First stop was the Imperial War Museum.
German 88mm gun.
Russian T-34 tank.
German JagPather Tank Destroyer.
V-1
Churchill tank.
Lancaster bomber (note Australian flag under cartoon)
Bit of ME-110 Rudolph Hess crash landed in Britain during WW2.
P-51 Mustang.
Then a trip to the British Museum.
Then to Canary Wharf.
Then a walk home past HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge.
H.M.S. Belfast
So last full day in London.
Knowing that most of the tourist attractions don’t open until 10am I had a leisurely sleep in and breakfast before heading out the door.
My first stop was only a short distance away at the Diamant (Diamond) Museum.
This actually turned out to be more interesting that I thought. It has plenty of really interesting about the mineral properties of diamonds but includes things like how the stones are cut, where they end up as well as section on great diamond heists. The museum is three floors and I would say is really worth a look if you get a chance.
As I left I saw in a building a few doors up another diamond establishment you can visit to actually see stones being cut and jewellery fashioned. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time and the security getting into the place would require you to strip bare.
Just a little further up the street was the Rijksmuseum.
It contains lots of artworks from Dutch master including Rembrandt but unfortunately they don’t allow you to take photos.
After a quick tour of the museum I headed for a canal tour with Blue Boat.
The Heineken brewery.
The tour ran for about 75 minutes and I made the mistake of staying at the back of the boat in what I thought would be in the fresh air. As it turned out it was the place where all the smokers who went, who happily puffed cigarettes the whole trip. Oh well, at least I got some good shots.
After the cruise my next stop was the Van Loot museum.
The museum is basically a historic house of the period.
From there I crossed the canal and headed to another historic house, the Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis.
Many of these historic houses have two parts, a gatehouse at the front and the main house across a garden.
When I entered the museum I was ‘set upon’ by an over zealous guide who gave me a good overview of the history of the occupants of the house. After that I walked through teh garden to main house.
On my way to my next stop I passed the Handbag Museum. No time this trip!
My next stop was at the Hermitage Museum Amsterdam but unfortunately the line was already too long for this late in the afternoon so I moved along to my next destination.
The Allard Pierson museum hold many ancient artefacts.
From there I headed to the Amsterdam Historisch Museum which covers the history of the city of Amsterdam. This is quite well laid out museum and includes a good self guide tour to follow through the museum taking in all the periods.
I decided that I would head back to main station and catch a tram back the Hotel or perhaps if time permitted head to the Van Gough Museum.
Problem was that as I started walking in what I thought was the right direction I became di-orientated in all the small streets and ended up walking in a complete circle.
When I finally found my bearings I decided that I’d simply catch a tram back to the hotel and call it a day ready for the trip back to London tomorrow.
Another early start to day of travel, this time from Berlin to Amsterdam. After breakfast I headed off to the the local U-Bahn station. From there I needed to make a change at Friedrichtstrasse to the S-Bahn service, which as yet I hadn’t yet 100% worked out.
After arriving at Friedrichtstrasse, I tried to work out what platform I needed to be on, but decided that it would much easier to ask at the information desk. They sent me up to platform 16. Now from memory, platform 15 was where I arrived on the S-Bahn when I came to Berlin. So, as I left I think I have finally worked out the S-Bahn service. It appears that all S-Bahn services run from a single platform. Platform 15 is S-Bahn service running to the east, while platform 16 is services running west.
I was very glad to arrive at Berlin Haufbahnopf, now all I needed to do was find the train to Duisberg. Now, my thinking was that it would run from the top level but looking at the departure boards I couldn’t see it. Again, I knew it would make more sense to ask for the right platform. As it turns out the train was going to leave from the lower platform! That I probably would have never worked out.
The reason I couldn’t work out which train was mine was because Duisberg was not the final stop. That’s something to remember for next time, always find out what the last stop for the train is, it makes it much easier to locate.
I boarded the train and headed west. After a few hours we arrived at Duisberg where I had to change trains.
Luckily I had looked up the departing platform via the Internet so I knew exactly where to go this time. In about 30 minutes I was on the train for Amsterdam.
