Wandering around Berlin

Our morning journey started off with trying to find ourselves some breakfast.  There was a coffee shop a couple doors down from our hotel, but decided to walked a little farther and found a place called Balzac.  On our way across the street to Balzac, we got our first exposure to the communist era "Walk/Don't walk" signs.  A very unique part of Berlin that it is intermixed with standard, modern walk signals and the communist era walk signs that Kirstyn and I ended seeing and really enjoying!  The coffee at Balzac was very good as well as their breakfast sandwiches... this quickly became a standard start too our mornings.

One of our first official stops was going to be the Jewish museum which was recently renovated with the design done by a well know architect (Kirstyn was particularly excited to see the space).  Although it ended up not being one of Kirstyn's favorite works by this particular architect, we both thought the design was still well done and moving.  It really portrayed a sense of uneasiness and wandering which seemed appropriate based on what the Jewish people went through in Germany during WWII.

Next, we continued onto Check Point Charlie.  This is one of the more famous checkpoints that existed to allow (or not allow) people to travel between communist and free Germany, aka East and West Germany.  They still have the remaining checkpoint building, complete with a person in a replica soldier's uniform.  Also, depending on which side of the checkpoint you are on, there is a large picture of a young American or Russian soldier.  Nearby, there is a museum dedicated to Checkpoint Charlie which was quite fascinating.  Not only was there interesting facts about post WWII Germany, but there were a ton of stories of people escapes from East to West Germany.  Complete with actual props, photographs and eyewitness accounts.

Beyond the museum and the old checkpoint, there are still makings of where the Wall once stood.  It is quite surreal to stand over the markings and to think what was once there.  In fact, there are still some parts of the Wall still left standing as a reminder too.  This led to an outdoor museum about the SS called the Topography of Terror.  This outdoor structure however is only temporary until the permanent indoor structure is finished.

From here we made our way to Potsdamer Platz.  Postdamer was a nice place, with a mix of German corporate and consumer culture.  Upon arrival we spent some time walking around trying to find some warmer gear for Kirstyn (a hat and scarf in particular).  She was pretty torn on some of the stuff she saw there, but eventually found a hat to help keep her warm.  Postdamer Platz is also home to a Lego Store and the Sony European headquarters, and it's always fun to walk around electronics stores... at least for me!

With all the walking we were starting to get hungry and were lucky enough to find a German pub which had currywurst on the menu!  So we stopped in and split a wurst and a couple beers.  Not as good as we had in Munich, but it definitely hit the spot for the time being.

After getting back to the hotel we wanted to try to find some authentic German cuisine and our concierge was extremely helpful.  She recommended a place called Sophia's which was a short 15 minute walk from the hotel.  The restaurant was filled with locals but also ready for the occasional tourist (which means, like most German places, the staff speaks English and has an English menu!).  The food and atmosphere here was exceptional and this wouldn't be our last visit!

Day of visit: 10/1