Germany City Tour #3 - Cologne

Wednesday 18^th October

Getting to Munich Hauptbahnhof was pretty simple, although finding our way through the roadworks into the station and to the correct platform was a little more challenging! Our train had changed platforms but we boarded without too much hassle and settled into our seats (first class again, naturally!) I spent the journey writing up our Munich adventures. The train was delayed arriving into Cologne Messe-Deutz station – not the main station, but one on the east side of the city. Another confusing station, we eventually found the right platform to take us to our hotel.

We generally found the transport in Cologne a bit head-scratching – it was difficult to know what was a train, what was a bus, what was S-Bahn and what was U-Bahn. Everything seemed to run off the same platforms, which was great when you were changing trains, but sometimes a bit scary knowing whether you were definitely on the right train! We checked into our room at the Trip Inn Conti around 3pm. The room was a little bigger (and we had separate beds which was a nice change) but the bathroom was teeny! As in, I don’t know how anyone taller than me could sit on the loo without their knees bashing the wall in front of them!

Mia fancied a big, fat, dirty burger, and TripAdvisor guided us to Lord Of The Grillz, a medieval themed restaurant. Apple Maps guidance was less impressive, taking us through back streets and (I think) a university building. It was one of those walks where you’re thinking, “this is fine in daylight, but there must be a better way when it’s dark.”

We were pleased to arrive and opened the imposing door into the candlelit restaurant. When I asked the waiter who greeted us if he could speak English, his reply was, “well, I suppose we could take in the invaders.” We were led to the dungeon – his acting was unnervingly convincing, and the dungeon was dimly lit and a bit chilly but well furnished with chairs and benches covered in animal pelts. We had only just arrived after opening so it was quiet, but we were joined by a large party with a birthday boy who was seated on the grandest chair, crowned and proffered a sword.

We were served drinks in earthenware (even a tiny shot glass which I really wanted to steal or buy!). There was no English menu but I could decipher most of the ingredients on the list of burgers on offer. I plumped for one with bacon, egg and cheese along with the beef patty. It was absolutely delicious – as well as being a lot of fun the food was excellent. I also treated myself to a molten chocolate dessert. We weren’t up for a late night, so after despite the early hour we returned back to the hotel after dinner to rest.

Thursday 19^th October

While we had been resting the night before, I looked up the Fragrance Museum which I very much fancied seeing - where else to learn about Eau de Cologne than Cologne! You could only visit on guided tours, and as a number of tours showed as sold out, I thought we’d better get that booked in. Our tour was set for midday, so the plan for the morning was to make the best of the good weather and investigate Cologne on foot. We were again staying only a mile from the centre, so decided transport wasn’t necessary. We wound our way past Roman walls, a golden, winged car on top of the StadtMuseum (a “temporary” artwork from 1991) and finally arrived at the imposing Cathedral. It’s one of those buildings which can be seen from just about anywhere in the city. We walked around the back towards the Rhine which I found surprisingly wide and rapidly flowing. It was nice to walk along the river in the sunshine, it was much warmer than the weather had been in Munich. We turned west away from the river through Heumarkt and the magnificent statue of King Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia from 1770-1840.

Then to Farina House, the home of the DuftMuseum in time for our midday tour. We had a spritz of the fragrance as we were ushered to the starting point – it is fresh and citrussy, not musky as many would expect.  Our guide was a very enthusiastic Italian lady who described with great joy the life of Johann Maria Farina. Farina was an Italian who had an incredibly sensitive nose and moved to Cologne as a young man. At a time where people took few baths and generally coated themselves in perfume, he developed a unique scent, the original Eau de Cologne. He named it after the city as a thank you in return for them granting him citizenship. It was interesting to hear that, while the scent has remained the same since Farina created it, the recipe changes as the qualities of the ingredients change. The Farina family still oversees the production and formulation of the perfume (they are waiting to see if the next generation has the nose talent for it!).

The tour was about an hour and we got a mini bottle of the perfume included – given that the tour cost €8 and the bottle sells for €8, you actually get the tour for free! I treated myself to a bigger bottle as I have been needing new perfume for a while and I really liked it.

It was time for a rest and food – proper lunch rather than just cake today! We had sausage and beer in Peter’s Brauhaus, it was nice to go somewhere for a relatively small portion! We knew the weather was going to be wet tomorrow and I wanted to climb up the cathedral spire so we headed back to the cathedral – just as it started raining. We had been debating whether to go inside today or tomorrow, and the rain made our minds up. Cologne Cathedral is far more masculine than Munich’s dedication to Mary, darker and more imposing.