We arrived on time and I exited the platform looking for the tourist information bureau where I could buy an Iamsterdam card that allows unlimited transport and museum entry. I knew it was supposedly near platform 2 but as I searched the arcade I couldn’t find it anywhere, even with a map indicating it was here somewhere. Having learnt my lesson by now I headed to the first information booth and asked for directions. As it turns out, the tourist bureau is actually ON platform 2 and I was in the arcade below. It would have been nice if the map had told me to go up! But maybe it did because I can’t read Dutch.
Once I had located the tourist office I bought my Iamsterdam card, now it was time to catch a tram to my hotel. The trams leave from directly outside the main train station. I jumped aboard a tam and swiped by transport card (that is part of the Iamamsterdam package) and I was off through the streets of Amsterdam.
After a last check of the map and a short walk I arrived at my hotel and checked in.
The room is small, which is to be expected here, but funky in a quaint sorta way.
Next, I needed to find an ATM and get some cash so I hit the streets.
I have to admit that the city does have a ‘vibe’ about it. There are heaps and heaps of people on the street but I get the feeling that most of them are tourists. I also note that, unlike Berlin, most of the tourists here are Americans.
The more I walked around the more I noticed that most of the shops seemed to be catering to the upmarket tourist. In the short time I walked around I got the impression that perhaps the city has perhaps lost some of its authenticity given its popularity with tourists.
Maybe I’m wrong on that score but I’ll find out more tomorrow.
I returned to the Topographie or Terror exhibition first thing this morning after walking past Checkpoint Charlie.
The problem was the exhibition opened at 10am not 9am as I thought so I had to hang around a little while till it opened. To kill time I browsed a few local souvenir shops.
My plan was to go from here to an underground in the north of the city. Because the exhibition didn’t open until later than I expected and I wanted to make sure that I spent enough time here so I left it as late as I dared. Even then I could have probably spent at least another hour here working through all the displayed.
I high tailed it to the nearest U Bhan station and made a change on my way to the starting point of the underground tour.
I actually arrived at the station with a few minutes to spare. The problem was that I picked the wrong end of the platform to exit on and was confronted with a maze of stairs and tunnels to negotiate.
The next problem when I finally located the place to purchase tickets was that it was filled with other people buying tickets for later tours. By the time finally got their issues sorted it was too late for me to go on the tour. As I left I found, just around the corner from the ticket office a direct escalator to the U-Bahn platform I just departed. Obviously, I wasn’t meant to go on the tour. I’ll know for next time.
I decided to head back to near the Brandenburg gate and see the Mythos Germania exhibition, which details the plans Hitler had for remodelling Berlin and the grand structures he planned. There wasn’t much to really see at the exhibition but the information boards made it worthwhile.
I decided that it was agood opportunity to try and work out how the S-Bahn (not U-Bahn) trains work. I managed to fluke an S-Train in the right direction but didn’t end up taking the direction I expected so I hoped off at the Berlin Haupbahnhof and decided it would be quicker to walk. Doing so too me once again past the parliament district and the Reichstag.
Also in the exhibition was a whole lot of video presentations about underground Germany. One that really intrigued me was the Flak towers, to the north of city, where I was just before. Turns out you can also do tours inside these as well. Another thing to add to my list of things to do and see in Berlin, especially as it was not something I knew much about.
As I wanted to take a walking tour that would commence in the east of the city I once again needed to catch the U-Bahn in that direction so I walked down to Potsdam Platz, which unfortunately, is another location I wouldn’t have time to visit. I was really keen to see the Sony Centre. Ah well, next time (again).
After exiting the U-Bahn station I headed to Museum Island with the idea of doing a quick tour of at least one museum in the area.
In the end I decided to visit the Berlin Dom, which is a major cathedral. The inside was pretty amazing but you can actually go up to dome and walk around. The views from up here are pretty impressive.
Now running out of time before my tour I snapped a few shots of some of the other museums in the area.
I then headed to the tour starting location near the local S-Bahn station.
I bought my ticket (from an Australian!) and then set off with my guide and fellow walker on the Grand Tour. After yesterdays great 3rd Reich walking tour I’d decided to stick with the guides from Insider Tour.
The Berlin Dom once again.
The Altes Museum.
This is the Bebelplatz, just off Unter den Linden which is the location of the Nazi book burning just before the war.
