Weekend in Berlin in December 2010

A weekend in December 2010 we headed towards the airport to go to Berlin. There was some snow and getting to the airport had never been so hard before. We had some help from Arnoud, calling for public transport options (none) and updates on our flight (wasn't cancelled). But we didn't give up, and we made it to the airport! When we arrived, of course our flight got cancelled. The trip back home started off well, we got into a train to Amsterdam Central Station. It was a bit crowded, but we were bidding some hands and enjoyed ourselves. The trip went a bit slower than normal, but nothing to worry about. Until we got to Central Station, or I should say, almost to Central Station. We could see the station, it was about a 5 minute walk. However, the train in front of us was broken and we had to wait for it to get moved. It took a while, so we started on some "cryptogrammen" (cryptic crosswords), and the people around us were all helping.

After 50 minutes they let us into the station and we took the metro to the India Roti Room to get some food (all in all it had taken us 4 and a half hours to get to the airport and back and we were getting hungry). Unfortunately it was closed (maybe because of the snow?), so we went to the Ibis. Pınar joined us and after some food and a snowball fight we were all happy again. At home I checked the trains on the Dutch railroad website (mistake) and saw the trains the next morning were booked. We decided to take a later train, but the booking failed, and luckily now I came to my senses and checked the German railroad website. There I could just book a morning train, so we went the next morning by train.

With only 2 hours delay (not counting the missed flight) we arrived in Berlin on Saturday, and it was good to see Berlin again (it was almost 3 years for me! (and 33 for Han...)). Our hotel near the Oranienburgerstraße looked nice and we went for a walk. First we saw the alternative christmas market at Tacheles:

 

After a drink at the Hackescher Markt we continued to Alexanderplatz. We could see the lighted Ferris wheel from a distance. And of course the television tower on Alexanderplatz.

 

The Christmas market on Alexanderplatz was so big you needed a train to travel across!

 

We took the warm metro to Potsdammer Platz to see the Sony Centre. They had a nice Christmas tree forest in the Sony Centre. But the square itself was also nice, they built a huge ice-slide!

The next day we went shopping on the Kurfürstendamm. Or we, I didn't find anything, but when there is another picture of Han you can see the difference. At the end of our shopping day many people gathered in the street and we were wondering what they were waiting for. We didn't have to wait long to see they were gathering for the Coca Cola christmas trucks procession (of course, how stupid were we not to know?). Or as Han quoted from Over De Muur, a Dutch song by Klein Orkest:

"West Berlijn, de Kurfürstendam
Er wandelen mensen langs porno en piepshow
Waar Mercedes en Cola nog steeds op hun voetstuk staan"

We continued with a walk from west to east through the Tiergarten. Han posed at one of the statues.

Ok, maybe you didn't see the new Han that I promised, but tomorrow when it is light...

After a while through the snow in the dark we saw the light (or the Brandenburger Tor):

The next day we continued where we ended the day before. On our way to the Brandenburger Tor we saw the dome of the Reichstag (which was unfortunately closed due to fears of a terrorist attack).

 

Can you still recognise Han?

In the next picure: Find Meike

And more pictures at the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas.

Han looks sneaky, what is he planning?

Oh of course, throwing a snowball, not so hard to guess! (by the way, this monument is definitely the best place for a snowball fight)

Afterwards we got a glühwein and chestnuts at the Christmas market and saw a nice church on the way.

And even though we enjoyed our trainride, we flew back to Amsterdam.