In September, I travelled solo to Berlin to attend workshops. Although I’d been to Munich and to Mainz, I had never been to Berlin, so I took advantage of the opportunity to spend a couple of extra days sightseeing.
I left Calgary on September 18, travelling first to Toronto, where I had a long layover. A friend picked me up at Pearson airport, and we went for lunch and a lovely visit, which passed the time nicely. I then boarded my Air Transat flight to Berlin. I travelled in Premium Economy, which allowed me to get some sleep, but because I was sitting by a (very nice) stranger, I didn’t sleep as well as I would have liked. I was tired when I landed in Berlin just before 11 am. I was glad I had booked a “Napcab” sleeping pod at Berlin airport, although I may have been able to check right into my apartment, had I asked the host. I fell asleep quickly and slept right until the alarm went off, a couple of hours later. I left the pod and set about finding the Deutsche Bahn train to Pankow Station, within a few blocks of my apartment rental. I had purchased a Deutschland Pass in advance and had it on my phone, so I didn’t have to think about getting tickets.
The train was jam-packed, so I had to stand for much of the 45 minute trip, but it was easy, otherwise. I used CityMapper to find my way to the apartment, stopping at a bakery to pick up some snacks on the way. I easily found the lockbox with the key, opened the building door, and hiked up the stairs to my 4th floor (5th floor in North America) home for the week. The climb wasn’t as bad as I’d feared, and the apartment was charming and homey. It had an entryway, bathroom with a tub/shower combo and a washer/dryer combo, a cute kitchen, a decent sized living room with a fun, hip decor, a huge bedroom, and a little balcony that overlooked the courtyard and could be accessed from both the living room and the bedroom. I loved this, especially as it was very, very hot my first few days in Berlin.
After I settled in and had a snack, I explored the neighbourhood a bit and bought some groceries. A little park down the street, outside an art school, had some folk art sculptures. At the end of the street, around the corner, was the Pankow Rathaus—a gorgeous brick structure. Across the street was a shopping mall where I found groceries and an ATM. (A tram stopped near here, and, if one happened to be coming when I walked to my workshops, I’d hop on it for a couple of stops.)
After a pasta dinner, I went to bed. The next day, I was meeting the two workshop instructors—one, the workshop host, a Berliner (although originally from Italy), and one an American, as well as the first instructor’s boyfriend, to tour some Berlin sights and go for a “typical” Berlin lunch. We met up at S+U Warschauer Straße and rode the train together to Alexanderplatz to see the world clock there, which was impressive and spacey-looking. A busker was playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” on a keyboard, and, as we do a group improvisational style of dance, and we all love that song, the two instructors and I danced together in Alexanderplatz. So fun!
We walked from there to the Oberbaum Bridge—a gorgeous, old brick structure with arches and turrets. Then we headed to the East Side Gallery: murals painted on the longest extant section of the Berlin Wall. Of course, we stopped for many, many photos along the way.
We crossed Museum Island, heading for lunch. We had a reservation at Treffpunkt. I ordered Berliner Bulette (meatball) mit Kartoffelsalat (potato salad) and was happy with my choice.
After lunch, we passed the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Rathaus, stopping to look at the Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag before heading to the nearest train station and parting ways for the evening.
Some roads were partially closed for a marathon, the day was hot and sunny, and there were many locals and tourists out and about enjoying the weather. It was a great introduction to Berlin.