We have had an unforgettable 3 days in Berlin. When we first arrived it was late afternoon. The Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is 4 stories high. Nothing looked familiar. I knew we should take the S5 train to our hotel. But, where in those 4 levels was the S5? We found an information center about mid level. I ask the lady, “sprechen sie English?” “Yes, a little” she said. Whew! She said our train arrived on track 15 on the top level.
We found Track 15. The next issue was buying a ticket at the kiosk. The instructions were in German. I happen to see a British flag in the lower corner of the screen. I tapped it and English appeared. Whew again!
We finally arrived at Alexander Platz which was near our hotel. But, we could not find our hotel from the maps we had. It was very chilly with a rather brisk wind. After about 30 minutes, we hailed a taxi. Two blocks and 8 Euros later we arrived at the ibis Alexander Platz Hotel.
The hotel is a 3 star hotel. It is very clean, has an exceptional continental breakfast, and is centrally located.
After a good nights sleep, we felt much better and headed out to find our way around. Once we found the big TV tower in the middle of Alexanderplatz we could easily find our way back to our hotel from almost any direction. We followed Karl Liebknech Strasse west to the Rhine River and the island of museums. From there the street changes to Unter den Linden and leads to the Brandenburg Gate and Embassy Row. Take Freidrich Strasse south off Unter den Linden and you run into “Check Point Charlie” and the Berlin Wall Memorial.
If you go north or east of the TV tower you venture deeper into what was the former East Berlin. The old Soviet style architecture is still prominent. A most interesting street to stroll down is Karl Marx Allee. It is a wide boulevard with building after building of 10 story apartments, all looking very much the same.
From any direction it is easy to look up, find the TV tower, head in that direction, and end up at Alexander Platz.
Berlin is truly an international city. We enjoyed the people, the food, and the history. I am sure you would too.