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.
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| 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.
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| 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....
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