8 June: Hop On Hop Off Berlin

We did nothing till 8.30. After a shower etc we went down to a fabulous breakfast, part of the room rate, so we had no excuse but to eat!

On the concierge’s advice, we started the day catching a bus to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Railway Station). We were doing a day trip to Leipzig the next day to join the Bach Festival, and because trains & stations are complex in Germany (they tell you not only which platform to choose but where on the platform you should stand!), I wanted to get the lie of the land beforehand.

It would have worked better if I had got the right bus! It had the right number, but as we eventually twigged, was heading away from the station. Reverse course!!

I’m glad we checked - about 1,000 trains arrive and depart from the 14 platforms every day! I was able to find out the where and when for the next day.

The Hauptbahnhof building is amazing, modern with escalators & lifts to every floor. See the photos.

We climbed aboard the Berlin City Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off bus, and headed to KaDeWe (“car-day-vay”), the largest department store in mainland Europe. (Only Harrods in London is bigger.)

Floors 6 & 7 are devoted entirely to a food hall/ deli/ street food. Clearly it’s very popular from the hordes of people we saw there! We enjoyed a lovely cooked lunch at the KartoffelAcker (Potato Field), and bought a few things.

The only other stop on the Hop On Hop Off route was the Reichstag (Parliament), but this was closed thst day Saturday, so we got a cab back to the hotel for a break.

We had a tour of the Philharmonie at 1645 - more on that tomorrow.

Early start on the morning!Read more