Dusseldorf to Berlin (559km)

On the 23rd of July we were happy to check out of Dusseldorf and take the train to Berlin. After a pleasant journey we arrived at the Novum Winters Hotel in Berlin Spandau in late afternoon. We settled in and then went for a walk to look around the local area of Spandau. We enjoyed seeing the canal boats from the bridge over the River Spree then had a burger and beer in Alstadt Spandau (the old town).
(Photos: German train; Berlin Hauptbahnhof Station; Novum Winters Hotel).

Our first day of sightseeing in Berlin was a Sunday, and most shops and attractions are closed on Sundays in Berlin with the exception of the Flea Market at Mauerpark (Flohmarkt am Mauerpark). This is the largest flea market in Berlin and it was a lot of fun! There were vintage clothes and homewares as far as the eye could see along with a variety of amazing food stalls and icy cold beer. There was entertainment as well and we saw an acrobat and an MC battle going down on the edge of the market place.
This was also my first opportunity to try a curry wurst which is one of Berlin's most famous dishes and it was delicious! Although Matt didn't really see what the fuss was about.

(Photos: the Flohmarket; performer at Mauerpark; curry wurst).

On Monday we had a big day of sightseeing. We started out at the Berlin Curry Wurst Museum. Curry wurst has become such a beloved dish in Berlin that an entire museum is dedicated to educating the public about the humble origins of curry wurst in the aftermath of World War II and just generally singing the praises of this unique dish.
In an nutshell curry wurst was first invented by a German women in Berlin who had a small food stall in the city selling sausages. After the war luxury items were scarce and so she invented a way to make the humble sausage more appealing to the masses by mixing together tomato sauce, curry powder and other secret herbs and spices found in the ration kits provided by the English Army. Served with fries or a bread roll, curry wurst quickly became a hit in Berlin and it is now extremely common to see Berliners standing at the food stalls in the city chowing down on curry wurst.

The museum was interactive and informative and we really enjoyed it. It showed a different perspective on life in Berlin after the war specifically focusing on food and how curry wurst came to be so beloved by Berliners.
At the end we each enjoyed a curry wurst tasting plate with different varieties of sausage and sauces. Once again I loved it but Matt remained ambivalent.

(Photos: the Curry Wurst Museum).

From the cheerful Curry Wurst Museum we made our way a few blocks to the more sombre Topography of Terror Museum where we also saw some remnants of the Berlin Wall.
The Topography of Terror Museum was extremely informative as it provided a lot of detail around the social and political context in Germany and Europe which precipitated Hitler's rise to power and then focused specifically on the methods and techniques used by the SS and Gustapo to keep the citizens of Nazi occupied areas living in a environment of perpetual fear and terror.
Toward the end of the exhibits was some depressing information about how many high ranking SS and Gustapo officials managed to avoid prosecution and simply reintegrated back into society as though it had never happened.

(Photos: Berlin Wall; Topography of Terror; the Berlin subway; curry wurst on the go).

On Tuesday we decided to go and see the Aquadom which is the largest cylindrical aquarium tank in the world standing at 25m tall and containing over 1 million litres of water, with a glass elevator to take people up directly through the middle of the tank. The Aquadom is located in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel but if you are not a guest of the hotel the only way to access the Aquadom is with a ticket for Sea Life Aquarium in Berlin.
So we spent the day at Sea Life Berlin which was really interesting as we got to see species of marine life from around Europe, but we felt that Sea Life Bangkok had more and better quality attractions.
It was worth it though to see the Aquadom which was truly impressive with a coral reef and over 1500 fish in the tank.

That afternoon we took a walk around the trendy Mitte area and then went to a pub/restaurant called The Pub for dinner. We enjoyed some fantastic burgers and beers which we poured from our own tap in the centre of our table in the pug-themed pub located underneath the railway tracks. It took us a few tries to get the hang of the beer taps but once we did we managed to knock back several steins and ordered our food from a tablet at the table.

(Photos: Sea Life Berlin; the Aquadom; around Mitte; The Pub).

On Wednesday I had to travel back to Dusseldorf to collect my passport and new visa vignette to enter the UK so Matt took the opportunity to explore a bit more around Spandau. When I got back in the afternoon we took a walk through the park and then went to the Brauhaus Spandau (Brewhouse Spandau) for dinner. This was one of our favourite meals in Germany as the traditional German food and beer was to die for and the atmosphere of the working brewery was really cosy and charming.
We enjoyed it so much we went back again the next evening after having a break from sightseeing on Thursday.

(Photos: Brauhaus Spandau; pork knuckle with trimmings; Spandau).

We were due to check out of the Novum Winters Hotel on Friday but we were enjoying Berlin so much that we decided to stay for 2 more nights. On Friday morning we checked into the Windham Berlin Excelsior Hotel which was located just a few blocks from the Berlin Zoo. We were able to check in early at about 10am so we had the whole day to explore the Berlin Zoo.
It turned out to be one of the highlights of our entire trip. The zoo is absolutely massive with so many animals and exhibits that it is impossible to see the whole thing in just one day. The animal habitats were really high quality and spacious with fences and cages cleverly designed so that you were able to get right up close to the animals while also staying safe.
We loved every minute of the zoo but some of our favourite exhibits were the gorillas, the big cats, the hippos and the big birds of prey.

(Photos: Rhino, Asian Elephants; Mountain Goat; Flamingos; Cape Porcupine; Gorillas; Lioness; Leopard; Zebras; Vulture; Wolves; Warthog; Hippo; Tapir; Bald Eagle).

On our final day in Berlin we went exploring in the Kreuzberg district which is full of trendy artists, live music venues, dive bars and diners. Kreuzberg still has a lot of grungy character as it is one area of Berlin that has not yet succumbed to gentrification. We wandered through the streets and alleys taking in the street art and made our way down to the East Harbour of the River Spree where we caught a glimpse of the Badeschiff (hollowed out hull of a ship moored and turned into a year-round swimming pool/beach) from afar as we were too cheap to pay to get in given that it was too cold to swim that day. On our way back to the station we stopped for a while and watched the canal boats coming and going through a lock which was a first for us.

(Photos: around Kreuzberg; the Badeschiff; canal boats).

On Sunday 31st of July we had a leisurely breakfast and checked out of our hotel at lunchtime. I enjoyed one final curry wurst before we took a 2.0pm train from Berlin to Amsterdam.

(Photo: the coke and beer combination which Germans call Colabier or Diesel - not as bad as I first thought it would be - but Matt being the beer connoisseur was not a fan).