Climbing 533 steps was not on Mia’s list of “things to do”, so she went to a bar while I ventured up. There’s no denying that it was a long way up the spiral stairs of the south tower, made more difficult by people using the same narrow staircase to go up and down! About 300 steps in you get a rest to observe St Peter’s Bell, then the steps continue in a zig-zag. I’ll be honest, I was getting a bit shaky. Partly from the exertion, partly because I was getting a sense of just how high up I was getting. I was really hoping that the viewing platform was well and truly fenced in! The final stretch is a narrower, one way spiral, then you are out on the viewing platform, 97 metres above the ground.

Despite the cloud and rain, it was a spectacular view. I also always enjoy seeing bits of the building close up, so seeing across to the north tower was really cool. I circled the top twice (I was making all that effort worthwhile!) before descending. And that’s when you realise that it’s no easier taking the inside route of a spiral staircase when passing others when you are going down!

Mia had found a seat at a bar which had steadfastly not served her for 30 minutes, so I arrived just when she was ready to give up and leave. I was determined to get some good cake, so we went to Café Printen Schmitz. I had a delicious roulade with lots of praline – basically a large, cake version of a Ferrero Rocher – and a mulled wine. Mia wanted a hot chocolate with rum, but despite us both asking for the rum three times, she sadly didn’t get any.

After a rest at the hotel, we decided we were hungry at 8pm. While this was probably the least good hotel, the location was right in the centre of Cologne’s Belgian Quarter, a bohemian, arty area and a hive of nightlife. I picked out tapas from TripAdvisor – as much as I was enjoying the German food, it’s a little monotonous and heavy, and the variety of the world cuisine we had enjoyed was providing a good contrast.

Tapeo & Co also served fabulous cocktails alongside their food. I impressed myself by passing as German when asking for a table – they were very apologetic when I asked for an English menu! We weren’t quite the last customers to leave, but there was only one staff member left when we finished our third cocktails. Mia wanted another drink so we stopped at Herr Pinnock, just across from our hotel. Yup, this was a pretty cool area, I would definitely recommend staying around this part of Cologne if you wanted a taste of the nightlife.

Friday 20^th October

It was wet! We’ve been fairly lucky with the weather so far – it’s been changeable, but apart from a bit of rain in Berlin it’s mostly been dry. We knew today was going to be a bit of a washout though, so we sought a museum or two to keep us occupied. There are a lot of art galleries in Cologne but art isn’t really Mia’s thing and there’s nothing worse than viewing art with someone who isn’t really into it (definitely a place I could revisit on my own).

The Chocolate Museum was on our list for later, and I saw two museums that were just 10 minute walk away from our hotel. It turned out they were in the same building, so we bought a combi-ticket for the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum and Museum Schnütgen. The foyer is dominated by a 7.5m high rice granary from Sulawesi which was reconstructed by Indonesian craftsmen.

The Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum is a huge collection of ethnological objects from around the world. As their website says;

“The exhibition is divided into two sections. The thematic complex ‘Grasping the World’ presents the European perspective on other cultures – as reflected in travelogues, art and museums. The complex ‘Shaping the World’ showcases different ways of life around the world.”

It very much has in mind how that European perspective can often devalue the objects and the people who made them. It purposely provokes conversation about how these objects, many of which are sacred, came to European soil, and how we often view the creators as being unaware of the aesthetic qualities (as if only a European eye could have such appreciation). In this context you can feel that the objects – reflecting life, warfare, religion and death – are treated with respect. The I MISS YOU exhibition focuses on objects looted from Benin by British soldiers in 1897. Many of these objects are in the process of being returned to Nigeria, meaning the exhibition will continue to change over the coming years.

We only allowed ourselves 45 minutes around the attached Museum Schnütgen, a collection of medieval Christian sculpture, stained glass and other artworks in the church of St Cecilia. The first part was in an adjoining building, and it felt odd to see so much of it outside of the context of a church. Even once you entered the church, it still felt more like a collection of statues rather than anything worshipful. There was also a weird audio work being played around the building, where seemingly random words in German kept being said over a series of loudspeakers. I think this also detracted from any potential atmosphere that the artworks might create. I don’t think we really felt the need to spend long here, even if we didn’t have one final thing to tick off our tourist list!

Our very last thing to do was the Schokoladen Museum on the banks of the Rhine. We wanted to do the museum before the café but we were hungry. There was a van outside the museum selling sausage and chips – finally I got a currywurst! I wolfed it down in the drizzle, then we went in.

