BERLIN
My first trip of 2023, and my first trip with one of my best friends!
I'm not sure what I expected Berlin to be like as I've never really seen people rave about it like other cities and I'll be honest and say it wasn't how I imagined.
The city has history running all the way through it and, as someone who dropped History as soon as I could in school, I found that after taking a (free!) walking tour, I had a new appreciation for the city as I learned a lot about the stories behind the historical monuments and where they fit into Germany’s past and what they serve as now. Signing up to a walking tour was something I didn’t think I would ever do, however, I feel like there are so many small details that I would have missed if it wasn’t for the expert showing us around and I can confidently say that I would do another in the next city I go to if the chance arises.
The weather was pretty miserable when we visited, but we didn’t let that stop us from walking until our feet hurt and exploring the city. We started by getting lost trying to find the East Side Gallery on the Berlin Wall as my excellent map reading skills took us to the wrong side of the city..oops! After a quick detour, we made it, and it was phenomenal! It was a lot longer than I expected and made for a lovely walk filled with appreciating the different artists and art styles. We did also get lost on the way back which was not ideal…maybe we need to work on our map reading skills a little bit!
We also took a trip up the Berliner Fernsehturn, also known as The TV Tower in Alexanderplatz. We convinced ourselves that the weather would clear up by the time we got to the top but it did not, but we still went up to see the 360 view of the city (or what we could see of it). I’m a sucker for views where it makes everything below feel like it’s not real and instead is a miniature city! As you walk round the tower, there are information boards which help you spot iconic and important buildings, parks and structures as well as providing a lot of information about everything which again, was super useful as someone who went there a bit clueless.
That same evening, we took a trip to the Berlin Icebar which was super fun! Visiting an Icebar has been on my bucket list for a few years so I’m super happy we got to go. Included in the price, you got one free drink at the bar attached to the Icebar as well as 2 more drinks when you went inside! My first thought was “Oh, it isn’t actually that cold in here!” but I took that back about 20 minutes later when I could feel my fingers freezing up under my gloves. There is a selection of different spirits and beers to choose from for your 2 free drinks, both served in a super funky ice glass or shot glass. The room is filled with sculptures and photo opportunities to make your Instagram feed pop!
We wanted to keep it a fairly low-budget trip, especially after spending an extortionate amount on food the first night we were there so the last “experience” we paid for was the German Spy Museum. It was filled with interactive sections to make you feel like a real spy, as well as spyware used in the past for a variety of different things. There is a great photo opportunity where you can dress up in suits and glasses, take a pic, upload it to Instagram, and get it printed out for free! If you’re in the city and need a couple of hours to kill, I would 100% recommend taking a visit here.
I would love to visit the city again in the summer months to see how it changes because at times, it did feel like a ghost town! I know that the fact it rained nearly every day would have had an impact on that so I won't say I didn't love the city.