by Chandra Sekar Venkataramani Comment Closed

After reunification of East and West, Berlin is surely one among the best. Located approximately 650 kms to the northeast of Esslingen, it surely is a long journey in European standards. But in comparison to the Indian sub-continent, the journey can appear quite small as it only covers as much distance as in a Chennai-Kochi or a Chennai-Hyderabad drive.

After a 3-day vacation at Ingolstadt and Munich, February’s last weekend was a trip planned to Germany’s capital city Berlin.

(To read about my first vacation trip to Munich and Ingolstadt, follow the link http://thelanguedge.com/2017/02/21/my-first-vacatio…en-to-ingolstadt/)

Since direct trains from Stuttgart to Berlin were expensive for a student budget and anything cheaper required changing trains more than once, FlixBus was chosen for the trip (FlixBus is a private Omnibus services and among the cheapest options, especially preferred by students). Economical one-way tickets cost 20 €/person

Exploring Berlin by foot or bike

The beauty of Berlin is in the fact that so much history lies buried at the heart of the city. At a 2-km radius around the iconic Brandenburg Gate, one can spot numerous places of interest.

Branderburger Tor

A few noteworthy ones are: the German parliament building (‘Reichstagsgebaeude’) with its glass dome, the memorial of Jewish victims of WW2, the checkpoint that separated West and East Germany in the times of Cold war (referred to as Checkpoint Charlie), the sky-reaching world’s largest TV tower at Alexanderplatz and the modern square of Potsdamer Platz.

Fernsehturm
Das Auto – A Trabant 601, most common vehicle of former East Germany and a symbol of German reunification
Potsdamer Platz square. Berlin version of Times square

While exploring these places by foot is quite possible, one should bear in mind the weight of the travel bag pack (which can really weigh upon one’s shoulders). Another option can be to rent a bicycle for a day at 10-12 €. Bike rentals can be easy to locate in the central area.

Highlights and Tips from the trip

  • Our travel group consisted of 5 members including me. The others are friends from the Hochschule. Vacation trips are surely a wonderful way to strengthen friendships!

 

  • Both the onward and return FlixBus trips were night-trips in semi-sleeper buses with recliner seats. Charging points at every seat and one common WC were available on both. While the onward offered free Wi-Fi, the return lacked this. Overall they were quite comfortable.

 

  • While German parliament building allows free visitors, appointments are to be made online in their website. Info about details of all visitors are to be entered and then await confirmation with a time slot on the desired date of visit. Be present 15 minutes in advance. Remember that punctuality is essential in Germany.

 

  • The parliament building is an ideal place to start as the 360-degree view glass dome offers a beautiful and extended view of the city. Audio guides in 5+ languages (includes English) gives valuable information about the present day city’s landscape
Der Kuppel – or a dome as we know it!           (Glass Dome over Reichstagsgebaude)
Reichstagsgebaude – Parliament building
  • After all meticulous planning, weather can cause mischief to ruin the plans. Be sure to check the weather until the day before visit and dress/pack accordingly. Conservative steps are better. The Day 1 of our visit was really cold (0 to 5 deg) with strong winds, mild showers and an evening light-snow fall. Sunshine was hardly seen. Day 2 was mildly better in comparison.

 

  • Day 2 was spent mostly at the Berlin Zoo. Arctic wolves, Polar bear and Gorillas are among the Zoo’s specialities. Commented feeding sessions of animals is an interesting specialty and a way to know more about the wildlife. Disappointingly, the Aviary was kept closed for visitors due to bird flu cases reported in late 2016.
2 stone elephants at the entrance of the Berliner Zoo!
  • Travelling as a group of 5 allowed buying a day-ticket (‘Tageskarte’) at Berlin for 5 persons. This really brought down the costs/person. A reason to prefer group vacation trips!

 

  • A trip here is incomplete if the history of the Berlin wall is not looked back upon. We caught a glimpse of the East side gallery and the Berlin wall remains at Checkpoint Charlie.
East Side Gallery with Graffiti – Remnants of the Berlin wall
Checkpoint Charlie. There has been many a book / movie based on this. Und da bin ich!
und auch hier!

The overall trip costed just under 100 € all inclusive. Transportation costs (both the long distance and within the city for the 2days) were about 50% of the whole expenses. This can usually be the case if public transportation is opted for. Other expenses incurred were Bed and Breakfast at a youth hostel in Berlin for one night, the 10 € entry at Berlin Zoo (includes a map) and 3 outside meals.

Thanks to our plan of taking along food for breakfast and lunch of day 1, the expense stayed under 3-digit mark. Of course this does not include buying Souvenirs and acts of shopping ‘spree’ in the city with the river ‘Spree’!