• Somewhere in Europe

Off again. Next stop Berlin😎

A short but fine adventure by Somewhere in Europe Read more
  • Trip start
    October 12, 2025

    Pestana Hotel Mitte Berlin

    Oct 12–17 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Our journey to the hotel was smooth and efficient. We were both hot and thirsty! Checked in and discovered the bar was not open until Tuesday!!! Unpacked, had some bottled water, and headed off to find food.
    We eventually found what turned our to be a very nice Italian restaurant where we enjoyed an excellent meal and a very good caraf of Montepulciano! Brisk walk back. A discussion about tomorrow. Lights out!
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  • Droitwich Spa

    Oct 12–17 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Up at 6am. Showered dressed, odds and ends packed. Breakfast eaten. Taxi at 8.55 to the station.
    Long queue for the Replacement bus to the airport but we did get on!
    Breezed into airport from the monorail and straight to Security. That's where it all slowed down a bit. I had downloaded Valerie's boarding card twice and not mine at all. Bit of a panto finding it, logging in, etc but eventually sorted🙂.We headed straight for two seats and had coffee and pastries..Read more

  • Sightseeing Berlin

    October 13 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Today we woke to sunshine. After breakfast, which was very good, we caught a bus to Brandenberg Gate. On our way, we visited the Holocaust Memorial. Very stark,oppressive monument but also makes a big impact. Hugely impressive. Visited tourist information to buy a Welcome Card each. Caused chaos as usual, but, eventually, all was well. We then went and booked our visit to the Reichstag. While in the queue, Valerie recalled having seen on film footage, he who must not be mentioned on the steps. It was very funny as we did not dare say the name out loud🤣. We then set off to find the Cathedral, but then discovered it wasn't open until Tuesday. Rather like the bar in our hotel! We found a cafe by the river where we had tea. 11 euros for 2 cups.
    We went back to the Tourist Information and irritated the nice man again for details of the Festival of Light and to mark our map with places of interest.
    Took the Hop on Hop Off bus and hopped off at Checkpoint Charlie. Visited the Black Box exhibition dedicated to the rise and fall of the Wall. By this time, we were shivering with cold, so hunted down a restaurant where we had a tapas meal and saw off a bottle of red.
    Walked along the Unter den Linden and saw the first area of the Light show. Fabulous! Walked back to Brandenderg Gate saw light show there, and then a taxi back to hotel. A very good, busy day in glorious sunshine. Very tired.
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  • Berlin Cathedral and 'The Wall' museum

    October 14 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We had rather a slow start this morning. Probably the booze.
    After breakfast we spent an entertaining time trying to work out how to get to Museum Island. We went by bus. It was a foggy damp morning. We visited Marien Kirche and then wandered off to look for the Catherdal, with a stop to check the map. First panic of the trip when discovered I had left my backpack on a bench in the park! Legged it back, and thankfully, it was still there intact.🙄

    We spent a couple of hours in the Cathedral listening to an audio guide.. We spent half an hour having coffee. I rang Vodafone about my lack of data roaming but gave up in disgust.
    We left the area on the underground, but not entirely sure our map reading was correct. More by luck than judgement, we arrived in the depths of what used to be East Berlin. A very strange feeling. Anyway we found 'The Black Box Wall Museum'. It turned out to be a very informative, moving, and, at some points, emotional visit. I then braved the wind and rain to take photos of a remnant of the original wall outside.
    We returned to Potsdamer Platz by underground. By this time, it was cold and raining. We found somewhere to eat. We both were presented with a huge mea,l after which we took the bus back to the hotel.
    Two gin and tonics later, after a one hour call to Vodafone, we sloped off to our room to drink Vodka and coke. We have yet managed to lay hands on a bottle of tonic!
    REICHSTAG TOMORROW!
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  • Reichstag Dome and Jewish Museum

    October 15 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    ,we took the bus to Potsdamer Platz and walked to the Reichstag. Went through security and then waited a while to be let in! Taken to rooftop in the lift. We walked round the exhibition set out there and then started the ascent of the dome. There is a pathway that winds round the inside edge of the dome, and the views over Berlin are spectacular. At the top, there is another viewing platform. Returning to ground level, we made our way down the Unter den Linden and found a coffee stop. I had hot chocolate with rum and cream, with an appfel strudel. Valerie had coffee and tiramisu.
    Off to the underground next to find the Jewish Museum. Deep in East Berlin, we found it. Spent some time there once the queuing, security, and panto about the audio guide were negotiated. It is a place to attempt over several visits. It chronicles the history of the German Jewish people from very early times. We decided at about 5pm to stop at 18th century, when we were too overloaded with information.
    Back to Unter den Linden for a meal in a German restaurant.
    We walked (read staggered) to the Dom to see it lit up as part of Festival of Lights, took in the Light show on the Brandenburg Gate again, and then flagged down a taxi to bring us back to the hotel. Another busy, interesting day.
    Last day tomorrow.
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  • Kurfurstendamm and Gendarmmarkt

    October 16 in England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    A slow start this morning. We took the bus to Stadt Mitte and walked to Gendarmmarkt. On one side of the square is the German history museum and opposite is The Franzosischer Dom.This church was built by the Huguenot Community and contains a Huguenot Museum, which we visited. The identical building opposite is not a church but contains the German history museum, which was very interesting. We enjoyed a private guided tour!
    Back to the underground we made our way, with one blip, to Kurfurstendamm. This is the posh shopping are. We made for the nearest cafe for a rest! We were both rather tired so after a wander round a couple of shops, we caught a bus back to the hotel.
    In the evening, we wandered off to try and find the 'Marlene' restaurant that we failed to find on Sunday. It was found inside the Intercontinental Hotel. We had a very good meal. In the bar back at the hotel, we enjoyed a 'digestif' before bed!
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  • Droitwich Spa

    October 17 in England ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Flight took off from Berlin on time, and landed in Birmingham 5 mins early.
    Made the 13.16 to Birmingham New Street easily. Said our goodbyes, and I caught the 13.50 to Droitwich. Taxi waiting.

    Another really interesting and enjoyable trip with the added bonus of good company and the Festival of Light.
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    Trip end
    October 17, 2025