Postcard from Berlin

My second visit to Berlin, as part of an interrailing adventure through central/eastern Europe, confirmed what I already believed to be true – Berlin really is one of the coolest cities in Europe. This postcard from Berlin revisits some of the highlights from my first trip to the city, and also takes in a few more sights.

Berliner Dom

The Berliner Dom, or Berlin Cathedral was the first stop on our visit to Berlin. I was blown away by the sight of this magnificent building when I visited Berlin last year and my second visit certainly didn’t disappoint.

Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate is a tourist hot spot, but its also a cool place to hang out. Firstly, for its historical significance (this is where Reagan famously told Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” in 1987). Second, the Brandenburg Gate is an impressive piece of architecture in its own right. And third, if you like people watching, which I most certainly do, the Brandenburg Gate is the place to be.

East Side Gallery 

This was my favourite mural at the East Side Gallery.

Panorama Punkt

Panorama Punkt offers some of the  the best views of Berlin.

The Weltzeituhr Clock (Worldtime Clock)

The Weltzeituhr Clock in Alexander Platz is as impressive as it is iconic.

Climbing a Watch Tower

The only surviving watch tower of its kind is situated on a side street near Potsdamer Platz.

Spreepark Abandoned Theme Park

We were hoping to rock up to Spreepark, sneak in either over or through the fence and have a right good nosey around. Unfortunately for us, an organised tour was starting just as we arrived. We did ask to join, but as we hadn’t booked in advance, we weren’t allowed. So instead, we walked the perimeter of the park and had a nosey through the fence at the awesome but slightly spooky abandoned theme park.

Driving a Trabi

One of the most fun (and slightly scary) things I did in Berlin was drive an old Trabant through the city centre. Looking out for cyclists, pedestrians, trams and emergency service vehicles whilst driving a little old banger of a car, on the ‘wrong’ side of the road through a busy city was pretty cool.

Pulling Pints at The Pub

After a nerve-wracking couple of hours of driving through the city, we decided that a well-earned drink was in order.  ‘The Pub’ near Hackescher Markt has beer pumps at every table, and a fancy little computer system that calculates how much beer you’ve poured, and how much it’ll cost.

Stand By Me Tree

I couldn’t think of a better way to blow away the cobwebs after a night of drinking beer than to take a stroll around the beautiful Tiergarten.

I was most impressed by the care and attention that someone had taken to carve the words to the Ben E King classic song ‘ Stand by Me’ on a tree.

For more, check out my interrailing adventure video highlights.