Shane and I arrived in Berlin around 11pm and quickly grabbed a cab to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel quicker than we anticipated - Germans really do drive fast! We were exhausted by the time we got to the hotel so after catching up for a bit, we turned in for bed.
The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel (Adam has Marriott status and the spread in the executive lounge was amazing!) before heading out to meet up with our walking tour. Our walking tour was a four hour tour of Berlin. The tour started in 'west' Berlin before moving into 'east' Berlin. Our tour guide was phenomenal and made the tour both informative and entertaining. The majority of Berlin had to be rebuilt after the war so it was interesting to see what the city was able to save and rebuild and what buildings had to be rebuilt in their entirety. Another interesting thing we discovered on our tour was the lack of tourist information/signage for certain historic areas in Berlin. Our guide took us to the spot of Hitler's bunker and where Hitler's body was burned - it's a car park. Our guide informed us that there are certain aspects of the war, and historic areas in the city, that the city does not want to draw attention to as the city is moving past the war.
After the tour, we took the subway to the 'best' kebab in Berlin. When we were in Krakow, we met two German police officers who told us if we were ever in Berlin, we had to go to this kebab shop. Well we went, and waited for an hour in line, to try the kebab. While the kebab was delicious, we all decided we wouldn't wait another hour in the cold for one.
After the kebab, we headed back to the hotel to regroup. We took advantage of Adam's executive lounge access and helped ourselves to a hot drink and beer and wine. After warming up, we headed back out to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The church was badly bombed in the war and the remaining structure has been maintained and turned into a memorial.
We then headed north of the city in search for a bar that showed the NCAA basketball games. Unfortunately, the bar we identified was attached to a hostel and wasn't exactly our scene. We retreated back towards the hotel to view the Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz at night. I love seeing a city's monuments lit up at night - it makes the city feel magical. Unable to bear too much more of the cold, we went back to the hotel and took advantage of Adam's Marriott perks yet again. The executive lounge has wine, beer and cheese throughout the evening.
The next morning we took the train to Potsdam. Potsdam is approximately forty-five minutes outside of Berlin and is known for its palaces and gardens. We walked through the gardens, admiring the palaces and tried our best to avoid the rain. We made it three-fourths of the way through the park before the rain really started to pick-up. When we had as much of the rain as we could take, we exited the park, found a nearby cafe in the village and enjoyed some tea and cake.
After the cafe, we were on the train back to Berlin to catch our flight and train home. It was another great weekend with the Swiderski's and we were glad that we were able to fit it in!
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