Get on your bike!!

Brandenburger Tor
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After an early evening flight into Schonefeld airport and a bus/train journey into the city we arrived at our hotel. We bought a berlin card, which offers you discounts and travel throughout the city, and for only 19 euros too good a deal to turn down. By this time it was around 10pm so with a quick turnaround we were off to find something to eat and a few beers.

We settled upon the Sony Center, a modern cinema complex which also houses restaurants and shops. We chose Corroborree, a fantastic australian restaurant. A couple of beers and burger and chips (best burger we have ever had) was enough to re-charge the batteries, so we decided to have a little walk and see what was going on. We arrived at the Brandenburger Tor(gate), fantastically lit and very imposing. This is where the past importance of this city hit home. It is quite simply stunning!

This is where the past importance of this city hit home. It is quite simply stunning!

Reichstag
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A stone's throwaway is the Reichstag (bundestag), home of the german government. This is also a stunning building,again lit and majestic. Both this and the gate are a must see, both at night as well as in the day. We then headed back along towards the jewish memorial, or with its proper title,the memorial to the murdered jews of europe. This, unsurprisingly is quite an eery place. Time was now getting on so decided to head back towards our hotel for a good nights sleep.

Cupola on top of the Reichstag
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Saturday:- A bright sunny morning and we were off to the Berliner Fernsehturm, tv tower. This was where we were to join the fat tire bike tour, something brian had found on the web. This really was a fantastic way of not only seeing the sights but learning from our guide about the history of berlin. Our guide, Nic, a belgian man who had a masters in history was absolutely fantastic. Giving us all the info in a light hearted way made it alot easier to take in and understand. We visited numerous places along the way, including the Bebel Platz, (the sight of where hitler instructed the mass book burning),Gendenmarkt,a beautiful square with the konzerthaus flanked by both the deutscher and franzosische dom. From there onto checkpoint charlie, the border crossing where US and Soviet guards once stood. We also visited one of the few remaining watchtowers and where the fuhrerbunker was, where hitler spent his last days.

the reichstag
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From here onto the jewish memorial and the brandenburg gate and through the tiergarten, known as the green lungs of the capital. A short stop at a beergarden for refreshments and on our way again past the siegessaule monument, schloss bellevue and the government and finance district we ended up at the reichstag, for a brief talk on the history of the building. Heading back towards the tv tower we passed by the berliner dom,a stunning looking cathedral and we were back. About 10km and four and a half hours enjoyment, and all this for only 20 euros!! A walk back to our hotel, via the lovely unter den linden (main avenue) for a few beers and change of clothes,it was now time for something to eat. After an unsuccessful look for the kilkenny irish pub we descended on the sony center again for a lovely steak meal at the Alex restaurant.

view from the top of the reichstag
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Sunday:- A early(ish) morning alarm call and it was time to pack our bags ready and head off for our last day. Greeted with another sunny morning, we set off straight to the reichstag, this time to join the queue to look inside and see up into the cupola, the beautiful glass dome. The view is breathtaking from inside the dome as you gently walk up to its summit, where you are met with a panoramic 360 degree view of the city.

A hop on the u-bahn to Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the largest train station in europe,we were on our way to the Olympiastadion. This is quite an old stadium, but very impressive. A 1 hour guided tour followed (german commentary), with access to the press room, changing rooms etc and it was time to head back into the city centre. Alexanderplatz was our next stop,one of berlins main areas, next to the tv tower, searching for a few souvenirs for the kids. After a mooch around a few shops, it was time to head back to our hotel to have a quick drink and pick up our bags for the journey home.

tv tower
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The return train/bus trip back to the airport and evening flight home prevailed. Verdict:- one of the best (if not the best) cities i have ever visited and in my opinion, somewhere everyone would enjoy !!