Also joining Tom with his signs from around the world.
DAY 1
We arrived in Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin main station) at about 6pm (just 1 hour by train from Braunschweig).
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| Berlin main station |
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| Sculpture of all the flavours of Ritter Sport chocolate, inside the station and a metal sculpture outside |
Just as with our train trip from Cologne to Braunschweig, the trains are very comfortable and once again Karina booked the three of us into a quiet carriage - no people talking loudly, no mobile phones....what a relaxing way to travel!
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Quiet zone train carriage
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We caught a tram into the suburb of Mitte (Middle) where our hotel was located - The Ibis Mitte - very basic accommodation but was well located for sightseeing - and transport.
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| The Ibis hotel building |
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| Mural in the lobby of the Ibis Hotel |
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| Our room |
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View from the hotel to Berlin TV Tower near Alexander Platz
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After a quick refresh we got out again, and caught a tram to Alexander Platz station - home to the TV tower (Berliner Fernsehturm), the Red Town Hall (Rotes Rathaus) - home to the Mayor and government of the State of Berlin, and the Nicolai church across it.
Then we crossed the Spree river and walked until the Museum Island area, home to Berlin's top 5 museums, as well as the beautiful Cathedral (Berlin Dom).
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| Berlin Cathedral |
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| Details from the Cathedral entrance |
Across from the Cathedral and the Old Museum (Altes Museum) is a huge lawn area - Lustgarten, the ideal spot to relax and sunbathe to the sound of music by buskers.
With the sun setting around 9pm I managed to catch a few photos of the Cathedral, the Spree River, the Old National Gallery...
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| Spree River, Old Museum, Old National Gallery (on left) |
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| Spree River, Old Museum, Old National Gallery (on left) |
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| The TV Tower and the Cathedral at sunset |
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| Panoramic view taken from one of the bridges in Museum Island |
It was time to look for a place to dine and we walked towards Hackescher Markt, a building where a weekly market is still held, and where you can find lots of small eateries and night life.
Jose felt like Asian food and we walked a few more minutes to a Vietnamese restaurant - Creasian - located in Grosse Hamburger Str. 20.
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| Creasian restaurant (at closing time) |
We sat outdoors, and while we waited to order I noticed a statue across the road and was surprised to find a monument to the Jewish Victims of Fascism, in front of the Old Jewish Cemetery (in Berlin Mitte).
The Old Jewish Cemetery (Alter Jüdischer Friedhof ) is the final resting place for thousands of Jewish that were buried between 1672 and 1827. It was returned to the Jewish community in 1948, after the war.
What a pity it was closed by then already.
On the side wall there was a beautiful mosaic mural done by school children which I'll post in the Monday Mural posts.
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| Gate to the Cemetery |
In the restaurant we had ordered things we had never eaten before, but it was all delicious.
After dinner we caught a tram back to the hotel. We once again took advantage of our 9Euro ticket Karina had bought us that could be used for a whole month in any public transport (except long distance trains). |
| The transport advert for 9 Euro tickets for a month during June/July/August |
On our walk back I noticed this utility box to Curry 61, a take away restaurant in Mitte, painted with a parody of a famous photo of the "Fraternal Kiss" a mural on the Berlin Wall painted in 1990, of Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker (Russian and East German presidents), reproduced from a 1979 photo taken during the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic (photo below).
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| The famous photo on which the mural is based |
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| TV tower from the hotel at night |
That is a beautiful city and you took good pictures for us to see. I don't remember that famous photo!!! Now I am curious. Will research. : )
ReplyDeleteThanks Catarina, it is a beautiful city with so much to see and do!
DeleteI can not believe that I didn't know about this Russian tradition... men locking lips with other men which meant respect and friendship!! I have read so many books by Russian classical authors in the past and I don't recall coming across such a tradition. My oh my. I was looking at many pictures.... some of them even close their eyes. : )))
ReplyDeleteStrange tradition, but each to their own :) :)
DeleteDearest Sami,
ReplyDeleteThat was a great visit and easy travel to Berlin!
Both of us have never been to Berlin...
Great photos and you were conveniently in the City Center (Stadtmitte).
Hugs,
Mariette
Thanks Mariette, Berlin was a great city. I had been there before in the early 80's but didn't get to see much then.
Delete🤗
DeleteWhat a beautiful trip you took. I would have loved to have gone too.
ReplyDeleteOh the food. It's good to order food you've never had before. I would have done the same.
Have a fabulous day and week, Sami. Big hug. ♥
Thanks Sandee. It was nice to order and eat something different. Enjoy the rest of the week too.
DeleteThat sunset photo is especially beautiful. What a remarkable trip, Sami!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanie. I love the sunset photos too :)
DeleteThe tv tower made me think you had jumped to Toronto.
ReplyDeleteNone of the Asian food looks like sweet and sour pork.
I didn't realise so much of the old Berlin survived.
€9 for a month's travel is so cheap. I think you could pay that for a day of travel in Sydney.
No Sweet and Sour pork Andrew, although it's one of my favourites :) I think about 80% of the city was destroyed, but reconstructed mainly after the fall of the wall, and a lot was rebuilt to look like the old Berlin.
DeleteThe travel price was fabulous! During the months of June/July/August you could get €9 tickets for the month. It was great for locals but certainly a windfall for tourists.
Berlim (ainda) não conheço.
ReplyDeleteEstá em agenda.
Vale a pena uma visita Pedro.
DeleteBeautiful city views.
ReplyDeleteThanks William :)
DeleteThe Trabi-mural and the Spree River sure are my favs.
ReplyDeleteAnd the kiss - wish this could happen with Ukraine and Russia.
Maybe we have a day in Berlin next week, too - if I get tickets to a railway event.
Just one hour sounds manageable :-)
Oh, and P.S. I keep the job (for now) - big talk was on Monday and it was rather a chat. And the meetup with Alstom-teamleader went well, too.
To raolway, huh, greetings to J :-)
Yes, wish the kiss could happen between Russia and Ukraine. Happy for you Iris, and hooray for a trip to Berlin too :)
DeleteAwesome photos
ReplyDeleteThanks Rupam :)
DeleteIt seems quite odd in a way to go half way across the world, from Australia to Berlin, to have Asian food!
ReplyDeleteYes, I suppose so, but we also had German food in Cologne, Braunschweig and also in Berlin.
Delete...Sami, you sure saw some fabulous sights and I thank you for sharing them. I hope that your week is going well.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom. It was well worth the visit for sure! Thanks for hosting
DeleteThis is an extensive photo journal you have put up. These are fabulous images!
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned earlier, the first thing that caught my eye was that metal rocking horse. It would be a bit too big for my collection, but a small keepsake one might be a nice addition to my collection.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos of the river and Museum island. Nice panorama view.
I love Vietnamese food. Sounds like you enjoyed yours, too.
Too bad the Jewish cemetery was closed by the time you got to the restaurant. It would have been quite an experience.
Glad you shared Berlin with us, Sami. I am looking forward to more of your holiday in Germany.
I actually never noticed a small version of that statue. It seemed to be made with bits and pieces of big tools, machinery... Thanks Elizabeth
DeleteWonderful post and photographs, I especially liked the TV Tower and the Cathedral at sunset ... beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I love that sunset photo, thanks Jan
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