Jo and I decided to make the most of the January sales and booked some cheapo flights with Norwegian Air to the wonderful city of Berlin.
We found it a perfect destination for a weekend break – dramatic architecture, incredible museums, thriving third wave coffee culture, and it was a darn sight cheaper than London. As ever, I took my trusty little Nikon Coolpix A with me and it did a great job of documenting our time there:
Jo ensconced in a book
Here’s our great airbnb flat. You may be able to make our a snowstorm, which would be a feature of our first day.
Yarn-bombed bollards
The massive Fernsehturm TV tower – a smidge taller than the Eiffel Tower and the Shard
At the East Side Gallery, where a section of the Berlin Wall remains
We got caught in another snowstorm – wet and cold, but very photogenic (pro tip, using flash makes the flakes ‘pop’)
We sheltered in an instagram-tastic indoor streetfood market
The view from our flat. This was once part of East Berlin and the buildings were suitable utilitarian. I spent much of our weekend in awe of Berlin’s cycling infrastructure.
We had a great trip to the dome of the Reichstag. Well worth booking in advance, unless you like queueing.
The holocaust memorial and its accompanying museum were an essential visit, though incredibly hard to digest.
We had travelcards and found ourselves with a bit of unplanned time, so hopped on a random train. I was overjoyed when I noticed that we were bound for Berlin’s storied Olympic stadium – site of Jesse Owens’ heroics in 1936, and of Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt (and Panenka, let’s not forget) in 2006. In hindsight, I’m not sure why we didn’t prioritise a trip to see it.
Station for the U2 line
Soviet war memorial in Treptower Park
Nice signage
Potsdamerplatz
The Brandenburg Gate
Glass-topped lift in the Fernsehturm TV tower. We didn’t last long up there as there was an element of ‘play’ in the structure, which we Jo found unsettling.
Bidding farewell to our lovely flat
