Berlin

With five years having passed since my maiden voyage abroad and my last visit to Berlin, I sat waiting to board the plane from Luton airport wandering if the city will generate the same feelings this time around.

We arrived late afternoon and successfully navigated ourselves from Schipnol Airport to our Bed and Breakfast in the leafy district of Kleispark, courtesy of a brief bus journey and then a trip on the fantastic underground system that connects all corners of one of Europe’s biggest cities.

We were greeted by our friendly host Andreas who demonstrated his excellent local knowledge by reeling off bus numbers as if he was remembering his family’s birthdays. The facilities were just what we desired, a clean and spacious themed room with toilet and shower facilities just down the corridor. The kitchen also had all the necessaries on offer and a tasty continental breakfast was left for us each morning.

Arriving late on a Sunday afternoon isn’t ideal when hunger urges start to kick in at around 6pm. After being dispatched to locate a supermarket, I arrived back with just a couple of slices of pizza from an excellent street Delhi at the end of our street which acted as our quick feed throughout the week. It seems it isn’t just England that enforces that all of its stores close early on a Sunday.

With three full days to enjoy the city we devised a rough plan to help make the most of our visit. On Monday we would visit all the sights of the city, on Tuesday we would make the sombre trip to Saschenhausen Concentration Camp 35km or so outside of the city before visiting the zoo on our final day.

Our first port of call on our one-day whirlwind site seeing tour was Alexanderplatz and the impressively high TV Tower. After purchasing a ticket we found ourselves with an hour and a half to kill before our allotted time to scale the tower so we spent the time in the best possible way, getting cursed by a gypsy. Foolishly I read the card of a woman, who quite frankly didn’t look that poor, and before long her daughter was shouting expletives at me after my refusal to give up my water. Before I am accused to being a bad person let it be said that a family smoking cigarettes and pushing their baby in a newish wheelchair don’t seem the most authentic charity cases to me. Away from the conflict, the top of the TV Tower offered views across one of Europe’s most historic cities.

From Alexanderplatz we hopped on the underground and took the short journey to Potsdamer Platz, another of Berlin’s sparkling inner city areas, gleaming of cosmopolitan modernism.

A short walk down the road and we were at the famous Brandenburg Gate, an impressive structure seen by many as the symbol of Germany for many years. Just across the way is the Reichstag, the German parliament building which is also well worth a look.

After taking a few photographs of both the previously mentioned attractions we became visible tourists as we finger followed a map around Unter De Linden before arriving at the former crossing point between East and West, Checkpoint Charlie. Then after a taxi ride spent discussing German football with the driver, we were back at our temporary residence with the feeling we had walked half of Germany.

On the Tuesday we visited Saschenhausen just outside of Berlin. The eerie silence said it all and as we wandered around the site, we tried to contemplate the atrocities that took place right where we stood. I have said previously and will say again that these places should be made compulsory to visit as they provide a sense of humbleness and place aspects of our lives into perspective somewhat.

A few hours and another flawless journey on the Berlin public transport later and we were back at the Brandenburg Gate, stopping to take a few photographs of the now illuminated gate. Another day of much walking and we thought that we deserved a good feed so we indulged in an excellent steak before heading back to put our feet up.

Our final day we visited the zoo after hearing good feedback about the place. True to what we heard the zoo was on the whole quite impressive, an interesting array of species who all at least appeared to be content in their confined surroundings although the lion did appear to be pacing its quarters, perhaps just in preparation for a feed or access to his outside pen we hoped.

To summarize my second visit to Berlin is to just remind myself of all the traits that made me love the city in the first instance. A bustling cosmopolitan area, yet somehow possessed a relaxed atmosphere not usually synonymous with a capital city, let alone one of such size and importance. Berlin is easily somewhere where I can envisage myself living, infinite things to do all connected by a flawless transport network, one which is never late or delayed. In a modern city like Berlin it is hard to grasp the sometimes tragic history of the place when the city appears so clean and modern.