Liebes Berlin

Last month we spent a sublime holiday in Berlin. The weather was magnificent, mainly fine and beautiful, contrary to the forecasts.

Because of this we decided to visit everything on foot, which is easy to do, since Berlin is a pleasant city to wander around. The avenues are wide and long, with their names clearly visible. The streets are very calm and uncluttered, with an absence of stressed people and no confusion. This was a surprise and a real pleasure.

For this review of Berlin I am writing how I felt about this famous city. There is no use trying to explain the city's history to you as it has already being well documented.

This time, I did not go to Germany to visit family and friends, but rather to have a romantic break and to get to know and explore Berlin. It was really splendid. Sweetheart and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay and we found the Berliners to be very friendly, attentive, open and efficient (yes, the latter is also important for me!!).

Thus, over the coming days, I will talk about our holiday: visits to museums and a palace, traditional restaurants and our divine hotel.

But, first of all, a tour of the city and its historic monuments - I hope you will enjoy it and I wish you a lovely week.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is possible to walk in this pleasant labyrinth among the concrete slabs.

Brandenburg Gate is a triumphal arch in Berlin, and one of the best-known landmarks of Germany.

St. Hedwig's Cathedral is a beautiful Roman Catholic cathedral and its interior is very original. It is the seat of the archbishop of Berlin.

The Neo-Renaissance Berlin Cathedral and its amazing dome. It is located on Museum Island in the Mitte quarter.

I loved the rear view of the Neue Wache, converted into a war memorial since 1931. Inside there is a touching sculpture "Mother with her Dead Son".

Potsdamer Platz is the Berlin equivalent of New York's Time Square. This important public square is near the Brandenburg Gate and the German Parliament Building and close to the huge Tiergarten park.

The futurist roof of the Sony Center at night...

In the evening we came across Checkpoint Charlie, which was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.

Goethe statue in the Tiergarten, a huge urban park...

The Reichstag (German Parliament Building)...

A nice walk to the Museum Island...

Me at the Roman archaeology section of the extraordinary Pergamon Museum.

Berliner beer - a delicious “must try”.

Charlottenburg Palace is the largest surviving royal palace in Berlin.

Ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, not rebuilt as a reminder of WW2, and its splendid interior...

Entrance to the Berlin Zoo, the first zoo in Germany which houses the widest variety of species of animals in the world.

East Side Gallery is a 1.3 km long international memorial to freedom. The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall.

The Oberbaum Bridge is a double-deck bridge crossing Berlin's River Spree, an important symbol of Berlin’s unity, and one of the city's landmarks.