We were given a Lindt truffle (the red ones!) as we went in. The first part of the museum talked of where chocolate comes from, with a lot of focus on the difficulties that cocoa production faces with regard to fair trade, sustainability and climate change. Then the science bit – how chocolate is made! There’s a mini factory where the rectangular “Naps” are made. You can eat one fresh off the production line, and also eat a wafer coated in melted chocolate from their chocolate fountain. The museum continues with a look at how chocolate is moulded, then a history of the culture of chocolate.

I would have loved to have spent a little longer but I was starting to struggle with being on my feet. 6 hours of solid museum walking and standing, at the end of 10 days of touristing had caught up with me. It seemed entirely fitting that we should finish our trip with cake from the café. I had the Blackforest gateau (does it count as a fruit portion?) and Mia the mousse cake. We both had boozy hot chocolate. It was very, very delicious and a great place to reflect on our holiday.

I did my biggest souvenir shop in the Lindt shop (which is probably ridiculous, I’m sure I could get all this at home) and we trudged back to the hotel. Thinking that we knew the way, we took a couple of wrong turns. I offered a stop for a drink, but Mia was at the point where, if she stopped, she might not get started again. Back at the hotel and neither of us felt the need to go out for a final meal. We rested and packed, ready to depart for our respective homes the next morning.

Germany City Tour #2 - Munich

Sunday 15^th October

Today was travel day. Our departure from Hauptbahnhof was at 10:04, and as there didn’t seem to be a particularly obvious way to the station from our hotel, we gave ourselves plenty of time. Honestly, there seemed to be 10 different routes, all of them involving at least one change. Is a bus easier with suitcases instead of stairs down to the U-Bahn? In the event we took U8 to Gesundbrunnen and an express train to the central station. We had time to shop for some snacks and boarded our first class carriage on platform 2.

The first class upgrade only cost an extra £10 and it also gave us transport at either end of our journeys, so it was well worth it for convenience as much as cost. We had power, WiFi and a table for two, so I spent the journey writing up the diary for our Berlin adventures. We had to change trains at Erfurt – it was a bit confusing because the first train we were on actually went on to Munich but arrived later. We arrived at 14:40, managed to navigate through the roadworks (which became quite a feature of Munich) to the tram stop and took the tram to Sendlinger Tor. More roadworks here which made navigating to our hotel a bit tricky. My phone also seemed to struggle to locate me accurately which didn’t help!

Safely checked into Centro Hotel Mondial, we took a bit of time to settle in and unpack a little. The room was smaller and seemed very dated – it felt like we were back in the DDR museum! It did have a balcony Mia could smoke on though. We headed out around 5pm and went to Auer Dalt, a seasonal fair on Mariahilfplatz which only happens three times a year. As I said about the Festival of Lights, we often luck out on booking our holidays to coincide with events and we were quite excited about this. As it turned out, it wasn’t that impressive. We were also aware of putting our holiday spends on credit cards and not having a lot of cash, and most of the stalls were cash only. So instead of eating at the fair, we took a walk north where Apple Maps said there was a bunch of restaurants. Wirsthaus in der Au is where we ended up, one of many traditional Bavarian taverns in Munich, famous for its dumplings. We ordered big platters of duck and pork with big potato and flour dumplings and pickled red cabbage. Absolutely huge, absolutely delicious. Mia was beaten but I polished the lot off!

It was dark but still early when we left. We headed across the Isar and wandered to Marienplatz in the old town. Always nice to see places at night as well as by day, and I knew we’d be back here later in our visit! We took a few snaps - it was Sunday night and the town seemed fairly quiet but we found a bar for a final drink for the evening before heading back to the hotel.

Monday 16^th October

Our plan for today was to go to Dachau, the site of one of the biggest concentration camps of the Nazi regime, and then on to Nymphenburg Palace. Getting to Dachau was relatively easy by train and then a very busy bus. The day was clear and bright but cold. We expected to spend a couple of hours here but didn’t expect to stay as long as we did. Even though we’d read a lot about the advance of the Nazis into German culture and politics, every new site that we visited provided more context, more detail and more insight.

The majority of people who came through Dachau were assessed for their ability to work, then often sent to other camps for either work or extermination. While Dachau had a gas chamber, it was never used for mass extermination. It is estimated that over 188,000 people went through Dachau, and they have on record 41,500 deaths, either through murder or mistreatment.

