Berlin in four days

First day in Berlin

Here we are again ready to set off!!!! This time with destination Berlin, guests of my friend Rossella who has lived there for about ten years. The little trip comes at just the right time as a celebration of our first ten years together.

In Italy it seems spring has finally arrived and the sky is clear today too, but in Berlin the temperature will be colder, so we've dug out big jackets and woollen sweaters.

The Ryan Air flight from Orio (scheduled for 10.15) is 10 minutes late. What always amazes us about Ryan Air (besides the cunning of charging for EVERYTHING) is the horrible "emergency yellow" colour they use for the back of the seats and which hits you like a punch in the eye!!!

We arrive in Berlin and after collecting our luggage we meet my friend Rossella, who kindly came to pick us up and give us our first Berlin tips.

We buy the Berlin Welcome Card at the airport (5 days, zone ABC - to have free access to all public transport (including the airport connection) and discounts at some partner businesses and monuments.

We leave the trolleys in Rossella's flat (very nice) and go straight to lunch at the Thai Red Dragon on Danzigerstrasse 29 (5.50 euros for the complete menu, mango lassi included, a drink I adore).

Taking the bus, we then get off at Heckescher Markt to start the tour of East Berlin that she has prepared for us.

We head towards the Friedrich Brücke to see the museum island and the Cathedral (which we visit, dome and steps included), we walk along part of the Unter den Linden avenue as far as Bebelplatz (sadly famous as the site of the book burning by National Socialist students) and the Catholic Cathedral of St Hedwig (which can be visited).

In the area it's worth taking a look at the Neue Wache building (new guardhouse), a monument dedicated to the victims of war and tyranny. Here you can admire the famous Pietà by Kathe Köllwitz, depicting a mother with her dead son.

We cut across to the Gendarmenmarkt (with the elegant twin churches) and then, skirting the big Fassbender & Rausch chocolate shop ( we reach Frierdichstrasse and then Checkpoint Charlie (a photo with the fake American soldier is a must!!!).

Heading back towards the Brandenburg Gate we see some remains (in terrible condition) of the famous wall and some reminders of the recent past: the historic Trabants, the current Ministry of Finance (one of the few National Socialist buildings saved from the bombings), the place where Hitler's bunker stood and the Holocaust memorial, a work by Peter Eisenmann, made up of 2711 rectangular concrete blocks, arranged in a grid so as to look like graves. Here it's definitely worth wandering among the blocks, perceiving the sense of "uncertainty" created by the undulating floor.

We arrive at the Brandenburg Gate and pass through it with a certain effect (among other things I expected it to be more slender, my husband more wide!!!!). Through the glass doors we peek at the atrium of the DZ Bank in Pariser Platz (we'll have to come back during opening hours) and then we retrace Unter den Linden towards Alexander Platz, eyeing the various embassy buildings (the Russian one elegant, the American one minimalist, the French one militaristic…).

We're really exhausted, but Rossella still has a suggestion: dinner at the typical "East Berlin" restaurant Zum Schusterjunge (Danziger Straße 9): we enjoy a Schnitzel (cutlet) and a typical stew and decide that our first Berlin approach has been excellent and intense: all that's left is to have a good sleep to better face tomorrow.

Second day in Berlin

Today Rossella is working and so she leaves us to explore Berlin following our desires and also the weather forecast, since the forecast is getting worse. When we wake up she has already gone out, but there's her big cat Dracula (a Siamese with decidedly protruding fangs) who immediately treats us to cheerful meows and lots of purring.

After a quick breakfast we take the metro again towards Potsdamer Platz, to see the big square designed (among others) by Renzo Piano and in particular the Sony Centre, but above all the Lego Discovery Centre (to my husband's delight). We decide not to join the queues of families with children and settle for photographing the big giraffe at the entrance.

We go back to the Brandenburg Gate and enter the DZ Bank building to see the big glass and metal "whale" that's in the atrium, a work by the artist Frank O. Gehry.

We walk along part of the Unter den Linden avenue (named after the lime trees that line it) and Friedrichstrasse to reach the Check Point Charlie Museum. We decide to visit it, but I was disappointed: small rooms crammed (as well as with visitors) with writings (and translations), photos, objects.... I expected it to be decidedly tidier.

We head towards the Jüdisches Museum (highly recommended by Rossella), but we need a break to rest our legs and put something in our stomachs. Finding nothing in the surroundings, we take the metro again towards Nikolaiviertel, where we find a place at Zur Gerichtslaube (

Having finished lunch, we visit the Nikolaikirche (5 euro entry with audioguide + 2 euro to take photos), the oldest church in Berlin, just reopened after its latest restoration.

It starts to drizzle, but we're heading to the Pergamonmuseum (10 euro including the audioguide, also in Italian). Following the route of the main works (about 30 minutes) we see the Pergamon altar, the remains of Miletus and the great gate of Babylon. We also add a tour of the Islamic art section where, among other things, the Aleppo room is kept.

We take the "crossing" towards the zoo, but our destination is actually the Gedachtniskirche ( Before getting there we decide to try another Berlin speciality: the Currywurst.

The old church and the adjoining prayer hall are a nice architectural contrast, but the interior of the new building is by far better than the exterior: the blue stained glass windows make the atmosphere almost surreal and the large golden Christ seems to float.

We leave the church to go to the famous KaDeWe, but on the way we find an irresistible temptation for my husband: a Lego shop complete with play stations!!! We make a quick stop at KaDeWe ( which reminds us of our Rinascente, though much bigger, tidier and quieter. The sixth floor, dedicated to food, is a real temptation for all palates and also for the eyes and throat.

