Guten Tag, Berlin!

Berlin. A modern city with a historic memoir. Beautiful. Old. Full of life. An ancient city with a gripping, yet complicated history.

Our journey to Berlin was not disappointing.

Our flight actually flew into Frankfurt, Germany (our normal layover route on the way back to TZ). Immediately after getting off the plane we found the airport storage and stowed away some of our larger luggage we wouldn’t be needing while in Germany. The train station attached to the airport was refreshingly easy to navigate (for newbies to traveling via rail in Europe!). We were so surprised how simple and hassle-free it was to buy a train ticket to Berlin. Maybe we’ve been in Africa too long!

Waiting for our train: Frankfurt – Berlin

As excited as we were to take the 4hr train ride to Berlin and be able to watch the German country side unfold along side us….we slept for probably 90% of the ride. Jet lag was seriously kicking us this time! Being from the US, and now Africa, we were so amazed at how efficient the German train system runs. Even the small cafe in the train where we got a ham and cheese baguette and coffee made us so happy! Most people around us probably thought we were way too excited about ‘train coffee’ and baguettes. But we loved every bit of it.

Jet lag was killer this time around!

In Berlin we stayed with some good friends of ours. They live in the middle of the city. The Berlin wall [used to] runs right below their apartment. The whole city is built with monuments, art installations, and historic stories from the Berlin Wall. There is nowhere in the city you can go without being reminded of what once kept families and loved ones apart for so many years.

Berlin Wall memorial/art installation – Berlin, Germany

Our friends suggested we take a bike tour around the city. Despite it raining a bit, we had a wonderful time! The tour was very informative and we were able to see so much we otherwise wouldn’t have been to with just a few days in the city.

Fat Tire Tours – Berlin, Germany

For anyone possibly planning a trip to Berlin I highly recommend this tour with Fat Tire Tours!

Fat Tire Tours, and my studly husband! Berlin, Germany

Fat Tire Tours – Brandenburg Gate – Berlin, Germany

The tour ended at a biergarten for lunch. A mug of beer and pork schnitzel was a must and not disappointing!

Stoked for German beer and bratwurst – getting in touch with his German roots!

Our friend met us after the bike tour and guided us downtown where we treated ourselves to a few chocolate stores. One of them being the Ritter Sport store. Some of our favorite chocolates. You can create your own chocolates. Similar to a frozen yogurt store, you choose from a large variety of ingredients and they mix it together with the chocolate for you. We opted not to do this. Instead, we just bought a bunch of different flavors. The other chocolate store (I don’t remember the name) was more refined and sophisticated. They had a cafe upstairs serving decadent hot chocolate and a variety of chocolate desserts. So amazing.

Chocolate

We had dinner at another biergarten with our friend, her husband and their baby girl. If we lived in Germany it would hard not to eat at a biergarten every day!

A bit of rain wont stop us from enjoying German beer and pretzels at a biergarten!

The rest of our time in Berlin we spent visiting museums and eating more amazing food.

Berlin

One of the things we loved about the city is how pedestrian friendly it is. From the apartment we were able to walk every where we wanted to go. The only time we took a taxi was to return to the train station.

Berlin

Jewish memorial – Berlin, Germany

Berlin Wall – Berlin, Germany

Upon returning to Frankfurt, we stayed a night before our flight the next morning. We stayed at a hotel near the airport and again, had amazing food and drinks.