, and it is. The first building was erected in 1452. It is beautiful and on nice days people pack a picnic and spend the afternoon here.

And to end, just a note about the Trabant, AKA the Trabi. West Germany had the Volkswagen Beetle. The Trabant, with its 2 stroke engine was the pride and glory of those in the East. It was cheap and easy to repair, so I suppose it met the needs of those who could save up enough money to eventually buy one!

If you go to Berlin, you will probably see a line of these cars out on a car tour, or a Trabi Safari. To this day, the Trabi instills warm fuzzies to ... someone.

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