Alex and I have been keeping pretty busy around Köln. Trying out new restaurants, taking German lessons and searching for a new apartment. We ended up finding a newer, much nicer apartment, with a great view! We are so excited to move in next month! And as of February 18th, we have officially been living in Köln for one year. To celebrate, we decided to take a weekend trip to Berlin.
We took a train and got into Berlin late Thursday night. It took us about 5 hours to get there but taking the train is such an easy way to travel. You don’t have to worry about traffic, you can take bathroom breaks whenever you need to and there is a bistro on board where you can buy food and drinks (Alex loves the beer tapper on board!).
We started Friday out with a cold and rainy, 3+ hour walking tour around Berlin. We got to see a lot of famous sites while hearing the history behind everything. Included on the tour was Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust Memorial, and the Brandenburg Gate. At one point in the tour, we walked past a very unassuming parking lot. Turns out, Hitler once had his underground bunker located in that exact spot (eventually destroyed and a parking lot was built over it by the city as a message to make the location as unmemorable as possible) where he and Eva eventually committed suicide. Once the tour was over, Alex and I warmed up by grabbing a drink at a nearby bar before heading to an Irish bar for dinner. The only reason I mention the Irish bar was because of the steak Alex ordered. It was brought out raw(ish) on a super hot stone plate where he was then able to cook it exact how he wanted it done. It was a fun way to serve a steak!
Saturday we decided to check out the East Side Gallery. It’s a large part of the wall that artists have completely covered with words and pictures. It’s very interesting to see. We spent a while just walking up and down the wall checking out all of the different scenes. The rest of the day was spent walking around Berlin, trying out different foods and sampling a few cocktails. We had a great trip to Berlin and hopefully we can make it back someday when the weather is a little nicer.
followthesunny.com 
Great weekend getaway, you two are really soaking up German history. Luckily it’s so interesting! Really sounds like fun!
LikeLike
Love the pics and narration, Sunny! Can’t wait to see the new apartment, too!
I want to see pictures of the fasching next week!
LikeLike
Glad you got to Berlin. When grandpa and I were in Berlin, we too saw Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Holocaust Memorial. Your new apartment sounds really nice. Glad for you. We are doing good. Looking forward to our trip to Jamaica. All inclusive for 7 nts. in March. Went to 2 of Tommy’s basketball games. He plays hard, and made 14 points last nt. but they lost. We had some very unusual warm weather for a while, but back to winter now. Keep well and safe. love to both of you grandma
From: WordPress.com To: jjhempel35@yahoo.com Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2017 2:14 PM Subject: [New post] Berlin, Germany #yiv8855653834 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv8855653834 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv8855653834 a.yiv8855653834primaryactionlink:link, #yiv8855653834 a.yiv8855653834primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv8855653834 a.yiv8855653834primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv8855653834 a.yiv8855653834primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv8855653834 WordPress.com | hempelsc18 posted: “Alex and I have been keeping pretty busy around Köln. Trying out new restaurants, taking German lessons and searching for a new apartment. We ended up finding a newer, much nicer apartment, with a great view! We are so excited to move in next month! And a” | |
LikeLike