My husband, a friend and I took a four day trip to Berlin, from Amsterdam, in September of 2019. This itinerary is based on that experience. Want more visual inspiration? Check out the video of the trip!
Transport and Hotel: We flew into the Berlin Brandenburg Airport and took the train into Berlin Central Station (30 minutes). I recommend downloading the app to get tickets. We mainly walked or used the train/metro system, but we did use Uber once or twice. We stayed at the Novotel Suites Berlin City Potsdamer Platz, it was a fairly central location and a good price for the area.
Day 1: Getting into Central Station at around 11:00, there were food carts right outside, so we could not resist grabbing lunch. Bratwurst on bread with a side of fries; perfection. As we had time before check in, we took the 35 minute walk to our hotel slowly, taking in the sights along the way. Walking along the river, we passed by the Reichstag Building; this has a dome you can climb up and get views of the city; free, remember to make a reservation. This makes more sense than going up the Fernsehturm Berlin, you save 17€ and you get to see the Fernsehturm in your view! We also saw the Brandenburg Gate; a restored 18th-century gate & landmark with 12 Doric columns topped by a classical goddess statue.
After checking in, we went to Checkpoint Charlie; the landmark boundary marking East & West Berlin. Kitty-corner is the Wall Museum; it is free and has information about the Wall and Berlin, there is also a piece of the Wall. There is also the Topography of Terror; a modern center on the site of the former Gestapo headquarters. Right outside this building there was an exhibition set up regarding Poland during WWII, lined up in front of a large strip of the Berlin Wall. This area is a pretty intense sightseeing experience, but it felt important to do.
Night 1: We headed to Lindenbräu am Potsdamer Platz for a drink and apfelstrudel. The Potsdamer Platz is a historic square that was destroyed during the War, and since the Wall fell, it is a huge modern space with restaurants and shops. As it was such a nice day, we decided to head to Schleusenkrug; a beer garden on the edge of Großer Tiergarten. I highly recommend going to a beer garden while you are in Berlin. There was food there as well, so we opted for pretzels. As the sun was setting, we headed to Zum Patzenhofer for dinner. It was a nice little restaurant with traditional German fare. On the way back to the hotel, we caught views of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. We also stopped at a grocery store along the way, as Germany has the best snacks (Knoppers and Haribo).
Day 2: We decided to spend the day in Potsdam, which is an easy 30 minute train ride. We grabbed breakfast at the station; schnittlauchbrezel - a pretzel with butter (which tastes like cream cheese) and chives. I could eat them everyday (and I tried my best to do so on this trip). Once off the train, we crossed the Lange Brücke and swung right, landing us in the Alter Markt area. Here we saw the St. Nicholas' Church, Potsdam; free to enter, and other beautiful buildings and structures including the Museum Barberini, the Landtag Brandenburg, the Fortunaportal and the Obelisk.
We walked by the Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul heading towards the Dutch Quarter; we walked through a market that was going on with artwork and goods. We went to Backstoltz for lunch; an amazing plate of sauerkraut, pretzel roll, salad and white sausage. Continuing on, we passed by the Brandenburg Gate going to Sanssouci Park and saw the Church of Peace.
The park is huge, so we concentrated on the Sanssouci Palace/ Schloss Sanssouci area. We walked around and up the 132 steps to the palace. You can also tour inside but we just admired the outside. Needing some energy, we headed to Cafe Franmz Schubert, a quirky little café/shop. I had an ‘eispresso’, also called an eiskaffe or affogato; a shot of espresso with a spoon of ice cream - incredible. After the train ride back, we rested at the hotel before our night out.
Night 2: We headed to a fantastic rooftop bar; Klunkeranich; there was a 4€ entry for the DJ. It is a beer gardern/bar on top of a parking garage; super funky and cool. We then headed to Mustafa Demir's Gemüse Kebap (near the U Kottbusser Tor stop). This döner shop has veggie options and is very yummy.
We then found a bar tucked around the corner, which is one of my favorite bars I have ever been to. Multilayerladen; they had lofted beds and hanging swing chairs for seating. For a final drink, we found a spot at Café Luzia; another cool spot, where we found seats by the huge windows so we could easily people watch.
Day/Night 3: The inspiration for this trip was Lollapalooza 2019, located at the Olympiastadion Berlin, where the 1936 Olympics took place. It is worth the 20 minute train ride to see it. We were able to see some of the statues, the stadium and swimming pool. As it was a festival, there were lots of food/beer tents as well as various activities to do. I was able to eat some Käsespätzle and we saw Khalid, Hozier, Dean Lewis, Martin Garrix, Allie X and Kings of Leon to name a few. If you love live music, going to any kind of festival needs to be on your bucket list.
Day 4: After an exhausting previous day, we slept in slightly and had breakfast at a cafe nearby; Maracay Coffee. We then checked out of the hotel and headed to one final spot, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe; 2,711 columns forming a vast maze like Holocaust memorial. Again, a sobering sightseeing experience, but one that is important. Admission is free. For lunch, before catching our flight, we ate right between the train station and the airport at Laggner’s Almhütte Berlin. There is a lot of space so you can have your luggage without a problem, and was a great way to have our last German meal.
Foods to try:
National dish of Germany: Sauerbraten (pot roast).
Others: currywurst, spätzle, Königsberger Klopse, schnitzel, bratwurst, Brezel, apfelstrudel, döner, Berliner Pfannkuche
Something to Note: Germany is known for dealing with cash almost exclusively. A lot of restaurants and grocery stores will have a card machine but make sure you have cash on hand.
Things I would change:
I would have liked to go up the dome of the Reichstag Building.
I also would have liked to go to the East Side Gallery.
General Travel Tips:
Figure out an idea of sites you want to see; this will determine a centralized area for where you should stay.
Utilize Google reviews when looking for something to eat. General rule, stay away from streets with lots of neon signs.
Mark everything on your google maps. Google is also (in my opinion) the best pedestrian and bike navigation app.
Other:
Planning for a trip, especially overseas, can be stressful and overwhelming. Hopefully this gave you an idea of things to do during your next trip to Berlin. I try to do as many quick links as possible, to send you directly to the website so you can get the most accurate and up-to-date information possible (fees and timetables).
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Safe and Happy Wandering.
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