Although I had been here previously, we absorbed almost every word in the exhibition that was displayed in the former processing building. It almost seemed disrespectful to not read every individual story that was laid before us. We couldn’t quite believe that we had been there three hours and hadn’t seen the rest of the site. We spent another hour walking though the grounds, seeing the reconstructed bunk rooms, the memorials and churches and finally the crematorium, before returning to the entrance and the bus back to the station.

It was gone 3pm and we were pretty hungry so we grabbed a McDonalds as we waited for the delayed train back towards Munich. Apple Maps was proving invaluable for public transport (whatever did we do before smartphones?!) and after a bit of investigation I found that we could walk through the Nymphenburg Palace Park free of charge. We could also access it from a station at the back of the park, which made far more sense than getting trains and buses to the front, then walking back on ourselves!

Once in the park I followed the SatNav on paths towards Große Kaskade, a huge waterfall in the middle of the park. There was a surprisingly friendly heron along with gaggles of geese enjoying the autumn sunshine. We could see the palace at the end of the Schloßgartenkanal (actually not the end, the canal splits around the palace and continues towards Munich). It took us nearly 30 minutes (albeit at a gentle pace) to reach the palace, trying to snap a photo of what I think was a couple of jays!

Nymphenburg Palace seemed big enough from behind, but from the front it seemed to curve around forever! I’m not sure where the palace ended and where “normal buildings” began! We had started the day with half a mind to go inside, but our lengthy Dachau visit had meant it was closed by the time we got there and we didn’t feel like we’d hugely missed out. Walking away from the palace along the canal we found a tram line that could take us straight back to our hotel. I decided that a bath was in order to soak my aching body and feet (still not fully recovered from my charity canal walk a couple of weeks ago!)

I had been recommended a restaurant very close to the hotel by my friend Simon and the original plan was to go here for dinner. There was a queue outside and it was cash only so we decided to give it a miss for now and instead ended up in a Vietnamese restaurant. I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten Vietnamese cuisine before, but Mia had been on holiday there this year and, as much as there were plenty of Bavarian specialities I wanted to try, this was nearby, something different, and also did nice sounding cocktails. They produced their own ginger drink which I had mixed with gin – it had lots of ginger chunks in the bottom and was delicious! The restaurant was busy on a Monday night, it was a cool place to eat and we enjoyed the meal, then to bed after our long and emotional day.

Tuesday 17^th October

Today was our proper Munich sightseeing day. Our brief visit to the Old Town on Sunday night made it clear that transport wasn’t required, so I set Apple Maps to display ‘Landmarks’ and we zig-zagged our way through the city towards Marienplatz. Walking through Sendlinger Tor, the southern gate of Munich and taking pictures of pretty buildings and the numerous fountains along the way (Germans like their water fountains!), we came across Viktualienmarkt. This was far more interesting that Auer Dalt, and I envied the locals for whom this was their local food market.

Our aim was to get to Marienplatz in time for the 11am performance of the Glockenspiel in the town hall. The 32 life size figures re-enact stories from the 16^th century alongside 43 bells (which, I’ll be honest, sounded like they were in desperate need of tuning!)

Munich’s Cathedral was far more peaceful. Very much dedicated to Mary, the patron saint of Bavaria, there was a feminine quality to the bright, clean cathedral. I don’t consider myself a Christian but I love cathedrals and churches and I even felt compelled to light a candle.

Our walk took us past the Opera House and National Theatre, to Odeonsplatz where we visited the Theatine Church of St Cajetan. Bright yellow from the outside, but cool and white and very intricately carved on the inside, this is now a Dominican church. We walked through the grounds of Residenz – again, we had considered going in but decided to save our pennies and just view from outside – towards the Englische Garten.

This is a massive park that runs all the way to the outskirts of Munich. As we approached, we saw surfers using the artificial waves that flow into the park’s waterways to practice their skills. The man that we clocked disembarking at Munich train station with a surfboard now made sense! Only proficient surfers are allowed to surf these waves and I can imagine they could be quite dangerous.

We were peckish so stopped partway up the park at Konig 43 for apple strudel and coffee / Prosecco. Back into the park to Chinesischer Turm which gave us a good view of the city. Then back through the park and through the town, to take in more sights and buy some souvenirs. We stopped at the famous Hofbrauhaus, the most famous of the Bavarian beer halls. There had been some debate as to whether we should go there, but as my friend Mark had said, if you’re tourists, go to the tourist places. The reviews of rudeness from the waiting staff were unfounded – I suspect going at a relatively quiet time of 4pm meant we were less likely to be dismissed as just tourists. I enjoyed a beer and a massive pretzel.

