The Adventure

The second and shortest leg of my holiday adventures began with a day in Berlin, Germany. I arrived at the main train station late in the morning and set off at first just doing a loop in the area. Berlin is another city that I visited without knowing much about it, so I was pleased to discover some water, and what appeared to be some sort of government or police office stationed inside an old historic building. After this, I headed in a random direction, probably headed toward some church steeple that I noticed in the distance. On the way, I passed many other cool buildings, including just regular old residences and shops that stood out despite their ordinary purpose. However, the real adventure began at the end of this walk.

I arrived in an area that was surrounded on all sides by large, impressive buildings. Among these were the Berlin Cathedral, and several museums. Unlike many other cities, I was not cramped into a dense pedestrian street, trying to get a view of the impressive architecture. There was a large green space from which I could take in all the surrounding buildings. It was clearly a thriving tourist area, even in late December. The Berlin TV Tower (Fernsehturm) was not much further from these landmarks, but the vibes were completely different. By the tower and the nearby Alexanderplatz, the city felt less historical but nonetheless cool. Instead of ancient wonders, the modern side of Berlin boasts attractions that deviate from the concrete rectangles I have grown so tired of. Apparently there is a cool World Time Clock in that area, which I missed seeing. I guess it goes to show that it doesn’t hurt to do a bit of research before visiting a place. At least now I have an excuse to go back.

At some point I visited the inside of a church, which right now I don’t remember at all. It may have been just an escape from the cold for a moment. I don’t often go inside buildings in my travels. After this, I just kept walking, focusing less on tourist attractions but still coming across cool buildings, including some church ruins. As it got dark, I actually ended up inside another church, called Friedrichswerdersche Church. This one had a bunch of statues on display, which I spent some time looking at. It was a lovely coincidence that my attempted escapes from the cold ended up turning out to have nice interiors as well. According to the timestamps on the photos I took, I spent maybe 10 minutes inside. The interior wasn’t huge, but there was still lots to see.

After this, I accidentally discovered the Brandenburg Gate. I recognized it from pictures, so was glad to see that I wasn’t absolutely clueless about Berlin. I walked a bit further, passing a few more cool things before taking a walk through a park. Google Maps had pointed out a tribute to some famous composers in the centre of the park, so I thought it would be worth taking a look. I probably shouldn’t have, because it was dark out and there was no lighting in the park, but nothing bad happened, so I’ll just be more careful next time I guess. I then walked back towards the main station, accidentally discovering the Canadian Embassy on the way, and ate some German food for dinner.

Highlight

The highlight of the trip was most likely when I reached the area of Berlin where most of the tourist attractions seemed to be. It’s hard to choose just one moment from Berlin to focus on, but with almost everything noteworthy being very close together, I choose the whole area. The Berlin TV Tower, the Cathedral, the museums, and even the other random buildings that I couldn’t identify but was impressed by. There were so many cool things to see in such a small area, I didn’t even manage to see everything the area had to offer. I look forward to exploring more on my next trip to Berlin.

Cost

Once again, a small price tag on this day trip. I spent a total of €6.40 ($9.72 CAD) on food in Berlin, including a sausage and a pretzel. I fell in love with German street food on my trip, so you’ll see in all my German blogs and any other time I made even just a short stop in Germany, I was picking up some sort of food. A drink, probably a pretzel too, and maybe some schnitzel or wurst. I found it to be affordable, too, especially if I wasn’t getting a full meal. The pretzel shops in basically every train station in Germany sell many kinds for just a couple dollars or something.

Concluding Thoughts

I cannot recommend Berlin enough. Germany, as a country, was one of, if not the favourite country I visited in my travels. Berlin, being its capital, offers a lot. There’s a lot to see, a lot to do, and most importantly, a lot to eat. In most of my travels, I favoured quantity over quality, trying to see as many places as possible. However, for this second leg of the trip, I intentionally spent several days in Germany for many reasons. This short adventure only brought me to Berlin and Köln, but I definitely plan to return to the country. For anyone planning a Germany trip, Berlin is a great place to start!