Berlin

Time of year: April

Length: 4 nights

Approximate hotel and flight costs: £500–£600 for two

Good for: Big history, unexpected discoveries and city exploring

Why Berlin?

Berlin had been on our list for quite a while. When I was younger, I became fascinated by the fall of the Berlin Wall and remember watching the news reports about it. That left me curious to see the city for myself.

We knew Berlin had plenty of history and attractions, as well as a modern outlook that we wanted to experience during our visit.

Accommodation and travel

Arriving at Brandenburg International was straightforward, apart from a delay at passport control. From there, it was easy to get into central Berlin by train, followed by a short Metro ride to our hotel in Mitte.

We stayed at the Garner Hotel, a couple of blocks from Checkpoint Charlie. It felt modern, and our room was decent and comfortable. Breakfast was buffet-style, with an

excellent choice and a great view down Friedrichstraße while you ate your cornflakes.

Discovering Berlin

We had a rough idea of what we wanted to see. We knew there’d be a lot of walking, but that’s all part of the fun of exploring somewhere new.

As we made our way around the city, the mix of modern buildings and preserved older ones kept catching our eye. At times, the architecture felt unexpected: a traditional building might sit in the middle of a block, surrounded by modern glass and steel. There were also quieter reminders of the past. On Museum Island, we noticed bullet holes still visible in some of the pillars. It was a stark reminder of the damage caused during the war, and it made us stop and think.

Walking along to Checkpoint Charlie brought the history into focus. Large portraits of the army privates on either side seemed to stare each other down across the street. I thought about how this had once been a frontier between East and West, and how today it’s a popular place for visitors to stand a have photos taken.

At Potsdamer Platz, we spotted a recessed line in the pavement marking where the Wall once stood. At the Berlin Wall Memorial, information on the pavement marked the places where escape tunnels had been dug in attempts to get from East to West. I really liked how Berlin acknowledges its history and keeps it in view rather than hiding it away.

The Reichstag and Bundestag

I’d watched documentary footage of the giant swastika being blown up on top of the Reichstag at the end of the Second World War. So it felt surreal to stand in front of the building and look up at the glass dome that replaced it.

After a quick security check, we walked up to the classical pillars at the Bundestag entrance. An elevator took us to the roof, where we could take in the views across the city. There was something interesting in every direction. I remember looking over the Tiergarten and spotting the Victory Column, its golden statue glistening in the sun.

The dome looked impressive up close, and the sunlight made it shine even more.

Unfortunately, it was closed during our visit, so we could only walk around the outside. I managed to stretch past the tape at the entrance to get a better look, so you could say I was half in!

Brandenburg Gate and nearby sights

We approached the Brandenburg Gate through the Tiergarten. With cars and lorries rushing past in front of it, it felt a bit like arriving at the tradesman’s entrance. Once we’d walked through and looked back at the horses and chariot on top, we could see the gate in all its glory. It looked great lit up after dark too, and was worth visiting again.

A block away was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Its repeated concrete blocks cover a large area and seem to blend into their surroundings, as if they’ve always been there. We spent some time looking around and reflecting quietly.

Another block further on was the site of the Führerbunker, now an ordinary urban area with apartment buildings. It would be easy to walk past without knowing what had been there. Apart from an information board with a plan of the bunker, there wasn’t a lot to see, but I was glad we found the site. It seemed to be a popular stop on guided tours too.

Berlin Story Bunker

This was a powerful exhibition about the rise and fall of Nazism. We were keen to visit a genuine underground bunker that had survived the Second World War, but weren’t quite sure what to expect.

At the entrance, there was a swastika on the door. Seeing it gave me a shiver as I walked through to the entrance hall. The exhibition was intense and very informative. We spent a few hours there, wanting to take in as much as we could.

The exhibits were numbered, making it easy to follow each section, and together they gave a detailed account of that horrific period. The deepest level open to visitors was left empty, which gave us a sense of the size of the space underground. I left feeling that we’d had an informative but sobering visit—and experienced a genuine Berlin wartime bunker.

Deutsches Technikmuseum

This wasn’t on our plan. We spotted it from the U-Bahn on our way to the shopping district. A bomber plane suspended from the front of the building caught our attention. At that point, the shops were no longer of any interest, and we made our way over to the museum. The plane was now above our heads and had done its job by luring us in.

The museum was vast, with exhibits spread over multiple levels. There was everything from warplanes, shipping and engineering to trains through the ages and mineral processing. We could easily have spent most of the day there. It was an excellent find, with something for all sorts of visitors.

I was especially taken by the model buildings of Berlin, not to mention the largest working model railway I’d ever seen.

DDR Museum

A friend who’d visited Berlin recommended the DDR Museum to us. It sits by the river, behind Berlin Cathedral, and admission was reasonably priced.

It’s an interactive museum, with exhibits you can get close to that show what life was like in East Germany before the Wall came down. The Stasi interrogation room and cell were interesting to see. The East German apartment was a standout for me, showing what everyday life might have been like. And I can’t forget the ultra-funky wallpaper, which shouldn’t be allowed to see daylight!

We really enjoyed how some of the exhibits encouraged you to touch and explore, with a few surprises along the way. I left thinking about how simple and basic life on the eastern side of the Wall must have been.

German Spy Museum

This was another unplanned visit. We passed by and decided to take a look inside, and found a museum full of exhibits, many of them focused on the Cold War.

We especially liked the interactive laser maze, where you had to weave through the beams without being detected, otherwise you knew about it you were detected. There were also exhibits about the history of espionage and the use of codes through the ages, as well as listening devices, fully kitted-out spy vehicles and an Enigma machine from the Second World War.

We enjoyed the visit, then took the opportunity to scarper when a school trip turned up.

Good to know

· If you’d like a high-up view of Berlin, consider Panoramapunkt Tower at Potsdamer Platz. It was a good saving compared with the TV Tower, and the city views were great without the crowds.

· We booked our free Bundestag tickets online a few weeks before visiting and chose a time slot. It was definitely worth doing.

· I’d avoid visiting the DDR Museum around midday. We noticed a lot of people arriving then, although we’d nearly finished by the time the crowds picked up.

· German sausage, or Wurst, was very tasty, with plenty of varieties to try at the food stalls.

So, How Did Berlin Score?

Things to Do — 10/10 From its fascinating history and famous landmarks to museums and different neighbourhoods, there's plenty to explore.

Getting Around — 9/10 Berlin's public transport network makes it easy to cover the city's spread-out sights, although you'll still do plenty of walking.

Food & Drink — 8/10 A wide choice of food and drink, from traditional German favourites to international options.

Value for Money — 8/10 Berlin offers plenty to see, with free historical sights and attractions helping to balance the cost of a city break.

Overall Experience — 10/10 The complete trip was exceptional for us, even if every individual category wasn't perfect.

What would I do differently?

I’d spend more time exploring the Tiergarten. We didn’t get to see much of the park, and there were a few places that would have been good to visit.

Would I visit Berlin again?

Yes, absolutely. Berlin left a great impression on us. We covered a lot of the historic sights, but there really is something for everyone.

When we return, we’ll revisit the Bundestag and see if we can get the full roof-dome experience.

What made me laugh

· The Bruce Springsteen concert that kicked off when you opened the kitchen cupboard in the DDR apartment.

· Having a beer in a bar where smoking was still allowed. I’m still not sure how they got around that one, but apparently, it was legal.

Favourite thing

The Technikmuseum wasn’t on our plan, but the plane on the side of the building lured us in—and we ended up spending hours there.

“Berlin really stayed with us. Everywhere we went, there was something else to stop and think about, and we left with more we’d love to see.”