Another church as we headed back to the hotel, the Holy Ghost which was closed for Mass when we had walked past it previously. I was quite intrigued by a rather camp painting of Jesus, and a candle with nails stabbed through hearts. Using my phone for photos and navigation in the cold had taken its toll on my battery so the return to the hotel was as much to recharge my phone as ourselves!

We made sure we’d grabbed some cash to go to Andy’s Krablergarten tonight. The queue we saw yesterday indicated that it might just be worth waiting for. There was less of a wait tonight and we were indeed serves the most massive schnitzel and fries! It felt like being in a Man Vs Food episode and I was actually beaten this time!

We fancied staying out for another drink and ended up in an Italian fish restaurant right opposite our hotel. They were very genial hosts and rather generous with their gin and vodka! We enjoyed talking to them about how to order the bill in various European languages and the joys of cashing up at the end of the night. It was probably the latest (and drunkest) night of the holiday so far – good thing we get to rest on the train tomorrow…

Germany City Tour #1 - Berlin

 Wednesday 11^th October

It doesn’t matter what time you travel, you will luxuriate when you have time and feel tiredness when you’re travelling. Flight time for me was 18:15, train to Manchester at 2:30pm which meant I had the morning to pack, tidy and take Missy the cat to her holiday home. Packing was never going to be easy – ten days in autumn when the forecast looked set to change from unseasonably warm to potential freezing temperatures. Layers, layers, layers. I’m not one to start packing two weeks in advance, so having the morning to work out what to take seemed very civilised.

I had looked at paying for the airport lounge but decided it wasn’t worth £32. Surely, I wouldn’t spend £30 on dinner at the airport? Well, you can guess how much dinner cost me. And I could have had unlimited wine! Note to self; if you’re planning on a proper meal at the airport, just go for the airport lounge.

The Ryanair flight ran to time and was uneventful (I think they have removed padding from their seats to lighten their aircraft). Passport control remains a miserable reminder of how a minority of the UK has decided to make everyone’s lives more difficult. German efficiency didn’t seem all that impressive either when, after 30 minutes in passport control, it was still showing another 30 minutes before our bags would arrive. In the even it didn’t take quite this long, and I could finally escape the airport and meet Mia the other side of customs.

I’d downloaded an app to buy Berlin transport tickets and managed to get mine fairly quickly. It took Mia almost the entire trip to pay for hers – Apple Pay trumped PayPal on this occasion! I don’t think we took the quickest or easiest route to our hotel. It was late and I was completely disorientated, thinking the airport was to the west of Berlin rather than the South East. We eventually made it to what would be our local U-Bahn station, Osloerstraße, and to the Big Mama Hotel. Our room was nice enough – we had to share a bed but we had separate duvets which is much better for friends!

 

Thursday 12^th October

As it had been such a late night, we decided not to set an alarm for our first day. We woke after 9am, got down for breakfast just in time. We’d decided to buy the Berlin Welcome Card which gave us 72 hours of travel along with some discounts but didn’t realise that we needed to print it out. No problem, our hotel happily obliged by printing out what we needed. Armed with transport and a plan, we were out in Berlin at 11am.

The plan was to start at Checkpoint Charlie, and make our way to the Topography of Terror, then up to Potsdamer Platz. I have a huge admiration for how Berlin is so honest and open about its history. By Checkpoint Charlie there was an open air exhibition about the Berlin Wall. The precision of noting how people broke through, and using that information to improve the security of the wall was chilling – when walls are so often spoken of to keep people out, we often forget that they also keep people in.

The sobering thoughts were inescapable at the Topography of Terror. Living in an age – and with a government – of populism, of demonising minorities, of claiming that others are an “elite” made some of the content hard to digest. The Topography of Terror makes it clear how Hitler and the Nazis carried the people with them, how they sold the idea of a superior Aryan race. The reconciliation at the end of the exhibition talked of how you could not prosecute everyone who supported the Nazis as you would be prosecuting almost an entire population. Instead, Germany’s honesty and learning from the mistakes is the way they reconcile with the horrors that occurred at their elected government’s hands.

For some reason, teaching on the World Wars is something that was lacking from my school education. The Topography of Terror showed how brutal the Nazi invasion was, and how far reaching the empire did grow. The indiscriminate attacks on Polish people, forced from their homes to make room for the “superior” German race hit hard in the wake of the impending Israeli invasion into Gaza. A reminder that we need to be reminded to “Never Forget”.

