Can I start by saying, hi, how are we? It feels so good to be back writing about a city break destination. Travelling. Freedom. Oh, how I've missed you. And first on our list? The German capital of Berlin. Now let's not beat around the bush. The cost of living is hitting everyone, hard. And with Christmas around the corner, we tried to look for some great cost-effective options. Holidays don't come cheap, but we managed to find a great deal for flights and hotel. After changing up our Euros, we were good to go! I'd never been to Germany before, and we were lured in by the promise of endless Christmas markets and Pretzels, so we booked our flight and off we went! (Disclaimer: we actually ended up flying out the weekend BEFORE most of the Christmas markets opened, which was a bit of a bummer. But we did catch a glimpse of the stalls and the pretty lights, and managed to snag a hot chocolate and some festive snacks in a Christmas cabin. Can't complain.) Day 1 In total, we had two full days to explore the city and pack as much activity in as we could. On the first day, we ventured out from our hotel in Alexanderplatz Square in search of some historic monuments. Our first stop, however, was the iconic TV Tower, located just a few minutes from the hotel. We pre-booked our tickets on Get Your Guide online to save on the Euros and headed straight to the top to find the most incredible view of the city. I would highly recommend heading up for the 360 view. Who needs a map when you have aerial vision? There is a little restaurant at the top but we didn't bother heading up. After our trip to the sky, we had a general idea of what direction we wanted to head in and made our way down to the Brandenburg Gate. If you're anything like me and love history, this is an absolute must see in Berlin. We discovered a little more about the Gate and it's significance as we ventured towards the Berlin wall and found a fantastic exhibition called the 360 Panorama Installation. Inside, we found a series of first hand accounts from locals living in Berlin during the time the wall separated the city. Again, history buffs will love this just as much as I did. The main event was a giant room with a 360 painting of the Berlin wall and the surroundings. It was kind of surreal? It was just so lifelike, it felt like you were actually there. Checkpoint Charlie was literally across the road from the exhibition, so we made a quick stop to take some photos. (As a side note, it felt really weird to have a McDonalds right there in the background. Like a strange mix of the old and the new? I don't know. It was just a strange placement of a fast food place.) We also managed to find some Christmas markets by the remains of the Berlin wall, which we were happy about. The hot chocolate and warm cabin was exactly what we needed after a day of wandering around in -1 temperatures. We also wandered to the Welt Globe which was, honestly, kind of overrated. It had been rated as one of the top things to do in Berlin but I don't think you're missing out on much if you skip this one. day 2Day One was pretty history-heavy, so on our second day, we sought out some fun activities to do. Our first stop was the Illuseum Museum just a few minutes walk from the hotel. It was a little smaller than we expected and took us less than an hour to walk around, but it was definitely worth it for the fun photo opportunities. Again, we booked tickets online to save on the cash. We also ended up paying a visit to the Body Worlds Museum that was located right next to the TV tower. All I can say is I was glad I let my breakfast go down. The museum consists of preserved human bones and parts, which was absolutely fascinating, but not something I could have done right after food. After that, we were pretty museum'd out, so we headed back towards the Brandenburg Gate to seek out the Victory Tower. It was quite a walk, but definitely worth it. On the way back, we stopped at the Reichstag Building and caught a boat tour of the Government District. It snowed on the glass roof and made the park look extra festive. We also managed to grab a hot pretzel from a local vendor on the walk back (with cheese, of course), which was unreal. All in all, our visit to Berlin was brief but definitely worth it. We drank beer from a stein, ate a pretzel and discovered some of the history of the city in just a couple of short days. The transport links are great, with trains running directly to the airport every 15 minutes so we didn't bother with transfers. Alexanderplatz square had so many food and drink options and plenty of souvenir shops for your nick nacks and postcards. I would say that if we had more time, I think we would struggle to find more things to do. It was kind of, calm, for a capital city? It was busy, but not overly packed or claustrophobic, which may have been more to do with the weather than anything else. And as for Berlin on a budget? There were plenty of interesting, cost-effective museums, exhibits and galleries to visit. Of course, visiting the historic monuments is completely free, and you can act as your own tour guide with a quick Google search! We loved our time in Germany and can now scratch another city off the map!
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