Our time in Berlin was short but packed with a mix of historical exploration, culinary stops, and catching up with friends.
Friday: Historical Sites and Evening Reunions
The day started early after a work event, checking out of my hotel and grabbing cash. Breakfast was at The Visit, where I enjoyed a croissant, egg custard tart, latte, and americano. I then walked to the Grand Hyatt before heading to Steel Vintage Bikes Cafe for lunch, having an egg bacon avocado toast and americano. The afternoon was spent visiting significant historical sites, including Checkpoint Charlie and the Topography of Terror. We walked back to the Grand Hyatt to meet up with Virginia. In the evening, we took the train to meet Cary and Katrin for dinner at Schnitzelei Wilmersdorf, followed by a train ride back to the hotel.
Saturday: Exploring Pretzlauer Berg
Saturday began with breakfast at the hotel restaurant. After exercising, we went up to Pretzlauer Berg for a walking tour with Alex. Despite the iffy weather, the tour was excellent. Seeing East Berlin, especially all of the vibrancy of the neighborhoods and the building architecture, was really eye opening. We returned to the hotel and rested, starting to feel unwell and opting to sleep instead of going out for dinner.
Sunday: Spy Museum and a Home-Cooked Dinner
I was up early for breakfast in the room, while Virginia took the opportunity to rest. Lunch was at Amrit in Potsdamer Platz. In the afternoon, we visited the German Spy Museum. As it’s Berlin, the heavy emphasis of the museum is on the Cold War, during which Berlin was an epicenter of espionage. Seeing all the gadgets from classic James Bond films in reality was really neat! (And of course, they had a small exhibit on Bond!)
The evening was spent at our friends James and Anka’s home for dinner. We took the bus in both directions, which like the train was easy and preferable to a taxi. Dinner was relaxing and it was great to see our friends for the first time in several years.
Monday: Departure
Monday’s activity consisted solely of traveling to Brandenburg Airport. The airport experience was a non-model of efficiency but okay. The weird part was how empty it was, mostly because it lacks a flagship airline to anchor the airport and bring in more commercial options.
Generated by Google Gemini from Chris’ notes
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