St Hedwigs Kathedrale
There is memorial below the Platz which you can view through a glass window. It is basically a room of empty shelves representing the loss of the burnt books.
Franzostscher Dom at Gendarmen Markt.
The bricks in the road represent the location of the Berlin wall through the streets.
Our tour finished at the Brandenburg gate which was lit up due the Berlin Festival of lights.
From here I headed back to my hotel down Under den Linten,
and back down Friedrich Strasse.
Tomorrow is another change of city with a brief stop in Amsterdam but I have to say that I had a great time in Berlin and there is just so much more I’d really like to do and see. I think that I would need at least another 7 days to really see everything that I wanted to here and perhaps even more.
Berlin is really an amazing place. It is so full of history and interesting places. There is plenty here to suit every tourist I reckon and best of all it is all pretty cheap. If you ever get the chance to come here then put it on your list. When you do make sure you take a Insider Tour (especially the Grand Tour) before you do anything else and you’ll get to see so much from an excellent guide. I’d honestly say this is a better way to see the city than a hop on hop off bus. Full marks to Insider Tour, if I come back then I’ll be taking more tours.
I decided that I wanted to to do the 3rd Reich walking tour from Insider Tour to start off with today so I needed to hop on the U-Bahn and get to the starting point near the Berlin Zoo. This meant that I should have been able to catch the U6 to Hallesches Tor and then change for the U1, which would get me near enough.
When I arrived on the platform for the U1 (which had a covering of ice given so of it was outside), even with my poor German I knew there was a problem on the U1 line. A few stops along everyone got out so I followed suit not exactly knowing what what was going on. Don’t ask me how but we ended up on a platfor of a U2 train. That didn’t gel with my map so I held off while the train headed off. As I pondered my map a station attendant came over to me (obviously because I had a map) and let me know that the train on this platform did in fact go where I wanted to go. In fact it would take be closer, so I jumped aboard the next train.
After exiting the station I quickly located the tour meeting point (outside McDonalds opposite the main entrance to the S line Zoo station. There I bought a ticket, once again receiving a discount because of my Welcome Berlin card, met up with my guide, Kenny and waited for the tour to kick off.
Our first stop was just around the corner to look at the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche which remains in ruins to this day to remind everyone about the terrible cost of the war.
We then jumped on a bus and headed to the German Resistance Memorial.
Probably the most famous one time resident of this building (which was an Army headquarters during World War II) was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. He was the man who planted the bomb that probably came closest to killing Hitler. The whole subject has been made into a recent movies Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise, which I’m now even keener to see.
The above picture if taken in the courtyard where von Stauffenberg and other plotter where executed by firing squad. They stood approximately where the bronze statue now stands.
The museum is full of information not just about von Stauffenberg but about the German resistance to Nazis. Our tour guide gave a great run through of the events surrounding the von Stauffenberg plot in the actual rooms in which it took place. The above shot is actually from von Stauffenberg’s office.
After having a brief look through the museum we headed back to courtyard for a few more photos before heading off.
Above you can see some of the scars of the battle for Berlin between the remnants of German army and the Soviets. Our guide gave us a graphic account of those last days and the costs to both sides. His summary was that the battle for Berlin killed the equivalent of two of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima.
A bit further along we stopped at the memorial to the Nazi T 4 program. This was the beginning of the Nazi program of euthanasia for those who did not meet their ‘standards’. I must admit that I have never heard of this program and will certainly do some more research into it.
We then headed to Under den Linten across the Tiergarden and came across the memorial to the homosexuals murdered by the Nazis, which isn’t that far from the Holocaust memorial.
We crossed over the road and spent some time at the Holocaust memorial (which I visited yesterday) and spent some time giving us the sad facts and figures of what the Nazis inflicted.
We took a coffee break and then headed for the location of Hitler’s bunker which I also visited yesterday.
Our next stop was at this subway station. The reason is that that the marble you can see on the walls actually came from Hilter’s offices after it was destroyed.
We continued along the street some more and stopped outside what used to be the headquarters of the Luftwaffe. Which amazingly (by pure chance) survived the war.
A bit further down the street was a remaining piece of the Berlin All that I photographed last night.
A little further down is the Topography of Terror.
