Berlin / Germany

Day 1

We left London on Friday evening again, making our way to Gatwick airport from work. It was a late depart and an even later arrival. We landed at Schönefeld airport. By the time we got out and got the train to our Airbnb it was 1am! 

The main reason for this trip was to hang out with some of my closest friends I made 14 years ago. Pete & Leah had moved on from Amsterdam to Berlin, Danny & Sheena had crossed the Atlantic from Vancouver and Jeremy & Brittany had come from Australia via Hawaii. Although we didn’t spend a full week with them, it was an unreal feeling hanging out with lifelong friends on the other side of the world.

We woke somewhat early, and although the weather wasn’t in our favour we headed straight for breakfast. We then walked around the city and checked out the sites. We stopped in at the DDR Museum. The museum focuses on showing the history of East Berlin after the wall had gone up. It was pretty interactive, and a good way to dodge the rain. The history in the city is immense. I felt so grateful for the life my generation in New Zealand has grown up in. One thought that came to me often was, the people will eventually overcome. 

We then headed to the Airbnb for a quick rest then headed to catch up with the crew. It wasn’t since Jeremy’s wedding two years ago since we were all together. All the feels. We went out to a bar to watch Germany clinch the victory over Italy in the UEFA EURO Quarter-final. To say the bar was on edge is an understatement! We went out to boogie and that was the night.

Day 2

We made our best effort to crawl out of bed to get down to the bike tour company. The weather was looking really good and we were excited to see a lot of the city on bike. Our bike tour was almost five hours with a company called Fat Tire Tours. It was hands down the best thing to do in Berlin. Our guide was Irish, but had a wealth of knowledge, we both learnt so much. We saw where the Nazi book burnings took place, famous buildings, high rise flats from the soviet era, Checkpoint Charlie (and the best explanation of the Berlin Wall), the Berlin Wall, The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Victory Column, we biked through the Tiergarten and saw the Reichstag. After a massive day we headed back to see the crew and caught up over delicious and cheap Vietnamese food. 

Day 3

We took the Monday off from work to get a long weekend. The rest of the crew departed, all in different directions. We headed to breakfast before heading to the East Side Gallery. It’s the international memorial for freedom. It’s a 1.3km long section of the wall. One section was showcasing stories of people affected by the war in Syria, some of which, were absolutely heartbreaking. We then queued for almost an hour for Germany’s best Kebab. It was pretty good! We then made our way over to the Berlin Cathedral and took a tour inside. It was spectacular, the detail in everything was on another level. We also got to go up to the dome and get a good view of the city. It was then time to start the journey back to the Airbnb to gather our stuff, then say goodbye to Berlin and head home.