I know what you’re thinking – finally! Well here it is, the Berlin trip report. FYI – it’s going to be in two parts, because there are so many pictures to share!
This was a trip to celebrate 30 years of life of one of my dear friends, Mutsa (of Meet Mutsa fame). Due to recent events, there’s been a delay to this post but I have now got round to posting about what was an amazing trip for all of us.
The trip started on a Wednesday for a number of girls in our group, but started for me on the Friday. And what a trip! I took the afternoon off at work to get an afternoon flight. Here’s a tip – start saying goodbye an hour before you actually need to leave so there’s enough time for those that want to waylay you with “One last question before you go…”!).
Goodbye rainy London! Hello sunny Berlin!
We arrived in Berlin and the weather was sunny and hot. I had 4 layers on (tank, t-shirt, cardigan and coat) and was wearing UGGs – to say I was ill-prepared for the weather is putting it mildly! But what a pleasant surprise the weather was. My friend, Clare and I navigated our way from the airport to the flat using the public transportation system with the help of a very helpful and jovial gentleman at the airport tourist information desk.
A tip to save some money on using cabs – simply take the TXL bus from the airport and jump off two stops later at BeusselstraBe where you can get the metro into the city to wherever you wish to go. It’s pretty easy and it cost us a total of €2.60 each instead of €25.
Our apartment was absolutely gorgeous, Mutsa did a spectacular job finding the place – big enough to accomodate 10 girls comfortably without us feeling cramped. It was gorgeous! The area in which our home away from home was situated was SchulstraBe which reminded me a lot of Islington in London. Very cool and trendy, I liked it a lot!
First night in (for me, anyway!), we took it easy – got down to having a nice home-cooked meal and hanging out with each other.
Next day, we were up and about bright and early to start the day and explore the city. We started off with breakfast and singing “Happy Birthday” to Mutsa.
Following brekkie, we were off to discover Berlin! We managed to make it to the Berlin Wall (or what remains of it) at the East Side Gallery and the Jewish Museum.
Sunday saw us visit Alexanderplatz, which was the scene of a large open air festival. There was a huge market on one side, picnics on the green and on the hill a crowd gathered, avidly watching a Darth Vader impersonator cover Pharrell’s “Happy”. It was sooooo cool! We were loving it, going from one stall to another to have a look at the goodies on offer and generally soak up the festive atmosphere.
All too quickly our trip was over and it was time to head back to London. It was short but sweet, a fantastic introduction to city of Berlin. It is “Auf Wiedersehen Berlin” for now, but you’ll see me again soon, count on it!
Thank you girls for an amazing holiday and especially to Mutsa, the reason for the vacay and celebrations. We love you girl!
Stay tuned – more photo highlights to follow in the next post! Kisses!
