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Published: June 26th 2017
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Geo: 52.5235, 13.4115
Today started with an early start to get to the airport. We did get stuck a little in traffic, but made it in plenty of time. Even had time spare for coffee (we always have time for a coffee!). We arrived at the gate nice and early to get on the plane and then it was announced it was overbooked and they were offering people 200 euros not to fly today & get the next flight. Nicky had to restrain Simon - the offer of 400 euros for us both and the chance to do more work was a big temptation.
After the restraints had been lifted we boarded the plane (already delayed at this point) and we were informed that there could be an hour delay! Luckily the pilot managed to get this down some time.
Once in Berlin we were welcomed with apparently 31 degrees heat and we headed to the station to find the train. Luckily our hotel is quite near the man station so we popped in and dropped the luggage off.
Now we were ready to explore!! First stop was the Crown Prince Bridge - to be honest this was a little disappointing as it was
a boring white bridge! Anyway onwards and upwards we headed down to Paul-Lobe Haus which is a government building and this was massive! This guy was responsible for helping to rebuild Germany after events. Then we headed down through the park and saw from afar the Reichstag and Brandenburg Tor - however, these were to be fully explored another day. We arrived at the Potsdamer Platz - this used to be the hub of Berlin before the wall was erected through this and the area became a wasteland. It is now fully established again, however there was a few panels of the wall on display.
We then headed to Arkaden which is a huge shopping centre with 120 shops (but we were only allowed to gaze longingly in the window). We did stop for a well earned cold drink and slice of cheesecake. Once refuelled we walked onto the Sony centre which is full of cafes but has an amazing roof. This was the hive of activity as the were hosting the premier of Baywatch this evening.
We then considered going into the Legoland Discovery Centre, but we thought we would look out of place with all the children, plus Simon said that they probably didn't have the Millennium Falcon and he did! We instead walked on and admired the Berlin Philharmonic building. But as we aren't orchestra fans we skipped any performances!
Spurred on we went to the Memorial to the German Resistance. The memorial itself was a bit of an anti-climax but there was a Museum that told the stories of those who tried to fight against Hilter and the Nazis. After this we walked through the Tiergarten park - which is a huge open park which was so peaceful and beautiful. We wondered through paths and different gardens till we reached the Victory Column. This was a huge Column in the middle of busy roundabout and it was very pretty. The last stop on the list for the day was the Bellevue Palace - this is were the President of Germany lives and really puts a shame on number 10!
We now needed a well earned drink and food. So after some naviagational issues we returned to Potsdamer Platz and found a bar to have a drink, before heading to a nearby diner for some food. Then it was a ride on the U-train back to the hotel for a good night sleep.
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