Early morning in Berlin is bright and dry and we are walking with backpacks in the rough direction of our next accommodation that we can’t check-in to for another eight hours. We’re taking the scenic route through the Tiergarten, a large wooded garden in the middle of the city that, during the Cold War, would have provided James Bond with plenty of secretive drop-offs and shady rendez-vous. We manage to see quite a bit of the City before we arrive at Acama Hotel and Hostel Kreuzberg where we grab a quick couple of hours sleep before going in search of something to eat.
Berlin is amazing; you stumble across history on every corner; one moment World War II, the next Cold War. There are things of interest everywhere, even the traffic lights have a jaunty little character that indicates when and when not to cross. He’s accompanied by a random, deep ticking sound that counts down to either ‘stop’ or ‘go’ I’m not sure which.
Holocaust Memorial has 2711 columns.
We visit all of the classic tourist haunts – Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, a night visit to the Reichstag, a backstreet car park otherwise known as the location of Hitler’s bunker. The one that made an impact though, was the Holocaust Memorial to Gypsies. It’s quite pathetic compared to the Jewish equivalent around the corner but the timeline etched into the glass walls is both informative and moving.
After several days at Hotel Pension Intervarko – our second location in Berlin – we head to the airport and home for a week.