Eastern Europe 2015: Day 1 Berlin [[ Sony Center + Toppertory of Terror + Charlie Checkpoint + East Side Gallery + Museum Island + Berlin Dome + Curry wrust + Vapiano ]]

Our Summer holiday to Eastern Europe coincided with the heat wave which was really an experience even for Singaporeans like us who live in a tropical island that shouts summer all year round!

No kidding, at 39 degrees everyday, sight seeing was made exceptionally tedious! Starbucks became much of our best friend! Having taken shelter and a cool drink ever so often...Still, we managed to see much of the Eastern Europe cities that we visited! :)

We flew in to Berlin frst before making a round trip to Krakow, Prague, Budapest and lastly back to Berlin. This trip was an eye opener to us, both the pretty and ugly side of Europe.

Pretty sceneries, majestic architectures and long histories. Most of it we have learnt from the internet and hear say from friends and family. However, no one ever told us about the right-in-your-face discrimination and hostility that still lingers within the cities. Like, really?

Of couse there are nice people we met along the way (thankfully!) but no way were we prepared for the confrontations from the many service staffs within the cities.

Oh well, it's okay since we are now back in our cohesive multi-racial nation! :)
*trying to be patriotic* :p

All right! So we arrived real early at Tegal airport after flying 14 hours! Since we were not able to check into our airbnb yet, we ended up taking our own sweet time to wash up at the airport before heading to starbucks for some coffee and breakfast!

Like OMG! The pratzel with cheese and ham was soooooo good!

We bought the Berlin card for 48 hours at €19.50 which entitles unlimited transportation within the city for 2 days! This can be purchased at the informatiom counter at Exit A.

The card need to be validated upon the first ride. There is a machine where it can be done. If not validated, even with the card, one will get fined if caught.

Our very nice bnb host allowed us to drop off our luggage before check-in hence we were able to start our day early, luggage free!

Since our airbnb was near the sony center, we made our way there by foot.

Sony Center
Address: Potsdamer Platz, 10785 Berlin, Germany
Sony center was one of the most futuristic architecture in Berlin. It houses many restaurants and cafes. The lego discovery center is also located within the building. Makes a great place for a relaxing meal!

We continued walking further down from Sony Center and arrived at the train station of Potsdamer Platz. For those who does not have time to travel out to East Side Gallery, do drop by this area. There is a mini showcase of the famous Berlin wall (authentic, non restored) and a brief write up on its history! :)

We continued walking and arrived at Topography of Terror. It is a free museum on the history of Hilter and the Nazi. Although the place was really crowded and touristy, it is still a very informative museum. It has an indoor musuem and an outdoor one. Start with the indoor before carrying on to the outdoor for a more complete picture of the history.

If you are a history buffer, do not miss this! A good 2 to 3 hours is required to thoroughly walk through history with Hilter and the Nazi.

Topography of Terror:
Address: Niederkirchnerstraße 8, 10963 Berlin, Germany
About 13 minutes walk from Sony Center

The famous curry wurst is available just opposite the street, beside a souvenir shop. We headed over to try the wurst. The walk over was a choice we never regretted! The curry wurst was sooOoo awesome! Highly recommended!!

As for souvenirs, there are two rows of shops selling all you need to get at Charlie Check Point. Hence, there is really no need for any rush to purchase the souvenirs.

Our last attraction for our walk trip before heading back to our airbnb to wash up, was, Charlie Check Point. Charlie Checkpoint is famously known as a crossing junction between the west and east Berlin Wall.

Apart for it being part of the history of Berlin, really, it was kind of a tourist trap! For every photo, per pax, that you wish to take with the "guards", a fee of €2 is required.

Like seriously?

Nope, we did not pay to take any photos with the "guards". Our money was better spent buying souvenirs!

Charlie Checkpoint:
Address: Friedrichstraße 43-45, 10117 Berlin, Germany
5 minutes walk from Topography of Terror

After our shower, we headed out almost immediately to the East Side Gallery. In my opinion, this is a must go! To some, it may come across as lame since the walls are restored and graffitised. However, we are pretty amazed by how long the wall stretches on! We had a great time walking from one end to the other, cam-whoring and admiring the graffitis.

East Side Gallery:
Address:Mühlenstraße, 10243 Berlin, Germany
Train S from Potdamer Platz to Friedrichstraße, change to Train RE2 to Ostbahnhof

about 28min

Next we headed to the Berliner Dom. Since it was past 5pm, we managed only the admission to the Dome and only took a stroll through Museum Island since the Museums were all closing.

Museum Island/Berliner Dom:
Address:Am Lustgarten, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Train S from Ostbahnhof or Warschauer Str. to Hackescher Markt
About 10-20min. Berliner Dom is a 7 minutes walk from Pergamon Musuem within Musum Island.
Berliner Dom, admission cost €7, is well worth the price with its magnificent interior architecture. Also, 267 stairs up the cathedral, led us up to the top where a bird eye view of the city awaits!

We took a short walk back to Alexander Platz to look for a dinner place. Along the way, we passed by a couple of structure attractions before arriving at the shopping streets.

The Fernsehturm is the Berlin television tower of Berlin. It is standing at 368 metres tall and is situated close to Alexander Platz. It can be spotted from various places because of its height! 

Berlin TV Tower:

Address: Panoramastraße 1A, 10178 Berlin, Germany

                          

Neptunbrunnen is the fountain located at Mitte, delicated to the Roman god of sea. Many can be seen sitting around the fountain, chatting and chilling the evening away.

We finally arrived at Alexander Platz. The main attraction within, other than the shops and cafes, it's the Weltzeituhr (Worldtime Clock). It is the world clock in Berlin that showcase the various timing in other cities in the world. 

We wandered around for a while before settling for Vapiano. Vapiano has a concept like Marche. Food are being prepared fresh when ordered. Hence, it may be slightly slow but guaranteed freshly cooked food! We enjoyed the food here a lot.

After dinner, it was 8pm but the skies were still bright! We walked around the shopping streets since the malls were closing. By 9pm, we were off to our airbnb for a seemingly early night. Skies turned dark only at 10pm and got bright at 5am the next morning!!!

Not bad for us since we were scheduled to start the day early too! :)
Stay tune for my update on our day 2 in Berlin.

Eastern Europe 2015: Day 2 Berlin [[ Reichstag + Brandenburg Gate + Memorial to Murdered Jews of Europe + Unter den Linden + Gendarmen Market]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 3 Krakow [[ Main Square + Cloth Hall + St. Mary Church + KoKo + Galeria Mall]]
Eastern Europe 2015: Day 4 Krakow [[ Wawel Castle +  Kazimierz, Jewish District + Galica Museum + Hero Square + Oskar Schindler's Factory]]
Eastern Europe 2015: Day 5 Krakow [[ Auschwit Concentration Camp ]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 6 Prague [[ Leo Express + Bredovsky Dvur + Main Square + Old Town + Charles Bridge]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 7 Prague [[Astronomical Clock Show + Old Town Hall Tower + Jewish District + Powder Tower + Manufaktura + Lokal + Kredenc]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 8 Prague [[Prague Castle + Petrin Hill]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 9 Budapest [[Market Square + Chain Bridge]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 10 Budapest [[Parliament House + Memorial of the Russian Army + St Stephan Basalica + Hero Square + Szechenyi Thermal Bath]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 11 Budapest [[Castle Hill]]
Eastern Europe 2015 Day 12 Berlin