 |
| A busy Berlin Street just a few hundred feet from The Wall - Berlin, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
IF I were tasked with describing Berlin in one word, it would be: "eclectic." Based on the pre-trip research I did, that should not have come as a surprise to me. What was surprising though, was the degree and depth of this diversity. The architecture of the city ranges from stately and grandiose classical, to modern buildings, to the quirkiness of brightly colored paint schemes and modern art. With its "museum island" the country certainly has its share of classical art and history. There is also a substantial modern art presence.
 |
| Berlin Cathedral Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
AT THE same time, street art shows up in nearly every corner of the city. Once pretty much considered (and often unwelcome) grafiti, this category of art - and if you observe it, the majority of it is most surely art - has proliferated world-wide. We saw some of the most impressive artwork we have seen in any other place in the world where we have observed it.
 |
| Modern Office Building - Berlin, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
AS I write the final chapters of our central Europe adventures (Berlin was our final stop), you will see evidence of all of the above dotted throughout my blog posts. I couldn't possibly include all of the really fun photographs I made during the 17 days or so we were in Europe, however. You can find them though: populated in new galleries, including a gallery dedicated to Berlin, on my LightCentricPhotography website, where Berlin gets it own additional category: "Eclectic Berlin." I hope you will visit there and enjoy the sights of Europe through my imagery.
 |
| Berlin Street Art Image Copyright Andy Richards - All Rights Reserved |
6 hours of travel and probably less than 6 hours to "see" Berlin? Nope!
 |
| Berlin, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
WITH A population of around 3.5 million inhabitants, Berlin is easily the largest of the cities we visited in Central Europe. It is the largest European Union city on the main continent of Europe (London, across the channel, is larger), and one of the handful of largest cities in Europe (Istanbul, Turkey is larger, also). Berlin is much less densely populated, and covers substantially more land area, however. To me, that made Berlin seem more wide open, and it reminded me a lot of some of our mid-western cities in the U.S.
.png) |
| Berlin, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
WE STAYED in The Hotel Sachsenhof, on the west side of West Berlin, toward Potsdam, in a nice, quiet neighborhood called Knollendorf. We were a 5-minute walk to the Knollendorf U (subway) stop. We found out later that we were only about a 15-minute walk to Potsdammer Platz a big, ritzy retail area. The hotel was quirky, but nice and after we got the "lay of the land," we realized it was really pretty convenient to amenities like restaurants and pubs and groceries if we might need them. It was pleasant. I do think though, that if/when we return to Berlin, I would like to stay more in the center of things - perhaps even in East Berlin, only because it is closer to attractions we were interested in. Fortunately the public transportation is very convenient.
 |
| Our Berlin Hotel Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
LIKE ALL the modern European cities, Berlin has a robust mass transit network that is relatively dependable, and is clean and safe. After the fiasco in Munich, we opted for the "Berlin Pass" which gave us unlimited use of all modes of transit within the city limits, including a boat tour, the busses, trams, subway and trains to and from the main airport (while we love mass transit for most things, we didn't really care for using it when we were schlepping our luggage, and we opted for an Uber to the airport on our last morning, so we didn't really take full advantage of the card - but the convenience and peace of mind of knowing we could get on and off, anywhere and any time was worth it to us). Each of these transit systems have their own scheme, and it always takes a bit to get the hang of them. By the second morning, we already had a pretty good lay of the land.|
 |
| Knollendorf U Station Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
WE TRY to schedule one of the local walking tours (very often as a food tour) as early as possible whenever we arrive in a new city. Berlin was no exception and after arriving and checking in to our hotel, we joined a small group of fellow Berlin visitors for just such a tour. By then, we knew where the subway stop was and what stop we needed to get off on to find our meeting point. Once again, with the help of Google Maps, we found our way without too much trouble. We would learn on that tour that one of the distinctions between West Berlin and East Berlin is that there are no trams in West Berlin. Once you realize that you see that there are no tracks anywhere on the West Berlin streets. Trams were as ubiquitous as the other cities we visited, however, in East Berlin.
 |
| Subway Train - Nollendorf Platz U - bahn station - Berlin, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
WE HAVE concluded over the years that we get the most "bang for the buck" with these walking "food" tours, which acquaint us with some of the important parts of a city, some of the food venues and opportunities, and a surprising amount of cultural and historical education. For this one, we met down in the center of the city, and walked more toward and in East Berlin than West. We really did get a feel for the very ecumenical food culture in Berlin. Our first stop was what I might characterize as middle eastern food. Very good and very interesting spices. Most of these places are more along the line of small bites food. We did get a taste of maybe the best baclava I have ever had. We had a couple other varieties, but no real "German" food like kraut, braten, roasted chicken and pigs knuckles, schnitzel. Which was fine. Fortunately, we had our fill of those in Bavaria and in Prague.
 |
| Popular Currywurst Shop - Berlin, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
As I researched things to do in Berlin prior to our trip, I learned that Berlin was a very cosmopolitan and culturally diverse city - particularly when it comes to food. I was warned not to expect the traditional "Bavarian" food (not that it couldn't be found - just that is was not the predominant dining option in Berlin). We found that to be true. We found a Mexican restaurant near our hotel that atoned for the the Munich "Mexican Restaurant." We found other good food. But one thing that surprised me the most about the food culture was that I liked something I was definitely prepared not to like. On line, I had read that when in Berlin you must try their special spin on Indian/German fusion: Currywurst. Although I have gotten better as I age and with experience, I have long had an aversion to so-called "Indian" food (which I - perhaps wrongfully - associate with curry). Therefore, "I don't eat curry." 😏 And it certainly didn't mix in my view with German sausage. But I have learned to at least try things. In London in 2021, I tried (and really enjoyed) another Indian "fusion" food: Chicken Tikka Masala. Here there was predictably a stop on our food tour for Currywurst. I tried it. I liked it (enough that I actually had it as a lunch entree a couple days later). So I continue to grow as a person. 😈
I had read that when in Berlin you must try their special spin on Indian/German fusion: Currywurst
OUR FINAL stop for the night was, Iinterestingly, a pizza place - which reminded me of decor and accoustics of the beer halls in Bavaria. The Pizza was good. So was the beer. All in all, the tour was fun, with some good information about the city. The food tour was our only formal excursion in Berlin. For our remaining couple days we went on our own.
 |
| Berlin, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2024 - All Rights Reserved |
Before you go anywhere I suggest that you read Mark Twain''s Innocents Abroad. You had the lay of the land in Berlin in six hours. Indeed. Where's all the good stuff? You do know that Berlin was the capital of the Nazi empire, yes? The history there is amazing. And, maybe you should contact MR in Prague for a refresher lesson on light, composition and general photography. Anyone who has ever passed that region knows him.
ReplyDelete