After Helsinki me and my family visited Berlin, and it turned out to be quite interesting. We saw everything from spy gadgets to giant Lego creations, with some really important history mixed in between.
One of the first things we visited was the Brandenburg Gate. It’s the one thing tourists cannot miss. It’s a symbol of Germany being reunited. What surprised me most was how it’s just standing there in the middle of a big square, with cars and bikes zooming all around it. At night, when it’s lit up with golden lights, it looks even more impressive.
The Spy Museum was probably my favorite stop. They had all these cool interactive exhibits where I could experience Caesars code and morse code. I also learnt a lot about how different animals like mice or pigeons helped to spy on enemies. Seeing real spy gadgets from the Cold War was mind-blowing. These exhibits weren’t that pricy, but still had a lot of interaction.
We stayed at the Marriott Hotel, which was quite the investment. But it’s fine we cut many costs by using public transportation. I also experienced Lyft electric scooters which were exclusive to Europe. It was quite fun and shows the development of a country.
Visiting the Berlin Wall was strange since there was only a chunk left. It’s hard to imagine a whole city being divided like that. I don’t remember much except one of them was full of bubble gum, and somewhere else there were souvenirs of Berlin Wall chunks. They looked no different from normal concrete.
The Holocaust Memorial was different than anything I’d ever seen. Thousands of gray concrete blocks in rows that get taller as you walk through them. It felt confusing and a little scary, but my brother was being a nuisance as always and kept running away as if it was a maze.
Then we went to Legoland Discovery Center. After all the serious history, it was great to just be a kid again. There was a “rollercoaster” except I would have walked faster, and there were like human sized statues made of Lego all around us. At the end we watched a 3D movie of ninjago where the chairs moved and there was real water spraying fo ran authentic movie experience.
Also the food was one of the greatest. The burgers were like no other, I’m not kidding it was crispy and flavourful, and really reflects local culture. The hotdogs were also not bad, but I really haven’t eaten many hotdogs that aren’t those cheap knockoffs. But the buffet was just out of the world, I definitely made my moneys worth.
Berlin turned out to be this perfect mix of old and new, serious and fun. It is a place to remember. Btw The euros was also going on, I remember watching Yamal knock out France at a restaurant. The host was actually Germany so I could just feel that it really wasn’t that far away. Although Germany was knocked out by Spain just a few days before we arrived.