A weekend in Berlin

It's almost incredible that i needed so much time to actually get to visit Berlin. But I finally made it and had a great time with excellent weather. 

Getting there 

If you fly in, you'll reach either Tegal or Schonefeld (SXF) airport. We come from Brussels and landed in SXF. 
From there you can easily get the train to the center. You can stop according to your needs at several of the train stops. The cost of the one way ticket is around 3.2 Euro (June 2019). 

Accommodation 

In my head Berlin was supposed to be cheap, but when it comes to accommodation, I can't say it was that cheap if you want to stay in the center. 
We stayed at Wombat's CITY Hostel with 50Euro per pers per night for 2 nights in a double room, private bathroom, no breakfast. You can get separate breakfast for 4.9 Euro which you need to pay cash (as of 10 Euro you can pay by card). It's a decent breakfast (hostel level). 
They have a great terrace which offers some amazing views over the Television tower. 
And the Location is awesome. 
The downside to it: very uncomfortable beds & horrible wifi

Day 1: Attractions - 22 km

After a bit of review on what to basically see in one day I made a nice plan which I will share with you. 

Berlin Wall Memorial 

We started the day with a more emotionally difficult part so that we can have the whole rest of the day time to refill with good vibes. 

The area is well organized and so you can get quite a lot of information about the wall and the history around it 

Museum Island

"is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the site of the old city of Coelln. It is so-called for the complex of internationally significant museums, all part of the Berlin State Museums, that occupy the island's northern part [...] In 1999, the museum complex was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites."  (Source)

Bode Museum

"It was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. Originally called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after Emperor Frederick III, the museum was renamed in honour of its first curator, Wilhelm von Bode, in 1956. [...] The museum it is now the home for a collection of sculptures, Byzantine art, and coins and medals." (Source)

Berlin Cathedral

"The current building was finished in 1905 and is a major work of Historicist architecture of the "Kaiserzeit". [...] Berlin Cathedral has never been a cathedral in the actual sense of that term since it has never been the seat of a bishop. The bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg (under this name 1945-2003) is based at St. Mary's Church and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin." (Source)

Alte Nationalgalerie

"in Berlin is an art gallery showing a collection of Neoclassical, Romantic, Biedermeier, Impressionist and early Modernist artwork, part of the Berlin National Gallery, which in turn is part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. It is the original building of the National Gallery, whose holdings are now housed in several additional buildings."  (Source) 

BREAK: Bratwurst 

If you go to Germany, you need to try at least one bratwurst. So while waling around the city towards our next attraction, we decided for an adhoc break and a bratwurst.  

Brandenburger Tor

"The Brandenburg Gate is one of Berlin's most important monuments - a landmark and symbol all in one with over two hundred years of history. A former symbol of the divided city, it drew visitors who used to climb an observation platform in order to get a glimpse of the world behind the Iron Curtain, on the other side of the barren "death-strip" which separated East from West Berlin, geographically and politically. It was here that on June 12, 1987, Ronald Regan issued his stern command to his cold war adversary admonishing him with the words: "Mr. Gorbachov - tear down this wall!". The speech delivered to West Berliners was also audible on the east side of the Gate and echoed President von Weizsacker's words which translate as: "The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed." (Source)

BREAK: Brezel & Beer

And if you are in Germany, on top of beer what you should for sure not miss is the Brezel. It's so amazing :)

"The ideal pretzel, has a dark brown, crispy, salty crust, and inside a soft dough. It has a plump "body", and thin, crispy (not dry) crossed "arms." [...] the Laugenbrezel is accredited to the Bavarians. The saga goes that on the morning of February 11, 1839, Anton Nepomuk Pfanenbrenner, the baker for the Munich Royal Cafe, was preparing some sweet pretzels for his guests. He wanted to brush the pretzels with sugar-water, but accidentally used the Natronlauge, the sodium hydroxide solution being used to clean and disinfect the bakery countertops. The baker decided to bake the pretzels anyway. The pretzels came out of the oven with a unique brown crust, soft center, and delicious taste. His guests were very pleased and he became the "pretzel hero." (Source & more info)

Unter den Linden Street

You can find here all next to each other several important buildings in between which Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin State Opera, Memorial to May 10, 1933 Nazi Book Burning.

