A one-day trip to Berlin is a difficult decision, believe me. Berlin is a city I have never been to. I don’t know why I’ve traveled to Europe twice and never been interested in Germany. Once I went to Berlin, I regretted why I only allocated one night. The city is beautiful and the ambiance is pleasant.
Once inside the Netherlands-Germany border, there are no speed limit markers. This means that the car can go as fast as possible. Naturally, Germany is famous for its car production. There are 16 car brands produced by this country, including Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Opel, Volkswagen, and so on. The distance between Amsterdam and Berlin is about 668 km, and without realizing it, we took only 5 hours and 30 minutes. Even then, I had time to stop by at a restaurant in one of the rest areas.
One secret about restaurants in rest areas: free toilets. In the rest area, most of the toilets are paid.
The first destination in Berlin was the Hard Rock Cafe to buy a t-shirt. Hard Rock Cafe is located in the Kurfürstendamm district, one of Berlin’s most famous streets. The street is renowned for being filled with various kinds of cafes, restaurants, and branded shops, making it a paradise for people who love to shop.
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I stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson in the Alexanderplatz area. This area is one of the landmarks where the Berliner Fernsehturm TV tower stands, along with transportation centers such as trams, buses, trains, and many shops and cafes/restaurants.
Right next to the hotel is Primark, a cheap department store. When I travel to England, we do a lot of shopping at Primark there. I again regret that I only spent one night in Berlin. I really wanted to go to Primark that night, but I preferred to find a place to eat since the children were starving. As someone who eats rice, dinner is incomplete without it.
I walked to Chickenbuzz, which was about 1.3km away. The streets were a bit dark but not too quiet, as it was still around 9 pm. I ordered take away popcorn chicken, fries, wings, drums, and rice. According to the review at that time, Chickenbuzz served halal chicken, and there was a halal logo on the door. However, upon checking again now, this restaurant doesn’t seem to be labeled halal anymore.
The next morning, I was ready to explore Berlin on foot. If you do the calculations, the estimated distance is around 8km on foot from the hotel with the following routes:
Berliner Dom
This cathedral church is one of Berlin’s main landmarks. I passed it on my way to the Brandenburg Gate. You can go up to the Dom to get a beautiful view of the city of Berlin by paying an entrance fee (around 7 Euro). It’s adjacent to Museum Island (Museumsinsel), where there are 5 museums.
The Reichstag
This is the German Parliament building with a glass dome that also offers a cool view of the city of Berlin. At the same time, you can also observe when members of parliament are meeting or doing work activities. Unfortunately, I found out too late that I could go up to this glass dome for free as long as I booked online a few days in advance. I only took pictures from the outside.
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor) is a historical symbol of the city of Berlin and a symbol of unifying East and West Germany because in front of this gate lies the Berlin Wall that separates the two countries. On top of the pillars, there is a quadriga or 4 horses carrying Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory. From a distance, walking straight from the Brandenburg Gate, you can see the Siegessaule, the Statue of Victory. I decided not to go there and immediately turned in the opposite direction.
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Holocaust Memorial
I found an iron plate on the street with a picture of Gorbachev. It said that Gorbachev’s policies of “glasnost” (openness) and “perestroika” (reforms) inspired East Germans to unite immediately.
The Holocaust Memorial, which is made to commemorate the occurrence of the Holocaust, the massacre of approximately 6 million Jews during World War II, perpetrated by the Nazis under Hitler’s leadership. There are about 2,711 inscriptions in the form of concrete boxes.
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Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz
Little remains of the Berlin Wall, and there are several places in Berlin to commemorate the Berlin Wall, which once stretched 168km, dividing Germany in two from 1961 to 1989. One of them is at Potsdamer Platz. Potsdamer Platz is the closest to our route. Nearby, there is a Starbucks, which is a place for us to warm up for a while and then use the restroom.
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It turns out that the remains of the Berlin Wall ruins are on display in almost all parts of the world as mementos.
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie was once one of the nine border gates of the Berlin Wall. This gate was reserved for allied soldiers and foreigners. The existing checkpoints are only replicas, flanked by KFC and McDonald’s. Nearby, there is a roadblock in the form of information boards related to the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. I didn’t stay long here, bought some souvenirs, and then walked back to the hotel.
Actually, not far from here is the Topography of Terror, the location of the former Nazi headquarters, which was later rebuilt into a museum and also uses part of the Berlin Wall as an exhibition space. It’s a good idea to come here if you have enough time because it looks quite interesting and it’s free.
I don’t feel satisfied with just a one-day trip to Berlin; there is a passion to explore more, but I don’t have the time I need.
