Berlin - Parlo Eastern Europe Tour Review (Day 2)

Our tour starts soon after our arrival at Tegel International Airport around noon. Although Berlin is the capital of Germany, the airport doesn't seem to be as advance as I thought it should be. Soon after we collected our luggage, we proceeded to our tour bus which was about 10 minutes walk away as buses are not allowed to park outside the airport.

The bus headed straight into Berlin city centre to pick up our local guide and soon after we were given an orientation of Berlin city centre. On our way to our first attraction point, our bus by passed several iconic locations like the Holocaust Memorial and Berlin Tower.

Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial is probably our first introduction to a dark history of the Nazis who have killed millions of Jews before the World War 2 ended.

Our first stop was at Reichtag which houses the Parliament ever since the unification of Germany. It is popular for its glass dome where one can enjoy an excellent panoramic view of Berlin. Unfortunately our tour group only managed to quickly snap a picture as expected :).

Nearby Reichtag is the Brandenburg Gate where we strolled around for a good 30 minutes. It is a historical site built in the 18th Century.  

We hop on to the bus later and off we went to the next attraction site, Berlin Wall East Side Gallery. There, you will find the remnant of the famous Berlin Wall which separated East and West Berlin for circa 30 years. From the picture above, the Berlin wall is really 2 walls built back to back.

The east side gallery is located nearby a park beside the river Spree where we have some time to enjoy an evening stroll. Frankly, I kind of enjoyed the nice evening stroll along the river bank but the remnant of Berlin wall reminded us the fact that many people have lost their lives attempting to cross the border at this very place.

Checkpoint Charlie

It's almost 5pm local time and we stopped at our last attraction, Checkpoint Charlie. What used to be Berlin Wall's crossing point where a lot of military stand off took place is now centre of a busy commercial business cum shopping district. We later found a gallery nearby which shares more details on the historical events that took place at the site. We had about 90 minutes to explore the area before dinner time.

Notice an interesting truck as we explore the city centre.

We did not take many pictures in Berlin as sun sets after 5pm in Berlin...

Dinner at Maximilians located within walking distance from Checkpoint Charlie.

We had German Currywurst for dinner. I like it very much especially the sauce that tasted like a combination of tomato sauce and curry that goes very well with bread as well.

After our half day tour, we checked ourselves into Andels Hotel Berlin to call it a night. I have no complaints about this hotel. The room was modern and comfortable. It also came with a 24 hours fully equipped gym which is excellent for me to beat the jet lag...:)

More to come....

Eastern Europe Tour Homepage

Day 1

Day 3

Transit From Kuala Lumpur To Berlin Via Doha (Qatar Airways) - Day 1

Wifey and I travelled to Berlin by Qatar Airways which transits at Doha International Airport. From KLIA I took the 2.40am flight QR853 to Doha which turned out to be a Boeing 757 Dreamliner. I was pretty excited to take the flight as it ls a technological advance airplane which was supposed to rival A380 produced by Airbus. Boeing claims that the airplane’s body is made from a special type of plastic or polymer instead of the conventional aluminium to reduce the weight of the body and results in lower fuel consumption which translates into cost savings.

The Qatar flight was equipped with the most high tech in flight entertainment system in economy class I have seen to date. It comes with dual screen comprising of a primary screen and a secondary screen for controls. You can also play video games while watching videos. Content selections are acceptable just like many of the airlines out there. There is also a USB to charge your electronic equipment.

It also comes with better leg room which is kind of a blessing for people like me who is more than 6 feet tall. Once on a fully declined position, the seat allows me to fully stretch my legs and that gave me the comfort to have a nice sleep in the plane. Unlike in the past where I usually spend most of my time on board watching movies, this time around I managed to sleep much more as I felt the seat was more comfortable. Its not all praises though. Some passengers have complained that the width of the seat is too narrow due to the 3-4-3 seat configuration so it may be uncomfortable for some depending on their body size.

Leg room is adequate even with my long legs

In flight meals was only satisfactorily. I had a chicken sandwich shortly for supper shortly after take off from KLIA. A couple of hours later, I had pancakes for breakfast. The flight to Doha took about 8 hours arriving at Doha International Airport at around 5 am.

My breakfast enroute to Berlin

It was a foggy morning when we arrived with a temperature 15 degrees. Several busses was already waiting to bring passengers to the arrival gate. Those who are transiting to other countries are required to go through security screening again before entering the departure hall.

First sight in Doha with buses waiting to ferry passengers to the arrival hall.

QR853 Kuala Lumpur to Doha

Once inside, we had more than 2 hours at the airport but unfortunately the tour guide only gave us about an hour to explore the place so we did not get to do much except to buy some stuff from the convenience stall then a toilet break and off we went to departure gate to board QR81 to Berlin. That was kind of sad as I was looking forward to at least a cup of coffee in this relatively new airport which was just opened about two years ago. Worst still, we had to que up outside the departure gate for about 40 minutes before allowed in :(. Meanwhile the tour guide happily went for shopping. In this case, I felt that the Tour Guide could have done better in this case by providing us proper briefing and time management.  

This is no ordinary bear.....

Notice the giant sized bear?

QR81 to Berlin

The plane we took to Berlin is an Airbus 330 with a 2-4-2 seating configuration. The seat is definitely wider but leg room is not as good as the previous flight. I have earlier arranged with Parlo to get us the window seats so that I can capture a picture of the desert which can be seen shortly after take off.

The closest I can get to a desert. A view no long after take off.

As for the in flight entertainment system I felt the user interface was hard to use, slow  and confusing. In the end, I gave up and just continued sleeping :). Breakfast was served shortly after take off and I had the sausage and egg for breakfast and it turned out to be quit delicious and exceeded my expectations on in flight meals.

More to come...

Please click on the following links for related posts.

Parlo Eastern Europe Tour Overview
Day 2