We bought our (first) breakfast in a bakery near to our hotel, where we both got a bit tongue-tied so Oli only ordered one croissant for himself. Big mistake! We had to stop almost immediately to get him another. Sara ate hers sitting next to the fountain in Alexanderplatz, and was surrounded by tiny birds by the time she’d finished. They were so much cuter than London pigeons!
We headed off to see the Reichstag (parliament building) and the Brandenburg Gate, which was really impressive.
Next, we spent some time at the Holocaust memorial and its accompanying museum, which was a very sad experience but really worth visiting. The memorial was amazing, and managed to be simultaneously beautiful and sobering.
We found a bench near the Brandenburg Gate and ate lunch surrounded by street performers and watching the world pass by. While we were sitting there, we saw the most amazing beer bike, which was a massive bar (complete with beer pumps) and bar stools on wheels. On each stool was a set of pedals so that everyone could join in cycling around Berlin while drinking their German beer. Brilliant! Next, we strolled down Unter den Linden, which was full of activity and had a similar feel to the Champs-Élysées in Paris. We saw the Book Burning memorial, then wandered through the Museums district and stopped for Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake – an excellent German tradition, in Sara’s view). We decided to stay a bit longer as suddenly the heavens opened. We were well prepared though!
When the rain eased, we headed to Hachescher Markt, and we really liked this area. It had cosy courtyards, cool people and nice shops. Later, we went out for dinner here but got a bit confused and ordered schnitzel rather than the wurst we had planned – a bit of a surprise but still tasty. Not the most successful day of food-ordering! We topped the evening off with some drinks in a bar, and didn’t get that bit wrong.
