Guten Tag schön Berlin!

" What's going on in Berlin?", my mother asked while I was staring at the pictures.

"Christmas markets in winter. Let's go!", I replied to her full of joy.🎄🎁🎅

After I showed her several pictures, we bought our tickets to Berlin. Well, the main reason was a birthday surprise for my father. He really was surprised when I showed him the booking.🤣 5 amazing days in the capital of Germany.

Around 11 P.M. we landed at Schönefeld Airport. Our first stop was to buy public transport tickets from vending machines. Berlin uses a zone system (zone A, zone B, zone C). We bought all zones (ABC) because we wanted to visit a lot and also to see Sanssouci Palace & New Palace in Potsdam. The public transport system (U, S-Bahn, bus, tram, regional rail) uses a common ticket.

You need to validate your paper ticket using the machines on the U- and S-bahn platforms or in the bus. The machines are yellow/white in the U-Bahn and the bus, and red on S-Bahn platforms. 

Validation simply means the machine prints a time stamp onto the ticket. Once validated, a ticket which is still valid will not have to be re-validated before each single trip. Click the link for route map https://sbahn.berlin/en/route-map/. The map is like a spider web.

So we took S-bahn (S45 - brown) to Tempelhof (U6 - purple) and changed at Hallesches Tor (U1 - green) to arrive at Nollendorfplatz. Our hotel was near the metro station (3 minutes walk) - Sachsenhof Hotel Berlin. It's a 3* hotel, very clean and the breakfast was delicious (click the link https://www.booking.com/hotel/de/sachsenhof.en.html?aid=1971070&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&label=ATB). Of course, you can choose other accommodations so click this link https://www.booking.com/city/de/berlin.en.html?aid=1971070&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&label=ATB.

Day 1 

Our first sight was Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz. The Sony Center contains a mix of shops, restaurants, a conference centre, hotel rooms, luxurious rented suites, offices, art and film museums, cinemas, an IMAX theatre, a Legoland Discovery Centre, and a "Sony Style" store. Free Wi-Fi is available. A large shopping centre (Mall of Berlin) and Kollhoff Tower - the fastest elevator in Europe takes you approximately 100 meters high - (https://www.panoramapunkt.de/en/kollhoff-tower.html) is nearby. 

Close to the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin's signature attraction), you will find The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It's a place of remembrance in the heart of Berlin. We found also a piece of The Berlin Wall and a Christmas Market 🎅🎁🎄in Potsdamer Platz.

Our next sight: The Reichstag. Is an internationally recognisable symbol of democracy and the current home of the German Parliament. Every year, thousands of guests visit the Reichstag. Passport and online registration is needed!!! Click the link for more info https://www.bundestag.de/en/. Visit the dome! You will adore it!!!💖😍

Another Christmas Market 🎅🎁🎄 was in Gendarmenmarkt Square. There you can find Konzerthaus Berlin, Neue Kirche and French Cathedral. There we ate their traditional dish Currywurst mit Pommes (mit Pommes = with french fries). It was so spicy and I felt that my head was burning!!!🔥 Like Alicia Keys said "This girl is on fire" !!!🔥🤣

Day 2

As I said previous, in this day we went to Potsdam (click the link https://www.booking.com/city/de/potsdam.en.html?aid=1971070&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&label=ATB). We took S7 from Zoologischer Garten Station. We arrived at Potsdam Hauptbahnhof Station and took the bus to Sanssouci Palace & New Palace. 🤴👸 

A great mall where you can eat in Potsdam is Bahnhofspassagen. Sanssouci was the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. Inside Sanssouci you will find more intimate Rococo style. The palace's name emphasises this; it is a French phrase (sans souci), which translates as "without concerns", meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolising that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power. Inside of New Palace, on the walls were glued shells of various shapes.

Day 3

We started the day at Charlottenburg Palace. There we found another Christmas Market 🎅🎁🎄. The baroque style of the Palace architecture is breathtaking. This palace is the highlight of a trip to Berlin for many visitors. In the Neuer Flügel (New Wing), you can view the staterooms and the rococo ballroom known as the Goldene Galerie (Golden Gallery). 

The Silver Vault includes quite stunning tableware of gold, silver, glass and porcelain displayed on laid tables. The Porcelain Cabinet in the Old Palace offers a breathtaking collection of the finest blue-and-white porcelain decorating the entire room. The ticket is 17 euros for adults, 13 euros reduced and free entrance for children under the age of 7.

After, we visited Technikmuseum and Berlin Television Tower. We took U2 - Alexanderplatz where we found another Christmas Market 🎅🎁🎄. We ended the day by visiting my favorite sight, AquaDom & SEA Life Berlin. The AquaDom is a 25 m (82 ft) tall cylindrical acrylic glass aquarium with built-in transparent elevator. The feeding of the fish and the cleaning of the fish tank is performed daily by 3-4 divers. The Aquadom is the largest (by volume) acrylic cylindrical aquarium in the world.

Day 4

After breakfast, we began with The Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom). Its magnificent dome is a remarkable example the of late 19th century architecture. Near the Cathedral are also the German Historical Museum and the Museum’s Island. 

Here are the most important exhibition centers: Old Museum, New Museum, Old National Gallery, Bode Museum and Pergamon Museum. The collections in these buildings encompass over 6,000 years of art and cultural history.

Day 5

In the last day, we visited Victory Column, Bellevue Palace, Reichstag & Federal Chancellery (outside). After, we went to Mall of Berlin to see Santa Claus🎅. We returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage and went straight to the airport.

I hope you enjoyed the article and took some great info for your trip! Thank you for your time and have a wonderful and inspiring day!

Andra😘💋

Source for describing the sights: Wikipedia