Berlin is massive, so massive that it is actually it's own German state with an area of 344 square miles!
When I first went to Berlin in 2012, I spent less than 36 total hours there and I hated it. I thought it was a dump. It rained the whole time and the place was dreary. As I look back in retrospect, that my opinion of Berlin wasn't fair. When I went back last summer, we stayed for five days in the city and I fell wholeheartedly in love. What I thought made Berlin ugly (the graffiti and battered buildings) was what made it uniquely Berlin. The city, as we all know, has not had the best history and what we see today is the story of Berlin.
There is so much to do in Berlin and I suggest you do everything you can possibly do in your trip to the capital of Germany. I suggest staying more than two days though you can see most of all the touristy stuff in two days if you are determined!
Take a walking tour!
We took a walking tour that met at our hostel in Berlin (East7 located in Prenzlauer Berg). There were two different tours we could take, the first was only a few hours and was free but we opted for the 6 hour, 12 Euro one which was worth every penny. Our tour guide, Jonathon was awesome, very knowledgeable and hilarious. We saw every major spot in Berlin including parts of the Berlin Wall, Check Point Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, New Synagogue, Museum Island, Humboldt University (where the Nazi burned books--across the street is tables full of books that are sold everyday to ensure that books will always remain despite what has happened in the past), and the
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (to name a few).
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| New Synagogue |
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| Jewish Children Memorial |
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| Street Art |
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| Berlin Wall-East and West Boarder |
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| Jewish Memorial |
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| Me and Allison in front of Brandenburg Gate at the end of our tour |
Museum Island
This was my favorite spot to be in Berlin. It is absolutely beautiful. The layout of the Museums and the Berlin Dome make for a picturesque spot. There is the Old and New Museum, the Old National Gallery, Pergamon Museum, and Bode Museum. You can get a museum pass for a single day or three days (Between 18 and 24 Euros) and you can also get a Berlin Card and get other great discounts!
We got a day pass and didn't realize it until about three hours before all the museums closed so we did a very fast pace tour of them. It wasn't awful though, we saw lots of beautiful art and even the famous bust of Nefertiti!
My personal favorite museum is the Old National Gallery or Alte Nationalgalerie.
It which houses Monets and my personal favorite, Adolph Menzel. He painted my favorite painting:
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| Flötenkonzert Friedrichs des Großen in Sanssouci or Flute Concert for Friedrichs (roughly translated!) |
The TV Tower
Seen from virtually everywhere in Berlin, this is a great way to see every inch of Berlin. Get in line to take an elevator to the top to see what you can. The ticket to the top will cost you about 13 Euros and you can spend as much time as you want, they even have a bar! Naturally, they have a gift shop too and lots of history to read. The TV tower is essentially their version of the Empire State building so if you'd want to see that, you'll want to see this.
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| Brandenburg gate and the Tiergarten |
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