My Germany: Day 5 Berlin

We woke up to a beautiful Berlin dawn but waited till it got lighter before walking down Prenzlauer Allee towards Alexander Platz. Like in Frankfurt, we thought we would be doing a lot of walking, until we realised that Berlin is huge - nearly ten times the size of Paris (or so it is said).

Down Prenzlauer Allee we could see the Berlin Fernsehturm or TV tower, tallest building in Germany. We would have dinner there later but for now we were heading for the Berlin Tours bus to get an idea of what this German capital city had to offer.

We passed by a biergarten, quite 'desolate' on a winter morning. Come evening perhaps it will have customers. (Come October it may be bursting with a beer guzzling crowd, I am guessing only.)

We also came across another Buddy Bear in front of Ramada and another at the hotel where we boarded the Berlin Tours sightseeing bus.

Our very first stop on the tour was the Berlin Wall East Side Gallery, the longest surviving stretch of the Wall. We thought a half hour would be enough to browse the Wall, instead we spent two hours doing so, being quite fascinated with what we saw. Art? Grafitti? Graffiti art? Whatever you decide. Some staid, some controversial, all interesting. But the history behind the Wall adds the haunting factor.

The river nearby had floating ice in its waters though the sun was shining bright. A bright day but still very chilly. Brrr... Time for a cuppa! Or as the locals say, Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cakes).

We had coffee and cakes at a cafe by the riverside before we spotted our vegetarian guide Corrina having pommes (fries) at the 'original currywurst' stall. The tour bus had come around a second time so we rejoined it and were taken to see more sights of Berlin, including the Victory tower, Bundestag (Parliament), etc., etc.

Pic: Dinner at revolving restaurant of Fernsehturm (TV tower)
Berlin 3-6 Feb 2014