Gluten Free Beer And Pizza In Berlin
For supper, I ventured into the non-touristy parts of Berlin to Yorckstrasse station to have supper at Cielo di Berlino,
It was a trip worth making.
Although it nearly did get embarrassing, as they didn’t take credit cards and much of my euros had been used up. Note that in Germany cash points don’t seem to be as numerous as they are in the UK.
The White Crosses
The White Crosses are a memorial to those who died at the Berlin Wall.
The White Crosses
Time dictated that I didn’t have enough tiome to visit the actual wall. Perhaps next time?
Pancakes In Berlin
I like my crêpes, but these were just ordinary pancakes, as they weren’t made from buckwheat.
Pancakes In Berlin
A pity really, as when I saw the stall, I felt I’d like one!
Berlin’s Pseudo-Tourist Buses
Berlin has a short bus route numbered 100 across the centre using double-deck buses, that doubles as both a tourist and a general route. It passes a lot of the main tourist sites in a similar way to London’s route 11.
Use of this route is included in the Berlin Day Transport Ticket. I caught the bus from the Zoological Garden.
Like New Buses for London, they have two staircases.
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is one of the landmarks of Berlin.
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
I remember standing here a few years ago with C discussing the merits of one of the most radical reconstructions of a bomb-damaged church. I think we disagreed, in that she disliked it and I liked it.
It is certainly a different approach to that used at Coventry Cathedral.
In some ways though perhaps the approach taken at Liverpool with the church of St. Luke is more honest, as you are showing war in all its horror. It was after all, C’s favourite church.
In some ways that fact, illustrates her attitude to religion. When I met her, she went to church regularly and had even as a fifteen-year-old a few years earlier, made the decision to change parishes. By the time she died in terrible pain, she had no faith left!
She would be horrified at what is going on in the world in the name of religion. Surely no-one of a sane mind could approve some of the atrocities perpetrated in the name of gods in the last few years.
Surely now over 70 or so years after the end of the Second World War and over fifty years after he first performed it, Bob Dylan’s, With God On Our Side rings even more true.
Dating A Building In Berlin
I saw this next to my hotel in Berlin.
Dating A Building In Berlin
I can’t say I’ve seen anything so honest elsewhere giving the date of a building.
Visa And Amex In Germany
When I arrived in Berlin, I needed to buy a ticket and as I’m a Nationwide customer, I have one of their Visa cards that converts local currencies immediately without charges to my statement.
But in many places in Germany the only card you can use in Mastercard. As I travel usually with just Amex and Visa, I would have been scuppered, if I didn’t have quite a few Euros.
Surely, if we are a united Europe economically, then all machines and web sites that accept credit and charge cards, should be m,mandated in EU law to accept all types.
A consequence of the German policy was at Berlin, the machine on the platform to buy tickets for the S-Bahn was blocked with Americans and Australians trying to buy tickets without a Visa card and no euros.
Obviously, because of the way things are going when in perhaps five years, many cities will allow contactless cards as tickets, as London buses now do, this is going to be an area, where the Germans will have to allow cards other than Mastercard.
Double-Headed Into Berlin
One thing that puzzled me about the train, was that our short six coach train, needed two powerful engines to pull it into Berlin at rather a pedestrian pace, as this picture shows.
Double-Headed Into Berlin
The locomotives are power Siemens Eurosprinters, which are rated at 6,400 kW each.
Compare this with the Class 90, that regularly take me to and from Ipswich, at a similar pace to that at which I crossed Poland. These haul nine coach trains with just 3730 kW.
I find all this very puzzling!
Arrival In Berlin
Berlin has a Hauptbahnhof , that was opened after C and I visited around 2004. I took these pictures on arrival.
It is very much a station on several levels and finding where you need to go can be tricky for visitors. Especially, those with heavy cases!
As is typical with many stations on the Continent, staff were conspicuous by their absence, although the Tourist Office stays open until 22:00. Other cities could take note.
I had a complicated journey on the S-Bahn to get to my hotel, which meant two changes to get quite a short distance. But I managed it in the end. Berlin certainly needs to develop an easy-to-understand city train map, like say Munich.
Would I Go Back To Warsaw Again?
Most certainly! But I’d certainly stay in a different hotel.
I’d also plan it better, as there is lots to see that I didn’t!
