Berlin Days 5 and 6

Yesterday we took the train to Potsdamer Platz and explored the surrounding area. After a coffee in the Sony Centre we headed for Checkpoint Charlie, stopping off at the Trabant Museum on the way. We skipped the spy museum as the cost would have been £9 each, and we didn’t fancy going that much.

Potsdamer Platz
More Berlin Wall
An early Trabi
The rozzers
Checkpoint Charlie

After lunch we went to see the Soviet War Memorial in the Tiergarten, and then walked across to the Holocaust Memorial Information Centre. The story of the Holocaust is told in a personal way, with exhibits showing photos of families from different countries and the fate of each of the family members. All very moving.

Ronald Reagan
Soviet War Memorial

Passing the site of the Führerbunker, where Hitler married Eva Braun and then committed suicide (now a car park) we stopped for a coffee before going our separate ways.

The Führerbunker is under there somewhere

Those who know me will know that my favourite band is Black Stone Cherry, and that I’ve travelled all over to see them. Last night they were playing in Berlin, so it would have been rude not to go along. The venue was Huxley’s Neue Welt, and the band were on good form, it was a great show.

Black Stone Cherry
With my favourite drummer

Today we took the U Bahn to Kurfürstendamm, which is the main thoroughfare in West Berlin. It was a bit like Bond Street in London, with stores for all the big-name designer brands, so we didn’t do any shopping. We did however visit the Story of Berlin Museum, which tells the history of Berlin from the 13th century to the present day, and it was really interesting and well laid out. It’s built on top of a 1970’s civilian nuclear bunker, and the entrance fee included a guided tour. We were there for nearly three hours, so it was well worth the admission charge of €9.

The Mercedes building
Stolpersteine in the pavement remembering people murdered by the Nazis
Another Trabi
Inside the nuclear bunker

On the way to the U Bahn we popped in the KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens) department store, which was famous in the Cold War as this symbolised the material prosperity of West Berlin versus that of the East.

Ka De We

For dinner, we visited the Saray Turkish restaurant for the third time, and this time we had three courses and left there feeling like we’d eaten Christmas dinner. If you’re in Berlin, it’s definitely worth a trip here.

Tomorrow we leave Berlin and head towards Leipzig. We’ve had a fantastic time in Berlin and it’s now one of my favourite cities. There’s so much to see and do, and despite staying here for six days there are still things that we didn’t manage to fit in, so I’m sure we’ll be back for more.

Mike

2 thoughts on “Berlin Days 5 and 6”

  1. Looks like you are still having a fabulous time, guys. Ive got a new ohone so it should be easier to see all your posts and reply a little more often. I know you must have missed our little chats . Keep well and safe. We are rushing round doing last bits with Grace and having family all roubd tonight for fish and chios from Pisces.. bet your mouths are watering now eh lol. Auf wiedersehen meine freunde xx

    • Oh Jan, how we miss the fish nchips and, of course, missing all of you! You guys would love Berlin, so much to see and do. Grace will have a fab time and, I promise, it will fly by for you and Kev. Carol xx

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