12 days trip

If you're thinking about picking up the car in Germany and dropping it in Switzerland, check right away on what the international drop charge will be. It is likely to be so high that you will want to rethink that part of your plans.

Hi,

I'll comment on the Soviet memorials since they weren't addressed.

There are three Soviet monuments in Berlin, the Soviet memorial in Charlottenburg on Strasse des 17. Juni, (formerly known as Charottenburg Chausee) near the Tierpark. The other two are in the eastern Berlin, ie, the Soviet memorials in Berlin-Pankow and Treptow, where the huge cemetery is also located.

Besides the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park, take a tour of the Reichstag. When doing the restoration, they uncovered all kinds of graffiti left by Soviet soldiers. After thinking about it, they decided that was of historic significance to the building, so it is still there exposed. It is all in Russian cyrillic alphabet, except I spotted some in roman alphabet. I asked the the guide about it. "They were obviously from a Polish division."

If you want to cross the Alps, I think you'll have to run down to Italy. You don't cross them between Berlin and Geneva. Or if you drop down to southwest Switzerland, maybe take a section of the Glacier Express over the Oberalp Pass.

For sure drop your car off bef switzerland. Then train around switz to geneva is very easy.

I'm not sure you can count on hiking in the Alps in April. Seems to me it's too late for skiing and too early for hiking - trails will be snow-covered, or muddy if there's an early thaw.

If you want to spend a lot of time in Germany then driving makes sense. If not, a train or flight south may be a better option. Also, you may get dinged with a hefty drop-off charge if you rent in Germany and return in Switzerland.

Both Lauterbrunnen and Chamonix are Alpine locations with hiking trails that may be accessible, as well as gondolas to the peaks. You could rent a car in Bern or Geneva to visit either or both.

Hi,

If you're interested in seeing Soviet tanks in WW2, they can be seen in Berlin too. Take the S-Bahn to Berlin-Karlshorst, you may have to transfer at Ostkreuz because of the construction. On the grounds of the German-Russian History Museum at the end of Treschowallee, ca a 30 mins walk from S-Bahn Karlshorst (there is also a bus going to the museum from the S-Bahn station) are several Soviet tanks, obviously, the T-34 and also the JS I.

Two other Soviet memorials/cemeteries from the war are outside of Berlin, one at Seelow, where the battle for Berlin started. It can be reached by public transport. Take the regional train from Berlin Hbf to Frankfurt an der Oder, then the S-Bahn to Seelow.

The site is Gedenkstätte Seelowen Höhen, the battlefield memorial museum is there along with the Soviet military cemetery plus an array of Soviet tanks and artillery pieces.

To reach the other site would mean doing a day trip from Berlin to Weimar, the town of Goethe and Schiller, a lovely town. The famous statue of Goethe and Schiller is at the Theaterplatz.

The Soviet military cemetery is located in Weimar at the Schloßpark Belvedere.

You most likely are not going to Vienna as you don't mention that. The big Soviet monument is located in Vienna, ( and the Soviet WW2 cemetery in the Zentralfriedhof); the monument is just a few minutes straight up from Schwarzenberg Platz, named for the Austrian commander Schwarzenberg defeated a number of times by Napoleon.