Nearly Neutral Travel

We boarded the train in Berlin for our four-hour trip to Bamberg further south.  It felt like our journey was really beginning now!  We really enjoyed the trip; it was a clean and modern train with toilets almost like in a hotel (rather unlike trains in the UK…) and we passed some lovely scenery. We spent the time watching beautiful small towns with tiny well-maintained gardens, rolling hills, forests and even a rainbow from our window.  We arrived in Bamberg without a reservation for accommodation, so we wandered round the streets with our big rucksacks and our trusty Lonely Planet guidebook to find somewhere to stay.  Our first choice of a hotel within a brewery (chosen for obvious reasons) wasn’t available, but we found another good option relatively easily.  Our hotel in Berlin had been very modern and somewhat anonymous; in contrast, this was a much older and more basic guesthouse with whitewashed walls, spartan furnishings and a shared bathroom, but also lots of character.  We were pleased to find breakfast was included and planned to take full advantage!  

We headed out to wander around the old town and had a pre-dinner pint of Bamberg’s speciality Rauchbier, which is said to taste just like smoked ham. Oli could taste it and rated it highly but Sara wasn’t so convinced, although she still managed two pints just to be sure! 

We ate dinner outside as it was a beautiful evening. Our German skills thoroughly let us down and we couldn’t understand any of the menu, but were presented with some German sausages and a pizza (a bit of a surprise – who knew flamegriller meant pizza?!) so all was well. On the next table were a group of extremely jolly local men who were singing and toasting at very regular intervals.  It really made us smile, they had obviously been taking full advantage of the excellent beer!  After dinner, we went back to the guesthouse for an embarrassingly early night.

We were a bit more successful at the bakery this morning and managed our Guten Morgens with ease! We went straight to the Reichstag dome, which is a modern glass dome on top of the older parliament building. Unfortunately, we both share an incurable ‘need for completeness’ so we couldn’t resist listening to every last entry on the free audio guide, which meant we learnt rather more than we intended about its history!  The views were amazing though, and we were so glad we chose a beautiful sunny, fresh morning and beat the crowds. 

Next, we were off to Checkpoint Charlie, which is a replica of the original checkpoint between the American sector and Soviet sector of Berlin. We spent a couple of hours at the museum, where we read lots about inventive ways people managed to travel from the East to the West (digging tunnels, flying over the wall, doctoring suspension in cars so the weight of people hidden in the boot was undetectable, kayaking across the sea…).  Neither of us would describe ourselves as particular museum fans, but this really was fascinating.  Again, so sad though.

We had a late lunch at Curry 36. There was a massive queue, which is always a good sign.  Everyone else seemed to know what they were doing when ordering, which is another good sign.  The pressure was on to get our order right! (Does anyone else get this?) We shared a currywurst, which consisted of wurst (sausage) chopped up, smothered in curry powder and ketchup and served with chips and mayo. It was delicious but perhaps not the healthiest snack!

In the evening, we went to Alexanderplatz and couldn’t resist some pick n mix when we saw it for sale.  A classic!  We then took a tram to Hackescher Markt which was all lit up and buzzing, a lovely farewell to the city.  Tomorrow morning, we leave for Bamberg.

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.