Germany > Getting to Know Berlin

At the breakfast table, the breakfast is ready. Yesterday we were able to indicate how many bread rolls we wanted, which toppings, and whether we wanted coffee or tea. Everything is prepared. After breakfast, we pack our luggage and leave Osnabrück. Our first destination is the garage in Melle. When we arrive at the TUF garage, several cars are already waiting in line. This could take a while. I go inside. The mechanic is working on a car. He looks puzzled when I ask about the sticker. It’s very busy, and you’re in a hurry, he asks. If he registers it later and therefore cannot give a receipt now, he can arrange the sticker now. He already hands me the environmental sticker for the car. This causes great dissatisfaction with the gentleman waiting behind us. He already thought I ignored all the "no entry" signs. I ignore the man and shortly after stick the green sticker under the windshield. That’s sorted as well. We set the navigation to Berlin. It’s a little over four hours’ drive from Melle. We quickly get back on the A30 motorway and drive eastward. So far, the road had two lanes. This means you have to watch carefully for the speed difference of the traffic behind you. Some cars drive so fast that you suddenly see them pop up in your mirror. We are now on a motorway with three lanes. Here, the traffic speed is better spread across the lanes: the first lane for trucks, the second for traffic around 120 km/h, and the third lane for the speed maniacs. At half past twelve, we pull into a rest area. We are still 150 kilometers from Berlin. We drink something, eat a bit, and make a bathroom stop. Closer to Berlin, the roads get busier. For tens of kilometers before the city, we reach the ring road around Berlin. We follow the traffic into the city center. We pass the Charlottenburg district and drive along the Tiergarten. To our right should be the Kurfürstendamm. Our hotel is right in the center. Fortunately, the navigation sends us via the right route. At an intersection, we pass a demonstration. Thousands of people protest against the government’s corona measures and are marching towards the Reichstag.

Germany - The famous Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

We seem lucky to just join a group of cars that is being let through by the procession. We cross the Unter den Linden boulevard and drive into Friedrichstrasse. To get to the hotel, we have to enter a pedestrian zone. Is that really the intention? At the hotel reception, it turns out the hotel’s parking garage is just on the street behind the hotel. But all spots are taken, the receptionist apologizes. The garage on the opposite side is also full. Try to find a spot nearby, she advises. You can still try the hotel parking garage to see if a place has become free? Just in case, she gives us a token to leave the garage again. Unfortunately, the parking garage is full. We drive out again. There is a parking garage at the State Opera on Unter den Linden. The sign at the entrance says there is still space. We quickly park the car. Parking here isn’t cheap but is at the same rate as the hotel garage. We leave the car, grab the luggage, and walk back to the hotel. In the afternoon, we walk into the city. The hotel is centrally located. Soon we are at the Brandenburg Gate. This is the only remaining city gate of Berlin. In the Tiergarten park behind the Brandenburg Gate, the demonstration we saw earlier is still ongoing. Towards the Reichstag, the police have closed the passage. The area is full. We avoid the crowd and walk the other way through the park. We come out again at Potsdamer Platz. During the war, this square was heavily damaged. Afterwards, the Berlin Wall ran straight across this square. Parts of the wall here still remind of that. Nowadays, the square is surrounded by tall modern buildings. On the adjacent Leipziger Platz, we decide to have a drink. We look for a spot in the shade. It is still warm in the city, and the sun is too bright to sit in it. The beer tastes good. Via the luxury Mall of Berlin, we come to the Holocaust Memorial (officially: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas). 2,711 concrete blocks of various heights fill the square. The blocks symbolize the Jews who died during the war. It feels somewhat strange to walk between the blocks. The size of the square is impressive, but the blocks themselves evoke this feeling less

Germany - The impressively large monument for the murdered Jews during World War II

. Behind Potsdamer Platz, in a dead-end street, stands one old watchtower from the DDR period. In 1961, the wall was built as a division between West and East Berlin. Through watchtowers, soldiers kept an eye to prevent escapes over the wall. The tower now stands somewhat lonely. We look for a restaurant. In one of the side streets off Unter den Linden boulevard, we see a cozy terrace. A table just became free. We quickly sit down. It’s an Indian restaurant. After dinner, we walk once more past the Brandenburg Gate. The demonstration has ended, and the park near the Reichstag is accessible again. On a stage, people make appeals to a handful of listeners. On the other side of the Reichstag, we walk back to our hotel along the Spree River. A nice first acquaintance with the city of Berlin.

Germany - An original watchtower of the border between East and West Berlin