This is where the Nazi security services like the SS and Gestapo resided. The buildings where totally destroyed after the war the location cleared and levelled. They are now building a memorial and in the meantime they have an outdoor exhibit.
The tour finished up here with a brief overview of the legacy of the Nazi’s in today’s Germany.
I gotta say this tour was really worth the money. The Insider Tour guide (Kenny) was fantastic and I can’t recommend these guys highly enough. They run a whole heap of tours that are all worth doing. If you are in Berlin for any length of time do yourself a favour and take a tour. I’m even considering taking another one tomorrow I’m that impressed.
I returned to the marble subway station to head to the Stassi Museum (the old East German secret police headquarters)
The only problem is that teh majority of the museum is in German which makes it a little hard to get a full understanding of everything.
I headed back to the subway past some pretty drab block of units. It was interesting at how different this neighbourhood (old East Germany) was when compared to other places I’ve seen here. I was something that struck me straight away.
I returned to the Topograhie of Terror but was ushered out at 6pm when the exhibit closes. I’ll have to come back tomorrow to finish looking at all the information.
From here I headed back to grab something to eat and then went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum to finish the day.
One more day left, what will I do?
After grabbing a hearty breakfast at the hotel I headed out. My first destination was going to be the Brandenburg Gate. My preference was to walk since it wasn’t far and it would give me a better fell of the city.
Being only a short distance from Checkpoint Charlie, I though perhaps I’d go to the museum in the same location. I soon changed my mind when I saw all the people who were already crowded around the area.
I saw that the museum actually doesn’t close till about 10pm so I knew I could save it until one of my return trips on night. So I snapped a few pictures and continued on my way up Freidrichtstrasse towards Unter den Linden.
As I continued along I noticed the whole area around Checkpoint Charlie is covered with descriptive boards and there is also a walk you can take. Looks like I’m going to have to spend a lot more time here soon.
Where Freidrichtstrasse meets Unter den Linden I found a VW store. Yes a whole department store devoted to all makes and models of VW. This also includes Bugatti, with the Veyron parkign in the windows. I could let such an opportunity to go by, as this will probably my only change to get near a Veyron.
I walked around the whole store, up and down the floors (yes, it has more than 1 floor) and lamented at how much buying a car in German has become like buy and other home appliance!
I turn the corner on Unter den Linden and headed west and took this shot looking back at the TV tower, which will be something else I’ll need to visit.
It wasn’t long before I was standing in front of probably the most famous place in all of Germany, the Brandenburg Gate. After seeing it many times in the history of World War II and the Cold War it is something to actually see it for yourself.
As you pass through the gates, heading west, you can see the Reichstag on the right, so I headed over there to have a look at probably the second most famous place in Germany.
I got a real sense of history when I stood in front of the building and took these shots. You may also notice over on the right hand side of the front of the building was a long queue. This is a queue to get into the Reichstag.At this stage of the day I decided that I’d join the queue late in the day, hopefully when the crowds had died down.
I walked around the extremity of the Reichstag and noted how close the river is.
My next plan was to board one of the hop-on-hop-off buses and take a complete tour of the city. Most of these stop at the Brandenburg Gate, so I headed back there and jumped aboard the Berlin City Tour bus which gave me a discount with my Welcome Berlin card.
My plan was to do at least one complete circuit of the city on the bus to get a better idea of where everything was located.
I took the above shots while riding around.
After a complete circuit I hopped of at the Brandenburg gate again and headed a little south to the Holocaust Museum.
All these blocks stand in testament to all the Jews who were killed by the Nazis during the war. The memorial now stand the location of old Nazi Propaganda Ministry and there is actually an underground exhibit you can attend but it is closed on Mondays. Another thing to mark on my ‘to-do’ list.
I knew that Hitler’s bunker was also in the area so I started to look around. There is actually an exhibit which provides you with the history of the old Berlin and conducts underground tours but most start early in the morning. Another ‘to-do’ item.
It turns out that there is some information about the location Hitler’s bunker a bit further south of the exhibit.
There is basically nothing left as it was totally destroyed by the Russians after the war. For more information have a look at this Wikipedia article. Basically now it is car park in front of some flats.
There are still a number of underground bunkers and constructions that can be taken in via a guided tour. Hopefully, if I get enough time I’ll get along on one.
