Last Day in Berlin

Sunday 7th August 2016

There was no hurry to get up this morning as we are planning a more relaxing day today, after yesterdays marathon effort.

We left the hotel at around 10 am in the direction of Alexanderplatz, not a long way from our hotel. It is another very large square with a lot to see in the immediate surrounds.

St Marys Church near Alexanderplatz, dates back to the late 13th Century

Near the church and in the centre of a square between it and the Berlin Town Hall, is the King Neptune Fountain, relocated to this site in 1969.

At the end of the square is Berlin's Communication tower. At 368 m high it is the highest publicly accessible building in Europe. The viewing area is about 205m above the ground at the bottom of the sphere with a restaurant on the level above it. We decided to go to the top, as the crowd waiting wasn't excessive. The view once you get there is certainly worth it.

The Berlin Town Hall

Sections of the river from both directions

We could also see the Brandenburg Gate

After we descended from the tower, we wandered over to Alexanderplatz, where we could see from the tower, there was some sort of market under way.

Alexanderplatz Railway Station

The square was filled with, market stalls, food stalls, bars and entertainment. the variety of foods on offer was amazing, and the attitude to the service of alcohol here is very different from Australia.

An interesting way to BBQ Salmon

and to sell fruit juice ! (with or without alcohol)

We had the customary bratwurst with mustard, and a chance to have a brief sit down, before being on the move again. It was about 1pm and it has turned into a very pleasant day.

Continuing our exploration of the area we headed off in the direction of a church we could see that had 2 spires. When we found it, it turned out to be St Nikolai Church, Berlin's oldest Church , built somewhere around 1220 to 1230. Like many of the churches in Berlin, it is now a museum.

St Nikolai's Church

From here we were not far from the river, so strolled down to the river bank and walked upstream for a little while until we came to the lock we passed through yesterday on our river cruise. The boat traffic seemed a bit less than yesterday and only one side of the lock was in use.

We walked back to the hotel along the river bank until we ran into a major construction site that blocked our way. They are extending the subway system in Berlin and the tunnel boring machine is working away somewhere under us, with major work sites scattered along the proposed line (not unlike what we are seeing in Sydney at the moment with the North West Rail Project). So we had to divert into the side streets and came across this electric car plugged into a curbside "powerpoint".

Just around the corner, we found the Old City Hall.

All we need now is a cool drink, and head back to our hotel for a rest. It has been a busy few days in Berlin and we have made the most of it, taking in as much as was possible during our short visit.

There is little doubt it is a beautiful city, and if you are into monuments, churches, museums and art galleries you could spend weeks, if not months here. The food is not great, but it is better than the service !

We have enjoyed our stay here, and it provided  a nice break between our Spain/Portugal tour and the cruise we are about to embark on.