#17: Take a Train to Berlin
A rambling about train and short recap of my Berlin trip.
Train through Europe
When I was younger, way before I went abroad, I always dreamt of taking the cross-country train in Europe. This was mainly influenced by the first scene of Before Sunrise, when the movie opened with a train moving through the European countryside peacefully. On this train from Budapest passing through Vienna to Paris, Jessie and Celine met, talked, jumped off the train, wandered around Vienna for a day and fell in love. Ever since, I have been totally mesmerized by the thought of taking a train from one country in Europe to another. Just sitting, reading a book, meeting someone and talking life with them while gazing at the scenery outside, totally happy and at peace.
Since I moved to the Netherlands, I took the train within the country a lot, but only once or twice abroad. I live in a city where train connections abroad are not so good, so usually it will take me way longer and also way more expensive to travel by train than by plane.
A few weeks ago though, I had the chance to take the train to Berlin together with my boyfriend and parents. It was the first time that I took such a long train journey, with some tight transfers in between, so I was a bit nervous. And I was nervous for the right reason: the trip was not as nice as I romanticized cross-country train trip to be. There were several delays and cancellations involved before we even arrived at the main leg of the journey. When we got to Duisburg and finally boarded the 4-hour train to Berlin, I was already exhausted. Instead of reading my book, talking life and gazing outside the windows, I was sleeping the whole time. Obviously, there was no “meeting someone new” involved. In hindsight, I would not choose the same itinerary again, but I still enjoy travelling by train. At least there was no hassle of checking in and going through security at the airport.
Berlin recap
I wouldn’t say Berlin is one of my favorite cities in Europe, but it’s a place that I wouldn’t mind going back. It’s not aesthetically pleasing like Rome or Prague, but I can see why some people favor the city. It’s a big place and there are so many things going on, to do and to see, that I think if you only stay around the main areas like Alexanderplatz, you would miss half of the appeal. We had 2 full days in Berlin, so it was very little time, but it was 2 days of nice weather, good food and overall an enjoyable time, with my main highlights below.
Climb up the Berlin Cathedral: After dropping my parents off at the shopping mall (this is their favorite place in every city), we headed to Berlin Cathedral and climb 270-step to the dome, where we were rewarded with some pretty amazing views of the city.
Visit Museumsinsel: As a museum-geek, my boyfriend did not let me miss out the Museum Island. Situated on the Spreeinsel (Spree Island), this is an ensemble of several museums, where my favorite was the Pergamon Museum. The Panorama. It is a magnificent 360-degree panorama painting where you can experience how Pergamon city once was.
Grab a cocktail and kebab in Kreuzberg: Feeling tired after walking through all the museums, we went to Kreuzberg for a drink. Known as a district with vibrant atmosphere and different culture, you can find many great restaurants and bars here. We had a nice cocktail at this cute, cosy place called Ritchie, before I had one of the best doner kebab of my life at Nefis Gemüse Kebap Kotti (which I forgot to take photos).
Visit a flea market in the weekend: Unfortunately, we didn’t stay until Sunday to experience the famous flea market at Mauerpark. However, we did visit some flea and art markets on the Museumsinsel (again!) on Saturday. I didn’t manage to find anything, but we had a fun time strolling around nevertheless.
Cocktail in Kreuzberg and an art market in Museumsinsel. Have a drink in Tiergarten: On the last afternoon, we went to Tiergarten hoping to find some shades and get a nice drink to fight off the hot weather. We were able to sneak a seat at a biergarten on a very crowded summer day, and drank our farewell to Berlin before heading off home.
The next time around, I would like to spend more time thrifting in Berlin, maybe visiting the East Side Gallery and other neighborhoods as well. For now, I’m ending this post with some pics from our first dinner, a great Italian place close to our hotel called La Stazione.
Thanks for being here, and until next time!