We decided to take it easy on Day 1 since we have arrived in Berlin early this morning. After placing our bags with the hotel we walked from the hotel to Topography of Terror. Along the way we saw the BMW Berlin Marathon in progress. Unfortunately for the runners, it was a rainy day. The Topography of Terror is definitely a must visit when in Berlin as it gives you a very clear run down on what took place between 1933 and 1945 when the Nazi party was in power.
Summary:
Open daily
10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Closed on Dec 24th, 31st, Jan 1st
Admission free
(Refundable) Coin lockers available.
Closest Public Transport:
U-Bahn station : U2 Potsdamer Platz or U6 Kochstraße
S-Bahn station : S1/S2 Anhalter Bahnhof or S1/S2 Potsdamer Platz
From the Topography of Terror it is only around 10mins walk to Checkpoint Charlie. Charlie is for “C” and one of the checkpoints used during the Cold War for the crossing between East Berlin and West Berlin. There are many other checkpoints but Charlie has become a tourist attraction when the Berlin Wall came down. Opposite the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, there is a bakery called Back-Factory that sells very cheap sandwiches, baguettes, doughnuts, pretzels and coffee. You can also get a jam doughnut called the “Berliner” .
After a short break at the cafe, we decide to walk to Brandenburger Tor however as the marathon runners were going to that direction as well, some roads were blocked off and there are a lot of supporters on the Unter den Linden cheering the runners. We decided to head back to the hotel Living Hotel Grosser Kurfuerst via the Unter den Linden. On the way we spotted the well loved Berlin icon Ampelmann shop and we can’t help popping in there to have a browse and give our legs a rest with a cappuccino break and some souvenir shopping.
Given we had flown about 24hrs to get to Germany, we are keen to have an early night to catch up on sleep, so we had decide to have dinner nearby at the Upside Down Bar & Restaurant in the Art’otel Berlin Mitte. The ambience is nice and the service is good. I ordered a Club sandwich but unfortunately the chicken was overcooked. Craig had ordered a beef burger and it was Ok for him. Two meals with a bottle of sparkling water came to a total of EUR41.
Day 1 came to an early end for us we finish with an early night.