Heading to Berlin

Flying to Berlin

We are leaving Vienna today and heading to Berlin. Because we have some morning flights out of Vienna we need to head to the airport relatively early in order to catch our flights. Unfortunately, the Sister and I are unable to get onto the same flights as the parents. But even though we’re flying apart we all get to do it in business class which makes it easier to swallow. Upon arriving in the airport, we’re all able to get into the Austrian Airlines Lounge where we settle in and get some breakfast and much needed coffee. It’s nice to enjoy some of these comforts with the parents! 

Soon, the parents head off to their flight to Frankfurt. An hour later the Sister and I get onboard our flight. The flight departs a little late, but beyond that it goes by very quickly. They also serve a pretty tasty fish meal onboard which both the Sister and I enjoy very much. In Frankfurt we reconnect with the Parents and after another few hours board our flight to Berlin. 

Berlin

After landing in Berlin, we hop on the train which takes us into the city. Eventually we arrive and check into our hotel which will be our home for the next few days. By the time we are settled its already late afternoon, early evening. We head out and take a quick stroll around our neighbourhood before our thoughts turn to dinner. For our first evening in Berlin, we plan to try a few items that are common German street food: Currywurst and Kebap. Thankfully right across the street from our hotel are two shops that serve these items. Witty’s and Doner Kebap. Since we’re all a bit tired from the travel day, we quickly pick up a few items to share.  We gather in the Parents hotel room for dinner and plan out our next day’s activities. 

East Side Gallery

The next morning we head to the East Side Gallery. This is the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall and is now the world’s longest open air gallery. Artists use the wall as a canvas for various art pieces. As you walk along the wall, each “section” of the wall is painted by a different artist and there are all manner of themes, styles and subjects on display. It’s a very interesting walk along the wall. Some pieces are thought provoking, some have very profound messages and others are just plain weird! The family and I spend a good hour or two walking along the entire stretch of wall checking out each individual work of art. 

Anima

Partway through our walk along the East Side Gallery, the rain starts to pick up. So we duck into Anima Cafe along the water and situated between an open section in the wall. This is a very modern spot with wonderful river views and a very chill vibe to it. It seems to be a popular hangout and study spot. We order some coffees and spend some time enjoying each other’s company and the environment. One particular memory is trying to teach Mama Minion how to take a selfie. It’s a memorable moment simply because she struggled with holding the phone and angling it appropriately to capture everyone in the photo!

After having coffee at Anima we also start looking at lunch options. Because the weather is a bit cold and grey, we find an Asian restaurant that seems to have some good comfort food options for all of us. So we had in that direction and continue our walk along the wall and water. We eventually need to get across the river to get to the restaurant and get some more great views of the river and Berlin Architecture.

Umami

Eventually we make our way to Umami Restaurant which looks to serve all manner of tasty Asian cuisine. With the rain and the cold weather, we order some very tasty comfort menu items off the menu. It really hits the spot and we spend the meal time enjoying our food and talking about the different things we saw at the East Side Gallery. 

Checkpoint Charlie

After lunch, we hop on a train and head over to Checkpoint Charlie. This is a former border crossing point between East and West Germany. It’s mainly a tourist attraction now and the buildings are actually just replicas of the originals. But it’s still a very popular attraction amongst tourists and one of the most visited things in Berlin. Even though the checkpoint buildings are replicas. If you walk around the area, you’ll still find small pieces of the wall around. It’s interesting Berliners have generally built around these historically significant pieces. 

Volkswagen Drive Exhibition

From Checkpoint Charlie, its only a short walk back to our hotel. So instead of taking another train, we decide to take the stroll back. On the way we stumble upon the Volkswagen Drive Exhibition. It’s a gallery of the history of Volkswagen and is free to enter. So we pop in for a little bit and check out some of the iconic cars of Volkswagen’s past!

Eventually we find ourselves back at our hotel and spend an hour or two relaxing before heading out to dinner again. 

L’eustache

One thing I neglected to mention, is that today is the Parents wedding Anniversary. In fact that’s one of the main reasons this entire trip came to be in the first place. With that in mind, the Sister and I had booked a nice dinner with them for this evening at L’eustache. Ironically, this is a French restaurant, but seems to be very well regarded. To start we share a Beef Bourguignon Taco Salad and Panisses with lime mayonnaise. For our mains, Mama Minion had the Vegetarian Lasagna while the three of us all went with the Crispy Pork Belly. All the food is really nice and we enjoy the meal together!

It’s also a great opportunity for us to take stock of just how blessed we are to have such a close knit and loving family. To be able as adults to travel together and celebrate their marriage after so many decades is amazing! Even though the day is packed, we take a lot of joy from simply “being together”. Happy Anniversary Papa and Mama Minion!

Alexanderplatz

After dinner and on our way back to our hotel. We decide to stop off at Alexanderplatz to wander around a little. It’s a huge square that seems to always be busy. There are nearby attractions like the TV tower and the world clock. There are buskers adding to the jovial vibe of the area. Along the edges are numerous shopping options. We spend a little time “walking off” dinner before hopping back on the train to our hotel. 

Tomorrow we head to the Berlin Wall Memorial and we have an interesting tour scheduled. So with that in mind we turn in and look forward to the new adventures tomorrow brings!