Berlin

Over half term break, Jess and I went to Berlin. We left on Saturday the 13th and arrived early evening. Neither of us wanted to go into city central, so we just had dinner near our hotel. It was a massive hotel that was right near an underground station!

The first day (freezing) we went on a 4 hour walking tour!  We were given a crash course in Berlin history and all the famous buildings. We had a delicious German lunch and continued exploring the streets and shops. After grabbing some snacks and some drinks, we went back to our hotel. We attempted to go out dancing, but ended up at a bar. The train system was so easy in Berlin that we had no problem finding our way back!

Reichstag Building

Brandenburg Gate

Concert Hall with a demonstration for refugees

Reichstag made of chocolate!

Berlin's famous bear! They had many different designs across Berlin.

On the Monday, we went to the East Side Gallery. This is where artists from all over the world painted on sections of the wall. It was amazing to see the variety of art styles and famous paintings! In the afternoon, we wandered to Museum Island. We chose a free museum to go into (Humboldt) and also went in the Berliner Dom. It was a gorgeous famous cathedral. We even climbed all the way to the top!!  We had dinner at this restaurant in Alexanderplatz. It was such a cool restaurant! Basically, you ordered your meal through a tablet and collected it when it was ready. It didn't feel like a fast food plate though because the food was amazing!

Trampolines in the ground!

Berliner Dom

Inside Berliner Dom

Top of Berliner Dom

On Tuesday, we went on a whole day trip to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Oranienburg. It was about a 30 minute train ride to the little town. Our guide took us around the entire concentration camp and told us the history. It was sad to see and hear the stories that took place not that long ago.
After arriving back in Berlin, we went to Potsdamer Platz to try to find a place for dinner. We were surprised to see tons of red carpets and paparazzi! It was Berlin's Film Festival. We saw some actors and actresses but had no clue who they were.

Monument at the Concentration Camp

Where the building would have been. There are few left standing.

Three days were enough to see Berlin so on Wednesday we decided to hop on another train and go to Schloss Sanssouci. It is a park with 5 or so palaces on it. They all used to belong to King Frederick. The town that is was near was so adorable!! We walked through the grounds and went into the actual palace called Sanssouci. It was a guided audio tour.  We went for a late lunch in the city of Potsdam (where the train took us) and grabbed some souvenirs. After a long , cold and snowy day, we decided to eat dinner at the hotel. We had a relaxing night of Currywurst, sparkling wine and paprika pringles.

Half frozen lake!

Steps leading to Schloss Sanssouci

I am happy I went to Berlin, as I had always wanted to experience it!

Other updates: I went on an Edible Garden course and absolutely loved it! Josh and I were dog sitting his family's dog so spent the night at their house. We took Lexie on a walk behind the house and it was like being in the countryside! So pretty. I said goodbye to a good work friend as she headed back to New Zealand, but we had a really fun night!

English adventures!

New foster cat- Marble