On our first day in Berlin we visited Berlin zoo and zoological gardens. The gardens are lovely woodland, looking decidedly autumnal, and are very extensive. At the centre is a monument and we climbed the 271 steps to the top of the tower. There were amazing views of Berlin stretching to the horizon in all directions.
Yesterday we went on a walking tour of Berlin's historic sites. It was nineteen years ago to the day that Germany was reunited, which is the first political event that I remember. The tour was a very intensive history lesson and brought it home quite how recently wars were fought, and also what changes Europe has seen within my grandparents' lifetimes. The memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe was an interesting structure- 2711 concrete blocks at different heights, many taller than me. I still can't quite decide what to make of it and nobody's quite sure what the blocks represent. There are plans for a nearby equivalent for the homosexuals murdered by the nazis
Berlin was already cold- there's a lot more to come...
Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 October 2009
The first leg
On the day of our grand departure we spent a mad morning at Rothamsted sorting out last minute details of hostels and trains. We bought our last English meal (sandwiches in the canteen) and boarded the train at Harpenden. We were severely over-loaded: 65 litre backpacks on our backs, and Suzannah had 35 on her front and I wasn't far behind. Smooth journey to St Pancras. Apart from the hassle of stripping ourselves of bags, belts, purse belts etc through security everything went well at the Eurostar and we set off on time. Our destination was Paris where we had just under an hour to walk from Paris North to Paris East, overheating because we only have warm clothes with us. So all we saw of Paris was the restaurants and sex shops surrounding the station.
The sleeper train from Paris to Berlin was the closest I will ever get to flying first class! We had the top 2 bunks in a 3 berth cabin. Our cabin had a sink in a cupboard but the toilet and the shower were at the end of the corridor. The train was relatively smooth but still the idea of a shower wasn't appealing. I slept very well, though Suzannah felt like she spent most of the night awake. It didn't help that our cabin mate was getting off at an earlier stop and had locked himself out of the cabin when his alarm went off. An hour before your stop the alarm by your bed rings then a few minutes later breakfast is delivered to your bed by the attendent. We arrived in Berlin at about 9am and as we looked at the map on the platform someone came and told us which train to get to our hostel. The hostel was cheap and cheerful but had the added bonus that we were the only ones in the dorm on the 1st night. It also had a shower, so we have both washed our hair and had a shower.
The sleeper train from Paris to Berlin was the closest I will ever get to flying first class! We had the top 2 bunks in a 3 berth cabin. Our cabin had a sink in a cupboard but the toilet and the shower were at the end of the corridor. The train was relatively smooth but still the idea of a shower wasn't appealing. I slept very well, though Suzannah felt like she spent most of the night awake. It didn't help that our cabin mate was getting off at an earlier stop and had locked himself out of the cabin when his alarm went off. An hour before your stop the alarm by your bed rings then a few minutes later breakfast is delivered to your bed by the attendent. We arrived in Berlin at about 9am and as we looked at the map on the platform someone came and told us which train to get to our hostel. The hostel was cheap and cheerful but had the added bonus that we were the only ones in the dorm on the 1st night. It also had a shower, so we have both washed our hair and had a shower.
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