Tiredness is making itself decidedly felt though and we head to the last stop of the day: the Hard Rock Café, where we buy drumsticks for Luca and have dinner.

We go back home and wait for Rossella who returns from an evening at the theatre. The last chats about our respective days, a look at the forecast before agreeing on what to do tomorrow...and then a good restorative, invigorating sleep!

Third day in Berlin

We wake up early to do everything calmly and have breakfast together before starting a new tour: among the notes I had there are still a few things missing, but wandering around the city is pleasant anyway and you can discover things that aren't reported in the official guides.

With Rossella we go to see the East Side Gallery ( a series of murals created on a kilometre of wall that wasn't demolished. Unfortunately the wind has picked up and it's very cold, but we still manage to walk it all and recognise the most famous ones: the Trabant breaking through the wall, the kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker...

We take public transport again and go to lunch at Freischwimmer ( a small restaurant built on stilts along the Spree. The place is spartan and alternative, and especially on nice days it offers a pleasant riverside view. The food (a sort of brunch) isn't bad, but the portions are a bit scanty, considering the price (20-30 euros for two).

We leave Rossella and head to the Jüdisches Museum ( dedicated to the history of the Jews in Germany, over the centuries up to the present day. We also took the audioguide (2 euros, also available in Italian), but I think it's only needed if you don't know English or German, because the writings and captions are quite exhaustive. The exhibition could be enjoyable for children too, because it's very interactive (little games, drawers to discover, films, recordings). To go through it all you can take even 2-3 hours, but without really getting bored. Very evocative is the so-called Holocaust Tower: a cramped and dark room, in which you can hear the muffled noises of passers-by, but at the same time feel cut off from the world, forgotten; a distressing sensation, especially if you're lucky enough to be able to enter without too many people.

Once the visit is over, we decide that it's time for shopping. We head again to the big Fassbender & Rausch chocolate shop and choose a box to take to Milan and a few pralines "for the road": truly delicious and there's really an embarrassment of choice!!!!

We take the metro again to go and see the splendid courtyards of Heckischer Markt, where we "rob" the Ampelmann shop ( for souvenirs of the classic DDR traffic lights.

We then go back to Rossella's house, but only for a short break: our host takes us to dinner at the Indian (Meena Fumari, Lychenerstrasse 9)!!! Indeed Berlin is such a cosmopolitan city that there's really an embarrassment of choice for anything: from restaurants to theatres to concerts to shops… Among other things, traditional Berlin cuisine is traditionally poor (mainly beef, potatoes, vegetables that resist the cold, lots of bread). We eat really well and in great quantity, to the point that we then take advantage of another Berlin tradition: the so-called doggy bag with the leftovers from dinner, which will come in useful for tomorrow's lunch!!! We're not told whether to discover if this custom is in a certain sense the result of the American presence or rather the offspring of the notorious Berlin stinginess…

Another day has passed intensely and we retire for a good sleep like dormice.

Fourth day in Berlin

The sky when we wake up is grey and not very promising, but to pamper ourselves we've booked a table for breakfast at the Reichstag bar ( a well-known trick to avoid the queues at the entrance (due to the checks and metal detector, as well as the large influx of tourists). The other trick is to book a guided tour that includes the explanation of the parliamentary chamber, but we chose to treat Rossella to breakfast, to thank her for the beautiful days.

Being able to enter through the entrance reserved for the restaurant, in fact we hardly queue at all, despite the metal detector checks. The restaurant on the terrace is elegant and requires a reservation if you want to find a place. Breakfast is plentiful and the service obviously excellent. The cost starts at 16 euros (coffee excluded).

Once breakfast is over, we pick up the audioguide (free and also available in Italian) which accompanies us along the route up and down the beautiful dome of glass, mirrors and steel, restored by Sir Norman Foster. The work is truly imposing and interesting and represents, among other things, a concentration of modernity not only for the structure, but also for the measures in terms of energy saving and reuse of water and air.

Once the tour inside is over (in reality the top of the dome is open to allow ventilation and the collection of snow and rain), we wrap up well and do the outside tour, going over the rooftops and monuments of Berlin. The only flaw of the audioguide is that it points out the monuments using the cardinal points, but with no sun, our sense of direction is severely tested!

Back on the ground and given the cold, we free Rossella from the obligation to follow us on the last Berlin tour.

With bus 100 we go to see the exterior of Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of the German presidents. And then we continue to see at least from the outside the Siegessäule or Victory Column. It's currently under renovation and so we don't even try to go up, but in general it can be visited and from the top they say there's a nice view of Berlin and the big avenue that leads to the Brandenburg Gate. We take the bus and S-Bahn again to go and admire the enormous and ultra-modern Hauptbahnhof ( including the exhibition of the famous Buddy Bär ( the very cute coloured little bears that represent the States of the world.

The cold is starting to become unbearable (for me) and someone is starting to feel hungry (despite this morning's plentiful breakfast). Inside the station we find Hopfingerbräu: the last wurstels for Luca and a hot potato soup for me.

Having recovered some warmth, we decide it would be worth taking a photo of at least the facade of Schloss Charlottenburg ( We get there easily by public transport and indeed a visit could be interesting, especially on nice days, when you can take long walks in the park. Unfortunately today the sky threatens rain and we don't have time: Rossella has arranged a meeting for me with another university friend who lives in Berlin and whom I haven't seen for about ten years....

The meeting is nice and our last Berlin hours pass quickly. But the surprises aren't over: arriving at the airport, we discover that the flight is half an hour