Fresh air and a break were needed in order to process what we had seen. We headed to Potsdamer Platz and found ourselves ascending up the speedy elevator of Panoramapunkt. It’s always useful to get a viewpoint of a city to help with your bearings. I was particularly intrigued that there was a building that looked like a palace visible from the top, but that it didn’t appear on the guide we had been given (more on that to come!) There was a café at the top where we stopped for coffee and wine, cherry and apple cake.

Physically and mentally refreshed, we walked around the corner to the German Spy Museum. A highly interactive museum, it took us through the history of spying, techniques and equipment against the backdrop of the European wars and the consequential Cold War. Along the way were many individual stories of spies, how they came to espionage and how in various cases they were caught, turned to become double agents, or sometimes not discovered or revealed until after their death.

We had a go at morse code, debugging, lie detecting, disguise and dodging laser beams (I’m still annoyed that I failed in my Mission Impossible twice!). We spent nearly four hours there and it was great to learn in a more light-hearted way after the darker aspect of the morning.

It was dark when we emerged so we headed briefly back to Potsdamer Platz to see the Festival of Lights. We always seem to luck out on booking holidays when there are events happening, without planning to see them. The Festival of Lights sees Berlin’s landmarks lit up by various artists along with light installations in public areas. We didn’t hang around too long as it was after 8pm and we hadn’t properly eaten, so I consulted TripAdvisor for a good option nearby. We ended up with a very delicious platter in Das Rotes Kamel, a Lebanese restaurant near the Holocaust Memorial. After dinner we walked past the memorial and towards the Brandenburg Gate. The Festival of Lights had finished for the evening, which at least meant we could see the Brandenburg Gate in its ‘normal’ lighting before heading back to the hotel.

 

Friday 13^th October

There had been much banging of doors from fellow residents of the Big Mama Hotel all night so neither of us slept well, but we had set an alarm as we had a theatre date tonight and wanted to get out, sightsee, and get back to change for the evening. The plan was to start at Alexanderplatz and make our way west to Museum Island, taking in all the sights on the way. We snapped photos of the Fernsehenturm, the Rotes Rathaus, the fountain of Neptune and Marienkirche. We decided to take a look inside St Mary’s Church, very gothic with lots of skulls. I somewhat regretted opting for boots as the sound of my heels clipped on the floor in the silence!

From church to cathedral – it was easy to find the Berliner Dom as it dominated the skyline. The eastern flank along the river Spree was draped in scaffolding, but the front was very photogenic, as was the Lustgarten in front of it and the Altes Museum to its left. We were largely led by our pockets, deciding not to pay to look inside, but I was increasingly intrigued by the building on the other side of the road, to the right of the cathedral. This was the building I could see from Panoramapunkt that wasn’t in the guidebook!

It turns out this is the Berlin Palace, home to the Humboldt Forum. The history of this site and building is quite remarkable. The site was home to a Royal Palace as early as the 15^th Century, with various castles built and extended. It continued to be used as a seat of government when the monarchy was abolished in 1918 but was severely damaged in World War 2. As it lay in East Berlin, the East German authorities took the decision to destroy the palace and build a new Palace of the Republic in 1973.

This was a very modern building that was a cultural and social space, as well as housing the East German parliament. Following reunification and after many years of debate the People’s Palace was demolished (it was claimed for healthy and safety reasons due to a large quantity of asbestos being used in its construction) and a new Stadtschloß built. Designed by Italian Franco Stella and reopened in 2020, it partially echoes the baroque styling of the original palace, complete with dome, while also providing modern exhibition spaces under the name of the Humboldt Forum.

We visited the exhibitions on the story of the site in the context of Berlin and Germany’s history, and the Sculpture Hall which houses rescued pieces from the original palace. We then took a walk into the cellar where you can see the remainder of the original walls and layout from the palace. From the basement to the roof; we purchased a ticket to the rooftop terrace, knowing there was a café / restaurant there too. “You want to go up there now?” said the friendly ticket seller. We didn’t realise until we got to the roof how much the weather had turned! Ah well, coffee / tea and cake time (afternoon cake became a theme!).

It brightened up when we did go out onto the terrace, and it was good to see the beautiful dome close up. It also gave a better view of the dome of the cathedral and a view down to Lustgarten. When Mia and I are sightseeing, we always try to have a loose plan which allows for random occurrences, and I’m pretty sure we would never have planned to visit this building on paper. The Humboldt Forum certainly seems to be a controversial building for Berliners and architects alike, but I was really impressed with it and really enjoyed my visit.

