To kick things off, I begin with the account of BERLIN, GERMANY.
This particular adventure began months before the actual trip, when I came across very cheap return flights to Berlin for various weekends in January. Of course, it made sense as Germany would be exiting its peak time, after the excitement of the Christmas Markets. £30 return, flying with Ryanair.
DAY 1
We departed on the morning of Saturday, 23rd January 2016 from London Stansted Airport, UK. I, as usual missed my bus to the train station that would then take me to Stratford, East London where we would meet and take the coach to the airport. (Unfortunately that weekend the Stansted Express train service was not running, making our journey take a little longer by coach). Thankfully, I did plan ahead to ensure that we had plenty of time to get to the airport. I caught the next bus and then once at Stratford, the National Express coach inspector allowed us to hop on a later coach! 50 minutes later, we arrived at Stansted.
Whilst exchanging my £'s to €'s at Stansted (I know, major rip off!) we bumped into a fellow nature lover Liam! Shout out to you Liam, what was the chance of seeing you at the airport?! Plus he was also travelling to Germany, but rather Munich. After briefly discussing how random this was we wished each other a safe flight and went to catch our plane.
1 hour and 50 minutes after departure we landed in Berlin, which may I add was covered in SNOW! How exciting... Now, I am not one for snow in the UK, but when you're abroad and it snows, for some reason it feels magical. In front of us were west coast Americans that had never actually seen snow in their lives! They were certainly overjoyed.
We booked the NH Alexanderplatz hotel, a tram ride away from the city center and although navigating our way there in the beginning proved tricky, locals were friendly and guided us in the correct direction. The staff were super helpful and seemed to have a better knowledge of the English language than we did, after my handbag was described as a 'transcendental dimension' . Pardon?!
Once settled in our room I breezed through the city guide we were given when purchasing our Berlin Welcome Card (3 day travel card- I advise you to buy once in Germany rather than online as the sites offering it rip you off!). Immediately, the Berlin Story Bunker caught my eye.
Gosh, where do I start with this one...
Hands down, it was one of the most frightening experiences I have ever been through in my 18 years of living... and I would do it again (maybe, eeep).
Without giving too much away, the Bunker consists of three floors; The museum on the basement level, which submerges you into life in Berlin during the Cold War, emphasising the key differences in living within the high concrete walls of east Berlin, better known back then as the GDR (German Democratic Republic), and of course West Berlin. The middle floor, that gives you an insight into the ghastly practises of the medical world during the Medieval Age as well as a taster of what's to come on the top floor. Finally this well anticipated top floor is in complete darkness. I assure you that you will scream, run and jump in fear and the hairs on your arms, back and legs will stand on end, with no mercy! Arriving an hour before closing time, in the height of winter meant it was very dark outside, which along with the enthusiastic staff, all contributed to the eerie, spine-chilling atmosphere. Entry to this attraction was half price when presenting the Welcome Card, which meant for the both of us, we paid just 9€.
Once departing from our first official adventure in Berlin, food was on the brain. We made our way back, the both of us could not help notice the high energy, hustle and bustle of the city. In comparison to the day time Berlin had really come alive! Multiple bodies swarmed Alexanderplatz as well as U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations. Throughout this, buskers played lively upbeat tempos creating a soundtrack against the hip backdrop of Berlin.
On arrival at Erdton, we realised that we were the only customers. This did raise some caution though now having built up an appetite, we decided to stay and thank goodness we did! The food was fantastic!
If you happen to be in Berlin and you get a chance to venture slightly further out of town... take a chance and dine in Erdton (Friedenstrasse 39) just opposite Lidl, which is actually where we headed to next. I know, I know, the food couldn't have been that great if we headed directly to Lidl afterwards, but the both of us had forgotten to bring along toothpaste! We did contemplate simply not brushing our teeth for the night, as that way we may have been able to re-taste the flavoursome meal one more time.
Finally, after a long day it was back to the hotel for some well-deserved sleep.
Peace&Love
Willow
We departed on the morning of Saturday, 23rd January 2016 from London Stansted Airport, UK. I, as usual missed my bus to the train station that would then take me to Stratford, East London where we would meet and take the coach to the airport. (Unfortunately that weekend the Stansted Express train service was not running, making our journey take a little longer by coach). Thankfully, I did plan ahead to ensure that we had plenty of time to get to the airport. I caught the next bus and then once at Stratford, the National Express coach inspector allowed us to hop on a later coach! 50 minutes later, we arrived at Stansted.
Whilst exchanging my £'s to €'s at Stansted (I know, major rip off!) we bumped into a fellow nature lover Liam! Shout out to you Liam, what was the chance of seeing you at the airport?! Plus he was also travelling to Germany, but rather Munich. After briefly discussing how random this was we wished each other a safe flight and went to catch our plane.
1 hour and 50 minutes after departure we landed in Berlin, which may I add was covered in SNOW! How exciting... Now, I am not one for snow in the UK, but when you're abroad and it snows, for some reason it feels magical. In front of us were west coast Americans that had never actually seen snow in their lives! They were certainly overjoyed.
 |
| Karl-Marx-Allee |
We booked the NH Alexanderplatz hotel, a tram ride away from the city center and although navigating our way there in the beginning proved tricky, locals were friendly and guided us in the correct direction. The staff were super helpful and seemed to have a better knowledge of the English language than we did, after my handbag was described as a 'transcendental dimension' . Pardon?!
Once settled in our room I breezed through the city guide we were given when purchasing our Berlin Welcome Card (3 day travel card- I advise you to buy once in Germany rather than online as the sites offering it rip you off!). Immediately, the Berlin Story Bunker caught my eye.
Gosh, where do I start with this one...
Hands down, it was one of the most frightening experiences I have ever been through in my 18 years of living... and I would do it again (maybe, eeep).
Without giving too much away, the Bunker consists of three floors; The museum on the basement level, which submerges you into life in Berlin during the Cold War, emphasising the key differences in living within the high concrete walls of east Berlin, better known back then as the GDR (German Democratic Republic), and of course West Berlin. The middle floor, that gives you an insight into the ghastly practises of the medical world during the Medieval Age as well as a taster of what's to come on the top floor. Finally this well anticipated top floor is in complete darkness. I assure you that you will scream, run and jump in fear and the hairs on your arms, back and legs will stand on end, with no mercy! Arriving an hour before closing time, in the height of winter meant it was very dark outside, which along with the enthusiastic staff, all contributed to the eerie, spine-chilling atmosphere. Entry to this attraction was half price when presenting the Welcome Card, which meant for the both of us, we paid just 9€.
Once departing from our first official adventure in Berlin, food was on the brain. We made our way back, the both of us could not help notice the high energy, hustle and bustle of the city. In comparison to the day time Berlin had really come alive! Multiple bodies swarmed Alexanderplatz as well as U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations. Throughout this, buskers played lively upbeat tempos creating a soundtrack against the hip backdrop of Berlin.
 |
| Begging for BMW money? At least you know where your donations are going! |
On arrival at Erdton, we realised that we were the only customers. This did raise some caution though now having built up an appetite, we decided to stay and thank goodness we did! The food was fantastic!
If you happen to be in Berlin and you get a chance to venture slightly further out of town... take a chance and dine in Erdton (Friedenstrasse 39) just opposite Lidl, which is actually where we headed to next. I know, I know, the food couldn't have been that great if we headed directly to Lidl afterwards, but the both of us had forgotten to bring along toothpaste! We did contemplate simply not brushing our teeth for the night, as that way we may have been able to re-taste the flavoursome meal one more time.
Finally, after a long day it was back to the hotel for some well-deserved sleep.
Peace&Love
Willow
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