Urban Nation Museum for Urban Contemporary Art

URBAN NATION MUSEUM is an international institution for art, creative projects and social exchange. Since September 2017 URBAN NATION shows under the leitmotif "Connect. Create. Care." that the house is far more than a museum. (Source)

Berliner Kunsthaus

I am not sure what they generally show here, but when we passed by (by mistake) we found an interesting expo. Here some Pictures. 

BREAK: Craft Beer at BRLO Brwhouse

Elephant with Earth Balloon by Jadore Tong

Address: Wilhelmstrasse 7 

"The painting not only impresses with its strong colors, but also reflects Berlin's multi-culture and diversity. The Berlin-based artist Jadore Tong, with roots in France and Cambodia, immortalized his traces in the German capital and left a colorful spot here." (Source)

Check Point Charlie  

"was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. [...]After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction. (Source)

Souvenirs 

Like in all big cities & touristic places, the souvenir industry went completely nuts and you can find all things you can imagine and more. Unfortunately to all this, is that quality is often forgotten and you just pay a lot of money of poor quality (kitsch) products. While walking in Berlin and also found similar shop in Dresden, I must say that some nicer products you can find at Ampelmannshops* (LINK) 

United Buddy Bears

One of the first things I saw when we arrived in Berlin (city) was a Bear with a map :P and then several others around the city. 

Buddy Bears is the name given to painted, life-size fiberglass bear sculptures developed by German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with sculptor Roman Strobl. The raised arms of the standing Buddy Bears are aligned on the dissemination of friendliness and optimism, and thus mediate a positive mood. "The Buddy Bear has become an unofficial ambassador for Germany and is a symbol of Berlin since 2001. The story of the Buddy Bears started with an artistic event in Berlin in 2001. Inspired by the idea of bringing art in the streets of a metropolis like the cow parade in Zurich and New York."  (Source)

Dinner at Burger Vision 

After all the walking around, we were a bit tired & so did not want to go far a way from the hostel we were staying. We found this Burger place close by, if in the area it's worth a shot. 

Day 2: Stretart - 18 km

I know I named this day the streetart day, BUT I don't not want to make it hard to look at for all those who are not into streetart. No worries, I am adding a separate post only with streetart. You will be able to find it soon in the Streetart tab

Breakfast at Rose Garden 

We saw this place from the moment we approached the hostel as it looked super pretty. So I really wanted to give it a try. It was an interesting experience: The food is ok, nothing outstanding but ok. BUT the service that is hard to describe. So we ordered a portion of the avocado bread and a portion of the 3 sunny side up + extra feta. After a long wait we got the avocado bread and a portion of poached eggs. We asked to switch as we ordered sunny side ups and they tried to explain us that those are sunny side ups (btw...this all was going on in GERMAN! - thank god for my mom forcing me to learn :)). Anyway in the end with got what we ordered except for the feta which never came. We had to ask for cutlery as if there was any way to eat with your hand. And in  the end we ordered 2 espressos and we got macchiatos. In the view of not trying again to explain the difference between the 2 we had the macchiato.   

East Wall

We took a bus and off we went all the way to the East Wall. That's the one will all the streetart. I add you below some of the most relevant ones 

Area Around Revaler Strasse

This area in Berlin reminded me a lot of Christiania in Copenhagen and of Metelkova in Ljubljana.  

Oberbaum Brucke

This is one of my biggest fails while in Berlin. I mean, i passed the bridge a few times and in the and i only got to take this picture, while the best party is the bridge itself (:|)

BREAK: Freischwimmer

Located close to the Badeschiff, this place is quite nice to enjoy a beer/drink in the sun. 

Streetart: ROA

Address: Oranienstrasse with Skalitzer Strasse 

Streetart: The Astronaut by Victor Ash

Address: Mariannenstrasse

Dinner: Imren Grill

Hate me, if you don't think I am right, but I still believe that the Donners in Dresden are the best (Dueruem Kebab Haus or Babos - Neustadt) 

Television tower different hours of the day 

Being so tall, you can see it from everywhere. Here some shots I got of it: 

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*this is not a sponsored post. I am listing them here as from what I saw around it looked the best for my personal taste :)