Berlin is a great city, with an important story. And with the most important event in the XXth century in Germany: of course, I mean the fall of the wall.Is nice, with lots of things to see and to do. It will make you think and reflect and you will be in love forever with it. Is not very expensive, if we compare with other cities like London, Paris or also Barcelona, and in summer there is a very agreeble weather. Sometimes maybe you'll feel that its History is in every step you do, and you still can feel the sadness of the time of the Wall or the time of the II World War, but at the next second, you will discover something happy and its light.
What you can not miss when you'll go to Berlin:
- To see the city
- The Branderburg Door
- Reichstag (the German Parliament)
- The cathedral
- The Museums Island
- Postdamer Platz
- The Wall
- Alexanderplatz
- Synagog and Jewish center
- Charlottenburg Castle
- Television Tower
- Holocaust Monument
- Natural History Museum
- The Column of the victory
- The Check Point Charlie
- Pfaueninsel Island (out of the City)
- Spandau Fortress (out of de City)
As you see, lots of things for discover and to see. You'll never forget Berlin.
13th august 2007
We start our travel to Germany, thinking if it will be true the urban legends about the unlimited speed, the freeway with a lot of lanes. We don't see any with more of three lines for every direction but they are straight and they are in the best state. When you pass close of a city, the limited the speed maybe to 100 km/h (now I don't remember) but then, you have unlimited speed, and you can fly. At once, we start to see how are the German cars: all we see is Mercedes, BMW, Audi, ... y all go more than 200 km/h. We go at 210 and the cars do lights so that we let they the free way. I don't want to look the speedometer, I don`t want to now what speed we have. I don't have any sensation of speed but I can't avoid to thing in the consequencies. While, I preferto concentrate in the guidebook, to see what is interesting there.
With the speed we have, you can know that we take a little bit more than 5 hours in doing the 800 km that there are between Luxemburg and Berlin. With the GPS we look for an Ibis, to 7 km from the centre and next to the Freeway. We find the Etap, we ask and they have place, so we installate ourselves. We eat something and go to discover the German Capital.
We park the car not fat from the Check Point Charly, the frontier position that was separating the American area of the Soviet area in the epoch in which the wall was isolating Berlin of the rest of the world. I don't remember the price of the hour in the parkplace, but is cheaper than in Barcelona. In fact, almost you can not go to Barcelona by car. All is becoming so expensive. We walk along a street that must be the equivalent of the Elysean Fields in Paris, with a lot of Glamour shops: Channel, Massimo Duti, Prada, etc. And suddenly we see her, so majestic, impassive to the passage of the time. I'm talking about the Brandenbug Door. We make some photos from diferent places and we pass across her. It start to rain a little, but it stops early. Is the second time we hace to open the umbrella in this travel, the first one was in Paris, the day we go to see the Eiffel Tower.
Near of the Brandenburg Tower, there is the Reichstag, the German Parliament. In front of there is a very nice and green park. You can visit the rooms where the plennery meetings are done, but the schedules are restricted. However, the crystal dome at the top of the building can be visited every day and it's free. There is a queue but we don't have to wait much. In a few minutes, we are in the lift that takes you to the dom, previous step along the metal detector. Is so nice to walk over there above, you can see the below floor and the dom is just above of us. There is a terrace and you can go out to have a very good view of the Brandenburg Door. After that, we walk along the 17th june Street, with beautifuls parks in the both sides. The sun is shining now and it's hot.
We find the Soviet Memorial and two tanks, some sculptures,... This avenue is very long, we are walking a lot. At the end, we see the Column of the Victory, a golden column wich is in the middle of a traffic cercle and when before the used to celebrate the Hit Parade. I tell you the brieg story about the column: it was built at the end of the XIX century because of the victory in the War of the Duchies, the War French and Prussian and the War of Seven Weeks, althoug its original place was in front of the Reichstag. Then, the Nazis put it on the current place.
After to make some phographs, we come back to the Door again. This time the way was longer because we were tired and we were thisrty. It's so hot. Whe he arrive to the Door, we buy some souvenirs and we take the car to visit the Olympic Stadium. It's closed, but we see the surroundings and Javi buys a scarf for him collection, the Hertaps one, of course. The night comes and we decide to eat something. We park in a sligthly central street and we go to a Pizzeria. The menu is only in German and we don't speak nothing of this language (nowadays I can speak a little). As I like everything, I put my finger in one pizza and I demand it for eat. Javi had to ask for some ingredients to make sure he likes, althoug the waiter don't speak English very well. My pizza has a very good flavor but it's terribly spicy. I had the sensation that I was going to throw fire for the mouth in any moment, like a dragon. I couldn't finish it.
Then, we went to the hotel. And do you know what we see in the middle of the city? A fox. yes, the tipycal fox with the white tail. At first, we thought it was a dog, but at the light of the streetlights we see it good, and we saw it vas a fox. What was it doing at the city? We don't know but some time after I read a report that said that is very usual to see foxes in Berlin. We loved it, because we love the animals.
