After years of back and forth about needing a holiday away together, Connor and I finally managed to book a trip to Berlin. We were heading to Germany’s capital for five days.
Arriving
We left Glasgow at 07:00 and battled traffic to get to Edinburgh Airport. Leaving early was the right call because the M8 was already hugely blocked up by the time we got on. We got through security quickly and grabbed a coffee in the airport. Our flight left on time, and a couple of hours later we landed in Berlin. It was about 13:00 when we arrived.
We took the autobahn into the city centre towards Alexanderplatz and then wandered up to our hostel. It turns out check-in was at 15:00, so we explored the local area and found an old abandoned stadium. We then headed back to the hostel to drop off our bags and check out our room - both feeling slightly too old for a party hostel (see picture below!). The rooms and shared facilities were clean, and the people staying there were friendly, so no complaints from us!
We headed back out for many pints after dropping off the bags and ended the night with a world-famous Berlin Currywurst.
A cool abandoned stadium.
A useful shop in the hostel.
Enjoying some beers in Alexanderplatz.
Exploring
The next day we got tickets for the underground and set out to see all the sights Berlin had to offer - from Checkpoint Charlie to the Berlin Wall and the Holocaust Memorial site. We saw it all. After all that exploring, we grabbed a few pints and then headed back to the room for a snooze before getting ready for the night ahead.
A hot air balloon we could see from the city.
A cool roof in a platz.
Brandenburg Gate.
Holocaust Memorial.
The great Doctor House has been before us.
Knocked Back from Berghain
We started the night drinking on the street, which seems to be part of the culture in Berlin. Corner shops had tables set up out front with punters drinking and playing chess. Of course, we joined in!
After a few beers, we decided to try our luck at getting into the world-famous nightclub Berghain. It’s notoriously difficult to get in, but we fancied our chances since we were on the guest list - Connor had a cousin who worked there. The bouncer took one look at us and knocked us back on the spot. Oh well! We headed back, grabbed a kebab, and enjoyed some beers with the folks in the hostel.
Connor playing chess.
Craig playing chess (…and winning!).
The infamous Berghain club - it was not meant to be.
Parkrun
Feeling pretty fresh in the morning after being knocked back from the nightclub, I headed into Kreuzberg to race in the local Parkrun. I did better than expected and got a time of just under 21 minutes.
On the run back, I went through some parks and stumbled upon a Japanese-looking shrine. This inspired dinner that night- we went for ramen.
Later that day, we headed to the football to see Hertha Berlin. It was a great game with an amazing atmosphere despite the rain that had started by this point. We had hot dogs and beer while watching the match - bliss.
Are we back in Japan?!
The mighty Hertha Berlin Football Club.
The Olympic Stadium that the Nazis built.
Hometime
The last day felt very long. It was a Sunday, so everything was closed, and we had already seen everything we wanted to see. Fortunately, we found a café that was open and went in for some lunch. Then we went for a walk and stumbled upon a computer gaming museum that was also open. We weren’t overly impressed - it seemed very limited, especially for the €12 per person entry fee.
We got to the airport early and waited for our flight, which was, of course, delayed! We finally got back to Giffnock around midnight, exhausted and ready for our own beds.