We continued west off Museum Island, perusing various grand buildings including the State Opera House, the Humboldt University and Saint Hedwig’s Cathedral. We were trying to find the Gendarmenmarkt and, when we found it, we found a building site! We walked round the back, trying and failing to find a way into the French Cathedral, around the Konzerthaus, to the German Cathedral. “Can we go into the church?”. “No, you’re 80 years too late!” The German Cathedral is now a museum about German government which was probably pushing our interest in German political history a bit far!

We returned to the hotel for a rest and to change for our evening. We headed to a slightly touristy steakhouse on the river which was perfectly fine, even choosing one of the cheapest things on the menu! Next, showtime!

Mia had flagged the Friedrichstadt Palast theatre on TripAdvisor, and when I visited the website, I saw they had a new show on. Curated by Jean-Paul Gaultier, Falling In Love looked like a visual spectacular. It was literally just about to open – the premiere was on the 11^th. On a whim just days before we had departed England, we bought mid-price tickets, at the front of the high circle. We bought drinks to take in with us but were annoyingly told we couldn’t take them in with us. A very obliging bartender agreed to look after our drinks for the interval (which at least meant we swerved the interval queue!).

Friedrichstadt Palast is a beautiful, modern and HUGE theatre. The seating is very open and we had a terrific view. We were particularly amazed by how deep the stage was and just how much set there seemed to be! There was a vague story to hang the spectacle on; ‘Me’ is a deaf man (performed by a deaf dancer / actor) who is trying to find himself in the Diamond City where everyone is split into Blue, Red or Green. ‘Me’ meets ‘You’ the female character who has escaped the need to conform to one of the three tribes. They fall in love, there is a battle for Blue, Red and Green to capture ‘Me’, eventually they realise life is more wonderful if we all blend together. Very sweet, a little earnest, but nothing that’s going to make you think too deeply.

It was sung and spoken in a mix of English and German and seemed relatively easy to follow if you only spoke one of the languages (it did say it was accessible to non-German speakers). Some of the acts felt a bit shoe-horned into the story, and it had an element of “variety performance” at times. The Sanddorn Balance sequence – where a feather and 13 branches are perfectly balanced onto just one, final branch – left the whole audience holding their breath in case we created a breeze. This sort of fitted the story as ‘Me’ had held and lost the feather, and it clearly symbolised the fine balance of our personalities. The stage was transformed into a swimming pool for one section – again I could rationalise this as the Blue, Red and Green merged into inflatable costumes of Yellow, Magenta and Cyan. However, the troupe of gymnasts and trampolinists, while entertaining (and drawing the biggest cheer of the night), I am still scratching my head to work out!

The performances were superb throughout, and the huge company of dancers put on a great show. I especially loved the classic can-can style line – something I have seen on screen so many times, but never really seen live. It truly is one of the most classic and effective choreographic styles. Obviously, being curated by Gaultier, the costumes were always going to be incredible. There were some glorious nods to Gaultier’s work, from the sailor, to the chaps and dozens of conical bras. Sometimes you have to approach things in the right way – we knew this was going to be a largely shallow spectacle of a show, and very much enjoyed every second of it.

It was only just gone 10pm so it was time for a drink. In the middle of a very busy Berlin on a Friday night, this looked a little tricky. We were going to grab one in a nearby Irish bar but it was packed out. I had a quick Google for “Berlin hidden bars” and came up with a gem that was just a few minutes walk away. The article said:

“Classy and upscale, Bar Tausend is situated in the heart of the city, near the bustling Friedrichstrasse, but it’s very easy to miss. Tucked below railway tracks and behind an imposing steel door, taking the time to search for this place is well worth it. They serve classic cocktails with elevated style. There is also a cantina that specialises in German-Asian fusion cuisine by personnel from the acclaimed restaurant, Dae Mon. The interior is upscale with industrial décor and sleek art deco finishes. Bar Tausend also hosts live music and DJ sets on weekends. It provides a practically unparalleled level of nightlife sophistication, and guests only get in if they are able to look the part.”

We found the imposing steel door, but I felt a bit odd thinking about knocking. There was a girl outside on her phone. I reckoned she would be going back in, so we waited for her to finish her conversation, and sidled up when the door opened. We were lightly questioned. “Do you know this is Bar Tausend?”. “Yes, I’ve heard of it,” I replied as confidently as I could. The door man – not a big burly sort, but a middle aged, well dressed gentleman – eyed us up, decided we were suitably attired, and allowed us in. We were informed that there were no photos allowed and no phone reception.

