Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Paul Mcdaid
IT’S not that often you visit a city for the first time and in your mind you’re thinking about planning a return trip before the first day is over.
To my mind, Berlin is such a place and after a four-day break to the German capital, I can’t wait to go back.
Part of the appeal of the city is because of its turbulent history in the 20th century you already feel a familiarity and a connection you don’t get with other places.
That coupled with the fact Berlin is a thrillingly vibrant city begging to be explored with intoxicating nightlife just waiting to be enjoyed with unusually friendly locals only to keen to help nongerman speaking visitors and you have a pretty potent mix for a European city break.
We booked with the Travel Department which not only meant a hassle-free transfer from the airport to our hotel in the bang central Alexanderplatz district but also included a guided coach tour of many of the major attractions Berlin has to offer.
It’s an excellent way of getting a good overview before you decide which parts to explore in more detail on foot.
The coach tour takes you to areas such as Kurfürstendamm, an enormous boulevard – once the old West Berlin’s central shopping district and modelled on the Champs Elysees.
It’s still worth visiting if only for its magnificent tube station. The tour also takes in Karl Marx Avenue – the elegant faux-marble street of apartments built for the “workers” but which became the preserve of highranking and ambitious Communist Party members.
It also stops at the East Wall Gallery which displays iconic murals such as the Brezhnev-honecker kiss on original sections of the notorious Cold War partition.
During the coach tour you’ll get a sense of the sheer size of this metropolis so if your time is limited don’t try and stretch yourself too thinly – pick one or two areas and immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of one of the world’s great capitals.
Start off at Hackescher Markt – the old Jewish quarter which is now a bustlingly, vibrant honeypot of bars restaurants, bars and cool boutiques.
From there it’s just a short hop over a baroque bridge to Museum Island, which as you might guess, is home to some of the country’s most important art collections.
Entering the Lust Garten, a grand square housing the Berliner Dome – the grand cathedral based on St Peter’s in Rome, it’s just a short walk to Unter den Linden possibly the most significant avenue in the whole city.
Walking down this wide and wonderfully elegant boulevard, is to stroll through more than 300 years of Berlin history, triumph, upheaval and tragedy.
Looking around, it’s incredible to