Berlin is Germany’s capital, biggest and most popular city and one of the tree city states; in a word, it’s the country’s “backbone”. Its sights to see, activities to do, food, clean roads and environmentalist perspective makes it more like a city to experience rather than only to travel.
One part of the city is gloomy. It’s of course, the first thing that comes to mind, when people think of Berlin, The Berlin Wall. The genocide, suffering and destruction that Hitler caused during the Second World War, emanating as forms of art around the city.
You see amazing examples of architecture when you look at the astonishing part of the city. Looking at the design and refinement of the buildings, it would be accurate to say that Berlin is also a city of art.
The city might look like a modern metropolitan, but it also has a bohemian side. Its museums, art galleries, designer boutiques, original restaurants, breathtaking and dynamic life is what made me fall in love with Berlin.
We went there with a couple of friends, but if you want to travel alone, I have some suggestions for you. Berlin has the Hop on Hop off tourist buses. Both red and green lines are available. You can use those unlimited times. Keep in mind that it is a good option that gives you the opportunity to travel economically as you please.
What to do in Berlin?
First thing to do is to explore the city. You should hike up Reichstag Hill; it has a very large green field that you cannot see in many cities. After taking amazing pictures there, we proceeded into the city.
Everywhere is green in this city. You cannot help envying the inhabitants when you see the streets full of falling leaves of the trees and the freedom to park your bike anywhere you want to. In addition to the palaces and museums, visiting the flea markets will also cheer up your days. I have not planned a route to visit certain places at certain times so far, but now I am trying to spare time for every place to visit, before my days here are over.
The building which is known as “the symbol of Berlin” is the TV Tower. I am sure you will have a good time on top of this tower as you can watch the bird-eye view of the city. Berlin is a place that has its own style. Even the style of the people of the city will be enough to tell you about this.
The area of Hackescher Markt is a place that has all kind of things, restaurants, cafés, bars, nightclubs and shops. Aside from its vast history, the number of the museums in Berlin proves how much the city is involved in arts. The best example of this involvement is the Museum Island which is amongst the UNESCO World Heritages.
Atles Museum, Bode Museum, Neues Museum and Alte Nationalgalerie are just some of these. After visiting the museums, I wanted to take a trip to take some photos and see more of the works of art in the city. I set out to watch the famous bridges of Berlin. You should definitely see Glienicke Bridge, Palace Bridge Admiral Bridge which is full of young people playing music and one of my favorite places to have fun and rest.
If you are going to take the subway in Berlin, there are two options: The U-bahn line that goes underground or S-bahn going on the ground. You can travel as you please with a daily ticket. More interestingly, you can take the subway even without a ticket. They are not checking the tickets very frequently, but you should still be careful. We saved the city parks for the last part of our trip.
Tiergarten is in the middle of the city, so it is impossible to miss :) Tiergarten which is about 3km long, Viktoria Park in the center of Kreuzberg, Treptower Park in the southern part of the city and of course Berlin Olympic Stadium that hosted 19 and 1936 Summer Olympics. There is a sportive life here. If you have too much of the local food, you can still return home without gaining weight, because there are more than 700 parks, gyms, tennis courts and swimming pools.
There are also a lot of alternatives when it comes to shopping in Berlin, but I went for small shops selling antiques and second-hand products. You can find both cheaper and more original things in those shops. However, I have to say that the antiques are really expensive to be honest. But it is still a fact that these are very original. If you prefer shopping in malls then you can try Europa Center.
Berlin has two airports. You can land in Schönefeld Airport or Tegel Airport, depending on your point of departure. I would suggest you to check out the rent a car agencies in the airports. By the way, I mostly mentioned the museums while talking about the art of the city. However, the city also hosts many festivals. If you are lucky enough to go there during one of them, you can have a wonderful time.
The “theater gathering”, Literature Festival, Jazz Festival and Biennial are only some examples of these festivals. If you are an art lover, the cultural energy of this city will certainly attract you. The architecture, art, music, movies, dance and theater, the creative side of Germany is waiting for you in Berlin.
When it comes to nightlife in Berlin, you do not need to worry about finding places that you will like, because there is a really great variety. The clubs are open until morning in the city. If you want to try something a bit more calming, you can go to an opera or concert. Berlin has around 200 clubs. But most of them has entry-fees. You can have fun for 5-10 Euros. Briefly, there are many places that are not very hard to afford. If you want to try one of these nightclubs you will definitely find a good one that you can afford in Berlin.
The most famous local food in Berlin is beer and fast-food, usually composing of sausages, schnitzel, ham and French fries. The side dish varieties are delicious, I am sure everyone will find those delicious, and this is also true for the wines. Wheat beer is one of the alcoholic drinks that you should not go back without trying.
The prices are reasonable. Although, the first route you should take must be Zur Letzten Instanz, the oldest restaurant in Berlin, where Napoleon also had a meal once. The decoration and the atmosphere is really elegant.
The venue has a little modern and a little authentic ambiance at the same time. I would say that you should not leave this city before trying this place once.
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