The above shot is an example of some of the form work from another bunker in the area.
My next stop was going to be the memorial to the Soviet soldiers killed in the battle for Berlin in 1945. It is basically a little to the west of the Brandenburg Gate along Strass des 17 Juni.
So I headed back that way, once again through the Holocaust memorial with the Reichstag in the distance.
Over 300,000 Soviet soldiers lost their lives in the battle for Berlin in 1945 and this impressive memorial is dedicated to them. At the front you can see two T-34 tanks which were the first ones into the city. If you walk through the memorial you will find a number of informational panels about the memorial, numerous war cemeteries and other memorials to the war.
I headed back to Brandenburg Gate to pick up the Berlin City Tour bus to get to the other side of Unter den Linden as I wanted to see the Neue Wache memorial.
I jumped off the bus at Rotes Rathus in Alexanderplatz and headed through the Marx Engles Forum back toward Unter den Linden.
On the way I passed the Neptune fountain,
the Berlin TV Tower
and the Berliner Dome.
A little way along I can to the Neue Wache which is now a memorial to the Victims of Facism. It is basically the statue you see above of a mother holding her son inside a start room, with only a skylight. Not exactly what I expected but I think it conveys the feeling of the memorial very well.
I decided that it was now time to head back to the Reichstag and line up to get inside, so I headed off back down Unter den Linden toward the Brandenburg Gate again.
Passing the Statue of Fredrichs des Grossen.
Even at this time of day I had to queue orf about an hour and pass through a security check.
Once you rear the roof you can pick up a free guided audio tour which takes you to the top and back down the glass and aluminium dome on the roof of the Reichstag pointing a number of interesting sites in the city.
At the top of the dome.
Looking down to the glass roof under which the members of the German Parliament meet.
From there you can walk around the exterior of the dome on the roof of the Reichstag and take in the fantastic vistas of the city.
It was now time to start heading back toward the hotel. I had seen a long intact piece of the Berlin Wall not far from my hotel so I headed that way.
Here’s the view from one side,
and from the other.
Heading back to the hotel I saw this attraction, which is basically a balloon that you take a ride up in the air to give you a view of the city.
I finally arrived back in the Checkpoint Charlie area as you can see from the above sign. I grabbed something to eat as well as coffee and desert at the local Starbucks and headed back to the hotel. I was going to go to the Checkpoint Charlie museum but decided I wouldn’t get as much out of it tonight so I’ll save it for another day.
So a few comments and observations on today. Firstly, my hotel is in great location, probably the best so far on my trip. It is right in the heart of everything, making most things within easy walking distance. Second, the place is full of tourists but most are German. I didn’t hear much English at all today. Thirdly, food is really cheap here. You get really good value for your Euro. Finally, I think there would be enough to keep me occupied in Berlin for a week, there is so much to do and see.
So what’s on the cards for tomorrow. I think I’ll start the day with a walking tour of the World War II sites and them perhaps head to the Stassi Museum. However, that may change but hopefully the excellent weather won’t!
Well today was another early start since I wanted to actually catch a train 2 hours earlier than what I was scheduled to take. The reason for this was that although my ultimate destination was going to be Berlin I would need to change trains in the Swiss border town of Basel. When I looked at my original timetable I discovered that I would only have about 20 minutes to change trains which seemed a bit short. I had become more concerned about the timing of the trains after the TGV from Paris to Geneva was 15 minutes late. Now I know that doesn’t sound like much but when you only have 20 minutes to make a change 15 minutes late is a lot.
After doing some checking of the timetables on the Internet I discovered a a similar train ran from Geneva to Basel but 2 hours earlier. Although this would put me in Basel 2 hours early I’d rather be 2 hours early than 2 minutes late.
After grabbing breakfast and checking out I made my way to the station in the cool morning air. As expected, right on time the train for Basel arrived and I hopped on board. Another good thing about checking the train schedule on the Internet is that you can also check the stops that the train is going to make along the way, which gives you a bit of reassurance that you are travelling in the right direction.
My Eurail pass would cover me for the journey to Basel so I had it ready when the conductor came around during the trip. The trip takes about 2 hours and I was able to see some of the countryside as we approached our destination although most of it appeared to simply be farmland.
