With holidayys it was an ’xtended weekend ’n I spent nearly 3 days in Berlin, another Euro capital with an eccentric past.If the history of Paris, Rome takes u way back many centuries here its the blooday events of last century thatz so fresh in everybodys mind that commands ones attention.
The first thing that strikes as u stroll around the city is its lush green landscape, wide squares ’n hiuge manicured gardens right in the middle of the city.Amidst these r the indelible marks of the world wars.Infact teh first sight as u step out of station is the remains of a huge church that was ravaged by the bombings.If I go in edtail I can write a small travel book on berlin, so lemme cut short.
Brandenburg Gate:The symbol of Berlin (the one we may ’ve all seen on TV) .All embassies , beautiful streets radiate from this point.This is now in the middle of major renovation.
Cold War : Charlie’s Checkpoint:This was the checkpoint from the US side to the Soviet controlled East Berlin.The photos of this place during the hieght of cold war really stunned me.There were tankers ’n huge batallion of army facing , face to face across this divide.Ironically this is now in the middle of the posh designer street ’n shopping malls now.
Remains of Berlin wall:Looked to me like a grafitted hi-rise wall of a gurlz hostel of my college.But the memorial describing the bloody story surrounding it is just quite unbelivable.Them most unbelivable r the photos of the very place were I was standing during those period, the barbed wire, gun totting soldiers, ppl shot down trying to cross it etc ’n now this is all in the middle of a serence resedential area.
Sachsenhausen Concentration camp::A must visit(if u have time, it takes 6 hours) to really know the meaning of the word ’’holocaust’’.Always take a guided tour , it ’ll leave u cold ’n shivering.An eg of what wud world turn out to be if powers r in the hands of an eceentric lunactic like Hitler.
To cut short , city is full of memorials(mainly jewish) , churches, grand palatial buildings, museums, oepra houses, legacy of dictatotship etc.The popular tourist spots being - A view of city from TV tower ’n Siegessaule(victory tower), Berliner dome, reconstructed new glitering buildings in Potsdamer Platz, Sony HQ .Olympic stadium etc tec.
Shopping:A Euro city with no chic designer streets , no way.Plenty along Kurfurstendam, Friedrichstrasse etc.Dont miss KaDaWe, Quartier 205 ’n 206, Lafayettes, Europa Center, Arkaden etc(Can names get cryptic thna that?)
Accomodation ’n night life: If u r a backpacker ’n r a bit accomodative try out Clubhouse Hostel.Dont be afraid of name hostel, this is pretty decent (?), ’n good clean facilities.Its quite cheap just 17 E (any hotel in city starts from 60 E).Apart from cost wise other advantages being:
1) Near to all attractions ’n in the heart of the city
2) Wanna enjoy night life , this is near to hotspots like Mitte, Kruezburg(Famous for techno-trance clubs but gosh is absolutely wierd , bizzare ’n punkish, so careful of popular places like So36 etc u r in for a rude shock ), Prenzlauer etc
3) Attached to this hostel r 4 dance floors ’n hosts some popular parties over weekends, so entry is easy else to this crowded venue if u r staying in this hostel.SO party till dawn ’n enjoy.Slept around 6 am ’n get moving again to explore the city in few hours.Therz another popular club called ’’Excess’’ near to this place which gave birth to DJ’s like Paul Van Dyke etc , but couldnt try this out.
4)Therz an indian restaurant (Bombay) right next to it.
Food ’n drinks:In thisc ity one can never miss out on the cafes, so enchantingly pretty.TRy out yummy pastries, ice-cremas in this hot summer.YEah u can spend the whole day long watching the crowd sipping Pilsner, called champagne of beers.(But if u r used to taste of Kingfisher/Fosters I doubt u ’ll agree to that tho’, anyway no harm in triyng a new taste).
Getting around: Is a breeze.Every point is well connected with a good nework of public transport , so no probs.For visitors, there r hordes of info available in the form of printed maps , TRavel info points etc .Sometimes it mabbe difficult to traverse as every sign board is in german, but maps makes life easier.
Some tips:
1) Always advisable to take a guided tour of the city as it provides more historical facts that makes ur trip more memorable.
2) Take a bus ticket vaild for a day or two, so that u can hop in ’n out of the buses anytime u need, as Berlin is a huge city
3) As for language, I think its quite managable as u can convey ur point across in English most of the times
To end, Berlin, is a window in time, peep thro it!!!