Christmas in Berlin

Berlin was a city we heard a lot about but had never visited.  Our first introduction to the city came at the lovely Christmas market at Alexanderplatz.  Germans know how to do Christmas.  Mulled wine, hot chocolate, sausages, kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes), hearty soups, pretzels... the eating possibilities were endless.  We also hit up a great market called Gendarmenmarkt which had cozy stalls lit up with Christmas lights.

Gendarmenmarkt

On Christmas day we stumbled upon the Hofbrauhaus Berlin, right near our hotel.  John and I had visited the famous Hofbrauhaus (beer hall) in Munich with Vanessa in 2008, so we wanted to check out this one.  Our luck had it that there was a lunch buffet going on for Christmas, and it was an excellent price at under 15 Euro per person.  It was all German food - ie. TONS of meat, potatos, pretzels, sauerkraut, beer... everything was delicious, and we were entertained by a man playing traditional music on his accordion.  It couldn't have been more German!

After our lunch we headed to the Reichstag, German parliament building.  Entry is free but you have to book spots online and present your invitation letter upon arrival.  I had previously checked out the website to see if there were spots available but they were booked up, but to my surprise on Christmas Day they had opened up extra spots... a Christmas miracle?  I booked us a time slot, received the invitation letter by email, and several hours later we were at the Reichstag, through the security check, and inside the famous glass dome on top of the building.

I wasn't sure what to expect at the Reichstag, but all the reviews I read on TripAdvisor were very positive.  Our free audio guide led us up the winding ramp through the glass dome which had beautiful views of the city.  We were in the dome at "golden hour" - the last hour of daylight before sunset.  It was the best time to go!  If you look below the glass dome, you can see where the German parliament holds its sessions... the glass represents the transparent government.  I thought the architecture was very impressive.  It was a nice way to spend Christmas Day in Berlin, looking over the city as the sun set.

Our other highlights in Berlin included seeing the famous Brandenburg Gate, visiting the Pergamon Museum which contained various treasures from the ancient world, and taking an informative walking tour that detailed the history of Berlin.  Our walking tour guide brought us to the Holocaust Memorial, a labyrinth of concrete slabs resembling a cemetery.  Not far away was the place where Hitler shot himself, which is now just a small park area with some trees near an apartment building with no sign commemorating the place as a historic site.  We saw the place called Checkpoint Charlie, the best-known crossing point between East and West Berlin during the time when the Berlin Wall existed.  Today in Berlin there still remains a section of the wall for visitors to see, and on the roads there is a marked line where the wall used to exist - as a reminder of how the city was divided from 1961 to 1989.

Brandenburg Gate

Pergamon Museum

Holocaust Memorial

Berlin Wall

Though Berlin has a rich history, it is clearly a city that has undergone a huge amount of change.  It seemed like a very liveable place.  We have a former colleague John who is currently living in the city but was in Canada the time on holiday.  John gave us some recommendations of cool areas around town to check out.  Another old colleague Jeremy and his wife who are living in another city in Germany were also in town, so we met up with them in the cool neighbourhood of Kreuzberg for some food and drink.  Luckily for us, the Berlin transportation system is great and we were able to catch a late metro back to our hotel.  Fun times in a cool city!