Upon arriving at Basel I decided to head to the platform where the train to Berlin would depart from. Because I was 2 hours in front of schedule the early train to Berlin would be in Basel ready to depart. Although I perhaps could have changed my reservation to get on this train I decided not to and lucky I did, as it turns out this train must of had a problem and was cancelled. What I really wanted to see with this earlier train was where my coach was going to be located so I would have my bearings correct.
With nothing else to do but wait until my train to Berlin arrived I went and waited in front of the departure board. I wanted to make sure that my train to Berlin would depart from the same platform it was originally supposed to and that the failure of the earlier train would not cause a change of departure platforms.
It didn’t and so I made my way to the same platform to await the trains arrival. After pulling up, I located my seat number, stowed my baggage and made myself comfortable for the journey.
It wasn’t long before we had departed Switzerland and were in Germany. After a few stops the conductor came along to check my ticket so I gave him what I ‘though’ was my ticket. It turns out what I had ‘thought’ was my ticket was actually merely just a seat reservation. He indicated that I would have to pay the full whack to travel to Berlin which was going to be about 225 Euros. This ain’t right I thought as I had paid for all my fares back in Australia. Then it dawned on me that the Eurail pass I had ‘thought’ was just for local and inter-city travel would actually also be valid here.
This is exactly what the conductor was expecting to see, phew. Lesson learnt there. The Eurail ticket gives you the ability to ride on basically all national rail lines in the designated countries, however you can also make a seat reservation (which is really good idea) to guarantee a seat.
When I checked many of my remaining train tickets I also noted that they are also just seat reservations. I now know that I need to ensure I take more care of my Eurail pass as it is what actually allows you to travel on the train. I also note that the of the Eurail pass I have, which is for any 5 days travel in a month is pretty good value at 366 Euros given the trip from Basel to Berlin was going to cost about 225 Euros without it!
When I started looking through some of my previous tickets I see that everything is totally consistent. For example my train trip from Paris to Geneva was covered by an individual ticket which really looks the sane as a reservation ticket, expect for the small word ‘reservation’ in the top right. So go figure! The main point to remember is that the Eurail ticket is THE ticket to allow you to ride the train.
With that little issue now sorted I settled back for the rest of the trip. After taking on so passengers at another stop I looked over to see my fellow passenger running his laptop with the power supply plugged in. ‘So he’s got power over there’, I thought, ‘why don’t I?” After some hunting around my seat it appears that I do in fact have a power point into which I can plug my laptop. It kinda makes it hard to see when the power point is exactly the same colour as the seat frame.
So now with power to my laptop the next wish was wi-fi access, but alas it was not to be. Surely it would not be too hard to do this but I suppose you can’t have everything. So I set about composing this part of today's blog remembering that I’ll have to check more thoroughly when I board my next train to see whether it also at least has a power point.
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I’ve now just had another ticket check and everything checks out! I’m a whiz now I know how this train ticket stuff works!
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The train got into Berlin about 30 minutes late and I was a bit worried that the information centre would be closed because it was Sunday night. Turns out is open till 10pm, phew. The Berlin Hbf station is a pretty intimidating place, with over 4 levels of trains, shopping and people even at this time of night.
I easily found the information centre where I could buy my Welcome Berlin card after consulting the station layout. With that now in hand I had to negotiate the subway to my hotel. This proved far more challenging than I thought it would be. Initially, I went up, then I went down, then I went round and round trying to find a train to get me closer to my destination. In the end I gave up and asked at the information desk.
Turned out I needed to go up, and get an S train to Friedrichstrasse and change there for the U6 service. I didn’t really make any sense to me but then probably I was expecting too much in a next city, in the dark after a long train trip. I hopped aboard the next train which indeed took me to Friedrichstrasse. I now had to change and locate the U6 service which I managed to do. I knew the direction that I had to travel in by the final destination of the line. What amazed me was the number of people on the platform at this time (9pm) on a Sunday night!
I climbed aboard the subway and counted the few stops until my destination. Upon alighting I had two choices to exit at either end of the station and typically I chose the one furthest away from were I actually wanted to head.
After getting my bearings and heading back in the correct direction I finally checked into my hotel, ready to take a breather and try and work out the train system ready for tomorrow.
