Germany Part 4 - BERLIN

Next stop, Berlin. The most AMAZING city in Europe.

Cam and Nat at the Brandenburg Gate

The train ride was probably the longest train ride of our Germany trip. The train ride through the middle of the country was gorgeous. Very relaxing. The main train station in Berlin is awesome.

It has been completely rebuilt recently. This links the International with the local trains.

(quoted from http://www.berlinfo.com/Traveltime/tofromberlin/by_train/) Berlin finally has its first, and most spectacular (and controversial), Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), erected as Europe's largest station, designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partner, the same architect of Berlin's Tegel airport. Certainly it offers some of the most spectacular views. As you enter the gigantic, airy, hall from the front entrance you immediately have a single view of four layers of trains criss-crossing each other one on top of the next, with layers of people in between, shopping and meandering. More about Berlin's Central Station - Lehrter Bahnhof.. They managed to get natural light all the way to the bottom platform in the station which is unheard of around the world.

Berlin is the most amazing city we have seen in Europe. Anyone who has spoken to Nat about our travels will know how highly she thinks of it. The city has been transformed since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. They have started to mark out where the wall once stood, by cementing pebbles in to the ground. It even goes through the bitumen road!

The main area in Berlin is called Potsdamer Platz. As you can see in the photo, there is a piece of the wall standing next to the car. The Berlin Wall cut straight through the area and all the buildings that were there were demolished. Once the wall came down there was a huge area of vacant land. In 1994 construction began and in 2001 the first buildings were unveiled. The architecture in Potsdamer Platz is first class and is probably the most amazing in the world. Berlin has become a new city. After World War II many of the cities buildings were destroyed. Cathedral Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche remains a stark and haunting war memorial, with the top half missing off the building. Bombs destroyed the top half but the bottom half still remains today.

The train ride to the hostel is one of the most spectacular, you can see most of the city from the train. We checked in to our hostel, showered and headed out to check out the city. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and went to a cocktail bar for drinks! Two for one cocktails, you can’t go wrong! Cam had a nasty cocktail called ‘Zombie’ which contains 5 spirits including a 73% alcohol white rum! After a long day it was time for some well earned earned rest.

NEXT DAY

We found out that a local bus, number 100, takes the same route that all the tour companies use to show tourists around the city. So for a fraction of the price, we jumped on the bus and were given a tour of the city, the only difference being we were our own tour guides! We went to the top attractions in Berlin and Cam went photo crazy. Potsdamer Platz, Sony Centre, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Topography of Terror, Berliner Dom, Palace of the Republic, Zoological Gardens. We found a spot on the river and made our own sandwiches. Soaked up some sun and even had a nana nap!

The next couple of days we went to some amazing museums and galleries. The Jewish Museum is quite new, its extremely informative and the architecture is awesome. Guggenheim Museum. New National Gallery. Berlin Zoo. One night we went out and Cam took lots of night photos of Berlin, Nat was the photographer assistant carrying the tripod and pointing out which buildings to take photos of. We were out for a few hours that night, but boy it was worth it. The buildings look even more spectacular at night!

We met a local German man on the bus one morning. He gave us some local history that you don’t read about in the museums, but a real life account of what has happened in Berlin in recent times. He told us about the buildings at Potsdamer Platz and the hesitation the Germans have in helping out in world issues. It’s been such a difficult time for the country after losing both World War I & World War II. It has taken a lot to bring this country back together.

We have now got our on-line photo collection up and running! For more pictures of Berlin through our eyes, check our the Berlin page:

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n1/cambodian073/Germany/Berlin/

Hopefully this will fill in some of the gaps of what we are talking about. We have pretty much all of Italy up and some of the other countries up, so spend some time travelling around Europe in our album. Just click on the country and then the city. Then click the "View Slideshow" button. Away you go!

After four fantastic days in Berlin we were back on the train for Amsterdam to see the EAGLES win the flag!!

ps - Please give us comments/feedback! We love hearing what you think and if you have any questions etc.

Cam & Nat