Travel Diaries: Berlin, Germany

March 20, 2018

Travel Diaries: Berlin, Germany

At the beginning of the semester I went on a trip with the University of Bristol History Society. A lot of clubs here in the U.K. take trips to countries throughout Europe and are able to get discounted group rates! While that usually means long bus rides and being with people you might not know it's worth it for the price and experience! It was a five day trip and two of those were entirely spent driving. We took a 20 hour bus ride there across the English Channel, through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands to Berlin, Germany.

I was so excited to go to what is regarded at the best city in Europe! I'd never been to Germany and while Berlin is a lot different than the rest of Germany so I definitely still want to go back and experience more of Germany some day, but Berlin was a nice start. After the treacherous 20 hour bus ride I was off to exploring a new country with people I'd never met before.

The first day in Berlin was comprised of walking around the Mitte district where our hostel was, exploring the East Side Gallery, and learning a lot of history at Checkpoint Charlie and Topography of Terror. The next day was an early day as we had the opening slot for the Reichstag booked (it's free just book in advance). For a history nerd a tour of the Reichstag was incredible. You get to go inside the glass dome and have a free audio tour the whole way up, and fantastic views of the city (unless you had terrible weather like we did).

After seeing the city from above and enjoying the cafe at the top, we were off to explore the rest of Berlin. Right next to the Tiergarten, Brandenburg Gate, and the Holocaust Memorial. After seeing the main attractions we wandered down the main avenue, Unter Den Linden, did some window shopping and ended up on Museum Island. It was a rainy day so we wanted to get into Berlin Cathedral and some of the museums but all of them are pretty pricey so we opted to cross the river and explore Alexanderplatz instead. After seeing almost all of what we wanted to in Berlin we had some time to explore the streets. We went to Hackescher Market, and explored the quaint parts of the old town and the cute courtyards hidden behind grand boulevards.

The last day we had in Berlin I wanted to go to Charlottenburg Palace. Since we didn't spend any money on museums we were able to pay to go into the palace. I usually do't pay for things like that but it was in a new part of the city that we hadn't explored and there weren't any other free things to do in the city. I'm not sure if purchasing the ticket for the whole palace was the best idea, if I did it again I would've just done the old state rooms because they had more history and were more interesting to go through. But going for the gardens and being out of the hustle and bustle of the main part of the city was worth it! I would definitely go back to Berlin and hopefully I will be able to get back to Germany in the near future, maybe with people I know, but none-the-less it was a great experience. I got all of the historical aspects I wanted out of it and can say I've finally been to Germany!