Our visit to Berlin

Somewhere around the beginning of November we got it in our heads that we wanted to take a trip somewhere. Living in Europe, we truly have so many options of places we can visit that we have a hard time narrowing it down to one place. We thought about going to see Sam's cousin in Serbia, but when we called them up to see if they would be around on the weekend they already had plans. It's kind of a flaw in us that we never plan out very far. I would actually like to, but we just never get around to it. Anyhow, we went back and forth on a couple of places with no decision. Finally, Sam mentioned "blind booking" on German Wings. And that's what we did.

Blind booking is where you go to the German Wings website and, for a very resonable price, have them pick a destination for you. There are several groups of cities to choose from and for a small fee you can take one of the cities off the group. The only thing is that you don't know where you are going until the payment goes through and you get an email confirmation. We got Vienna with blind booking a couple of years ago so we checked that one off the list. I think we both were secretly hoping for London this time (out of those we had to choose from), but after paying we got the email saying it was Berlin. Even though it is a city in Germany we both were really ok with going there. It's been on our list of places to go, but it's a 5-6 hour drive for us. Elly's still not the greatest long distance traveler, so long trips have been put on hold. Now that we didn't have to drive that distance and could be there in about an hour flight we were both looking forward to our weekend in Berlin.

Without knowing locations in the city we just picked a hotel, but it turned out to be in a great location. We had a hard time finding it when we got there, but it's amazing how well you start to know a city after being there just a few days.

Elly's really such a great little traveler (as long as she doesn't have to sit in that car seat for more than a couple of hours). She's such a joy to be with and we always get comments from other travelers about how good she is.

I still get the wrinkled nose and squinty eyes when I ask for a smile....silly girl.

Elly LOVED this helicopter ride in the Berlin airport. It kept her entertained for quite awhile.

We arrived in Berlin on a Friday afternoon. By the time we took the train to the main bahnhof, found the right bus to the stop closest to our hotel and then stood on the road for awhile trying to figure out where the hotel was...well, we didn't get to do much that first evening. After Elly got her nap at the hotel, we went out in search of a place to eat. We found a Hard Rock Cafe just down the street from us and loved it so much that we went back there to eat every day we were there :) Seriously. It was real American food and the service was awsome.

The next morning we got up and at it early. We had a lot to see this day. We started out by going to Checkpoint Charlie. For those of you who are as ignorant about Germany's history as I was, here is a little history from Widipedia. Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to the most well known Berlin Wall crossing point between West and East Berlin during the Cold War. It was designated as the single crossing point (by foot or car) for foreigners and Allied forces. It is now one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. There are souvenirs for sale at every little shop along the street. The picture below is looking from West Berlin into what was East Berlin.

A replica of the sign that was up at Checkpoint Charlie. The original sign is in a museum, which we saw later in the day.

We had to get our pictures with the guards at Checkpoint Charlie.

The line dividing East and West Berlin.

A picture of the Soviet and American standoff at Checkpoint Charlie back in October 1961.

It was very cold and windy while we were there. We tried our best to keep Elly all bundled up.

I have no idea what this is supposed to represent, but it was interesting.



We stopped at a McDonald's at Checkpoint Charlie for a little break and to warm up. Elly enjoyed a milkshake :)



Off to see a part of the Berlin wall.











This is one of those pictures that would be titled "Only in Germany". A beer bike. All these guys were peddling to make their "bike" go...all while drinking their beer. We actually saw a couple of these around town.

There were pieces of the Berlin wall displayed on a lot of the buildings.

Near Checkpoint Charlie there were a couple of museums. We went to one that had a lot of displays showing how people from East Berlin tried to escape to West Berlin. It was really interesting and sad to hear the stories and see what people went through to escape. There were several cars on display that showed the tiny spaces some would squeeze into in order to try to get across the border.

Looking down on Checkpoint Charlie from the museum

After the museum, we made our way to the Brandenburg Gate. This was another HUGE tourist attraction. All along the path toward the gate there were people dressed in different military garb that you could pay to get a picture with. We didn't bother as I really didn't see the relation to the gate...I guess I'm ignorant in that regard. You could also pay to get an old East Germany passport stamp. It was kind of crazy how many people were out selling something.









After a long day out around town we were heading back to our hotel. The Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is huge. It had several levels with lots of train stops on each level. We do pretty good getting around by way of the trains, but we have gotten on the wrong one occasionally :)

Back at the room we were getting ready for bed. Elly loves books and loves having Daddy read to here before she goes to sleep.

Sam's cousin, Sabine, lives in Berlin, so on Sunday we took a train to meet up with her. She met us at the train station and we walked to her apartment. We hung out there for awhile. Elly didn't get all her sleep the night before and was fussy, so she fell asleep for a little while. After she woke up we walked to a restaurant for lunch. On the way there we stopped by a playground so Elly could play. She was such a little trooper the day before going all over the city that it was nice for her to have the opportunity to do something she liked for awhile. It was windy and cold though, so it didn't last as long as she would have liked.









At our favorite place to eat in Berlin ~ Hard Rock Cafe. This guitar was carved out of a piece of the Berlin wall.

The next day was our last day in Berlin. Our flight didn't leave until the evening though so we were able to do some more site seeing. We wanted to go see the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) and another museum that we heard was really nice (can't remember the name of it though).

We were a little lost when we got off the train, so we just started walking and eventually found what we were looking for. It was a beautiful, chilly morning and we really enjoyed our walk.

This little green figure (above & below) has a history. It is called the Ampelmann and a green walking one and a red standing figure, in the form of a traffic light, are used to let people know when to walk or stop. They are uniquely East German and have become very famous. There are entire stores dedicated to Ampelmann souvenirs. I was reading some of the history and this is one of the few features of communist East Germany that has survived (and thrived!) the end of the Iron Curtain. He is a beloved little guy :)



Berliner Dome ~ It's shameful to say, but I have no idea what is special about the Berliner Dome. Since we do trips last minute, we never really have the time to research the area to know the history. BUT...we saw it and I have pictures to prove it :)







Right across the river from the Berliner Dome was this interactive museum that we wanted to go to. I can't remember the name of it, but it was really nice for Elly. Everything in there was meant for kids to touch and interact with. Cars you could climb into, cabinets to open and explore, etc. The only thing I could have done without was the display about public nudity. Really!? Did they really need to include that in a children's museum? Overall, the rest of the museum was very nicely done and most importantly, Elly had a lot of fun.


Elly and Mama sitting in an East German Trabi. I had no idea about these before our visit to Berlin. East Germans often had to wait years to get a vehicle after ordering it. Sam has an uncle (or cousin?) who is from East Germany and I've heard the story about how he ordered a vehicle and years later finally received it. I can't imagine that.






Getting a picture with the little Ampelmann light signal. Cute, isn't it?

Well, after our museum visit we headed back to the hotel to pack up. We left our luggage in storage there and went to eat lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe one last time. Then we picked up our luggage and headed to the airport. It's so nice to have only an hour flight to get back home. Our neighbor picked us up at the airport. We love them. They are just the best neighbors and Elly can't get enough of them.

Elly loves being a big girl and pulling her own little suitcase. Sam found this one in Berlin and we had to get it for her. She loves it :)




Well, that is our trip to Berlin in a nutshell. We really enjoyed the city and would definitely go back. So much history and so much we still didn't get to see. Until next time...