We found a secret bar! I don’t think I’ve ever been in a secret bar before! We perched at the bar, ordered cocktails and took in our surroundings. Dark, slightly industrial but not in the cliched way that seems so fashionable at the moment, this was a classy spot. There was a DJ playing but the volume was just at the right level that we could chat. I’m always in awe at mixologists and happily watched the staff keeping up with the orders. I ordered a second cocktail which was stronger than the first! We had a fantastic time feeling like uber cool Berliners and left with an alcoholic buzz in our heads and a spring in our step.

Saturday 14^th October

Our final day in Berlin was sort of a ‘mopping up’ day. First up was the DDR Museum. I came here on my previous visit to Berlin and remember finding it absolutely fascinating. It shows what life was like for the citizens of East Germany post WW2. It’s actually strange how you can just start to feel how it wasn’t such a bad life. Everyone had a job and a purpose, food, housing, a sense of community, even holidays were often state subsidised. This contrasts with the exhibits showing how tightly controlled this was and just what freedoms were lacking for the East Germans. The government propaganda that was needed to persuade their people that this was all in their best interests was huge. The privileges – often Western perks of capitalism - afforded to the leaders showed the disparity of the lifestyles. I would consider myself a socialist, but I wouldn’t want to live like this and I can see why it failed in this case.

It was sunny but cooler and windier today. We walked from the DDR Museum along the banks of the Spree towards the Reichstag, stopping off for our afternoon cake (cheesecake and raspberry tart) on the way, this time accompanied by chai and mimosa. We viewed the Reichstag from outside, got berated for crossing a single lane, quiet road on a red pedestrian light, then continued south for daytime views of the Brandenburg Gate and Holocaust Memorial. It was a bit weird to see the disrespect of people running between the stelae and even standing on them. It’s also a strangely oppressive feeling when you are in the centre of the monument.

One place I really wanted to see was the East Side Gallery. 1.3km of the wall, one of the longest sections still in situ which was turned into an art gallery in 1990. It’s a bit difficult to view properly in some ways because they are large works of art and you are quite close to them (with crowds of tourists and other pedestrians passing!) We took a few photos - I had to get one of the image from Pink Floyd’s The Wall! I was intrigued that the paintings were all dated 1990 / 2009, and it was interesting to read that the entire wall had to be restored to prevent it from collapsing. This meant that all the artwork had to be repainted. A few of the sections are blank, representing the artists who either chose not to or couldn’t replicate their work.

It was getting dark and starting to rain so we found a Mexican restaurant in the area for dinner. Nothing special, but it meant we could avoid the city centre for a little longer. Fully refreshed we returned to the centre to fully take in the Festival of Lights. It was a Saturday night and it seemed as though all of Berlin had turned out and brought the family! We started at the Fernsehenturm which had spectacular images projected on its stem. One piece I particularly liked had people squeezed into the narrow stem, trying to make their way towards an opening where a display of flowers was collated.

I had a map of the light shows on my phone but it was difficult to follow. I wanted to find the Nikolaikirche, a double spired church which we had somehow missed on our sightseeing so far. My map reading went a little askew and we got a little lost. After a brief stop to use a hotel loo, we recalibrated and finally found Nikolaikirchplatz. I think the streets would have been pretty enough, but the lights added even more to the atmosphere. It was a bit of a shame we had missed it during the day as the shops looked so quaint. In the falling temperatures it felt rather Christmassy!

Emerging onto the Marx Engel Forum, Mia saw smoke and lights in the distance so we headed towards it. It felt like heading towards a Glastonbury stage, not knowing what to expect! This was a very cool immersive light show accompanied by ambient music. The smoke made the light feeling like tunnels and waves moving towards you all the time. I really loved it, but I felt like I was constantly waiting for a beat to drop!

It was fun to revisit the places we had seen in the day time, all dressed up in their finery. The Berliner Dom seemed to have a number of rather kitsch patterns displayed on it. I was also becoming increasing impressed with my iPhone camera (a significant upgrade from my 7 year old SE!) We heard and saw a big crowd outside the Altes Museum so wandered over to see what was happening. There was clearly an acoustic gig happening. We snuck alongside the fountain but were promptly ushered back (it was a really big crowd but I still haven’t managed to Google who it might have been!).

Our final stop was back to the Brandenburg Gate for the third time! This seemed to be a much shorter “show” in all, and I would definitely say that the I found the other displays much more entertaining. Or maybe there’s a limit to how much you can watch pictures and videos made of light projected onto buildings.

We would have gone for another drink but the centre of Berlin on any Saturday night would have been difficult. This was almost impossible. We considered stopping somewhere less central, but we were also aware that we needed to be up at a decent time to pack and be ready for our train to Munich tomorrow.