14th august 2007
We start the day visitting the Charlottenburg Castle. Is cheaper than Versalles. What surprises will keep inside? At 9 o'clock we arrive and practically we are alone. I take an audioguide and we start to visit it. We are alone doing the itineary and it's a delight, without the people bothering. This time, we can enjoy ourselves with the pictures and all we see: the sofas, the rooms, the objects, ... We make a photo but suddenly a security man comes to tell us that is forbidden. It's a pitty because is the first time we can make photos with anybody, but we can't do it. So, I put some photos of Internet. The inside is similar as Versalles but has some different points. Is so beautiful and smart. I think that, as I can't make photos I will buy some postcards in the shop at the end of the visit. what more attracts attention of me is a very long put table as if it was going to celebrate right now a banquet. Detail is not missing. It's so interesting, knowing that all of is on the table is so ancient. Of course all are made of massive sylver and gold. I'm sure taht if we catch one of these, we have half solved life... 
The castle has also a very big garden, beautiful and with a big pond in the middle. Is much small than the Versalles one and not as beautiful. You can cover it on foot. Today is also a very suny and hot day. There are two buildings to visit in the garden: the Belveder Palace, where a porcelaine collection is exposed, and a mausoleum, where the sarcofagus of some of the Kaisers. We can see the tombs. 
After the visit in the castle, we go to the Natural History Museum. The truth is that we are not sure if visit the museum or the Check Point Charlie, wich is a thing you can not miss. All about the wall is exposed. But at the end, we decide to visit the museum because there are some dinosaurs skeletons to real size and Javi wants to see it. Here, the queue is not as pleasant. It's 12 o'clok and there are a lot of people. I don't remember the price of the ticket but is not expensive and the museum is enormous. If you want to visit it pacefully, you need 4 hours more or less, but we saw it in more than 2 hours. It was so full and you can stop very much. It has three floors. The main one is where are the dinosaurs skeletons and a lot of fossils. I was so impressed for the skeletons. Found these animals in the forest while you were walking, it must be amazing. It allied the sorrow only that's why, but there were still many other surprises for discovering. Then, in the first floor arte he big part of the animals that exist in the hole world. First you find the place were are the buterflies and insects. Then, there are a lot of windows with a lot of animals: fish, birds, ... And at the end, the big animals. I hope they are sinthetic and they are not dissected. 
On the last floor it's all envolved with how the planet was created and the prehistory. We loved the museum. Now, it's more than 3 o'clock and we are hangry. We take the car and go to the Alexanderplatz, where is the Neptune fountaine and the red hall. Near, you can find the Tv tower. You can take the lift and go up to see unbeliveable views. We don't go up. In this moment, we find a turkish bar and we decide to eat something. This time there are photos of the food, and despite all is in German again, is easier to choose something. This time I'm more luchy and the food is not spicy. It's so good. Whe we finish, we walk along the Alexanderplatz and we make photos while we eat a refreshing icecream.
Now is time to see the Museums Island. As its name says, the big part of the museums are there and is a very nice place with a lot of parks. It's call an island because the river surrounds it. I like to visit some, but we have enough of museums today, maybe the next time, althoug I would like to visit he Egyptian Museum. Near ot he Cathedral there is a stand with caps and sovietic souvenirs. Now it's 5 in the evening and we think in visit two places out of the city: The Spandau Citadel and the Pfaueninsel Island (peacock island).
First we go to the Citadel. Is a kind of small fortress in the middle of the Havel River and it has a little pedestrian area to walking. There is not much ambience, well in fact we are quiet alone...There isn't any box office, so it seems it's free, so enter. I can read on the guidebook that there is a little armory museum and another one, but it seems they are closed. We don't care, we walk by the area and we drink something. We are so fine here. Oh, what a beautiful holydays...
After that we go to the Pfaueninsel Island. To enter, you have to turn aside for a way. We don't have word to describe the breathtaking scenery that we see across the window of the car. Is amazing that a big forest can exist as near as a big city like Berlin. We park the car in a parkplace, also free, and we look at a poster with the information and itinearies to do. There are a lot of ways to do by foot or by bicicle. We walk for a while and see the lake, a little cab and a dock from the ships go to the island. I ask to a man how it cost a trip and he tells me 2 € going and return. I'ts very cheap, so we buy the tickets and in a few minutes we can take hte ship. Is big but strange. Cars fit even. There are banks to seet and less more. We wonder how it takes the trip, but we discover it in... 5 seconds maybe?? The distance is scarcely 200 metres. We can't stop lauging, we can do it swimming!! Is normal that the trip is so cheap. Then, when we arrive, we start to see the island. It's all so beautiful, we are surprised. There 
is a little house with a garden and we see another fox like we saw yesterday in the evening. It comes near us and we make some photos, but it's scared of us. We seat in the grass to rest and enjoy of this moments of peace. There are some people, but they are far. We can say that we are practically alone. The twilight comes and we decide to do the long travel to the other side. We come back to the hotel. Another beautiful day is done. Tonight we will eat with our food. Our next place will be Munich.
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