Germany is my favourite country and I’ve been there more times than I can remember. I spent a good amount of my first five years or so in Germany, mostly around Offenbach, at my Nanna’s flat. In the summer, we’d jump in the car to further explore the country (well, West Germany). Most of my memories come from photographs and home videos.
My Nanna eventually moved back to England and I didn’t visit Germany again until 2004. I spent a few weekends in Düsseldorf and Cologne – mostly visiting for music related events. They’re both really great cities, but I didn’t see a great deal and the only things that stand out are: the Cathedral in Cologne, double decker trains, an amazing zoo in Gelsenkirchen and shopping mall that’s a carbon copy of Sheffield’s Meadowhall.
Now the background history is out of the way, I’ll get to the point of this post – Berlin is great! I first visited Berlin late 2006 for, yes, a pop concert. I worked out that I spent 26 hours in the city. Definitely not enough time to appreciate it. I’d wanted to visit for so long, that I left feeling really disappointed. Before heading back to Tegel the morning after the concert, I was given a quick walking guided tour of the key sights, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression. The hostel we stayed in was great – lots of bright and colourful Berlin-centric graffiti.
Very rarely do I visit a city I’ve already been to. I prefer to spend my money going somewhere I haven’t been to before (there’s too much to see and not enough money and time!) However, I knew Berlin had more to offer and decided to give it another chance. I travelled there with my sister in March, 2008 and loved it so much that I went back in October with Peter. Both trips were pretty much identical because I wanted to show Peter everything I had discovered with my sister.
The Zoo is one of my favourite places, but that’s probably because bears are my favourite animals and they have lots, including polar bears and a panda. My sister was happy with the elephants and monkeys and Peter enjoyed feeding goats.
We spent a lot of time just walking around, trying to get lost and seeing what gems we’d stumble upon off the beaten track. I enjoy doing this when in a new city. Took in all the usual tourist sights: Brandenburg Gate, Alexanderplatz, Holocaust Memorial, Reichstag (go at night), old watch towers, bits of wall, Potsdamer Platz (which we made a song about) etc.
Here’s a word of advice, if you spot these guys at Checkpoint Charlie offering to stamp your passport – DON’T DO IT. I made the mistake of offering my passport to be stamped and apparently, it invalidates your passport. At the time, I thought, this can’t be right? My real passport? But handed it over, regardless. A friend of mine had her passport taken off her when she returned to the UK after having this done. Luckily, customs haven’t discovered the stamps in mine yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Unfortunately, my three trips to Berlin have been fairly brief, so there’s still so much more I need to see. I really like the idea of the bicycle tour Katie took and visiting the Stasi Museum. It’s a shame I finished reading Stasiland after my last visit.
If I had to live somewhere other than London, I’d definitely choose Berlin. I love it.
