Tired and a bit stinky, we arrived in Berlin via a very long night train from Vienna; unfortunately, due to some issues with the brakes, a car had to be removed which created a musical chairs style seat shuffle at about 1am, and sleep after that was inconsistent. Although we aren't usually the guided-tour-type, we also didn't have the energy to plan any activities and needed motivation to keep going until we could check into our hotel. Enter Original Berlin Walks, and their 'Original Berlin' walking tour covering the major sites in the city.
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| Bullet riddled columns on Museum Island |
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| Berlin Cathedral on a foggy morning |
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| Crumbling remains of the Berlin Wall |
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| Overly popular Checkpoint Charlie |
After meeting a few blocks from our hotel at the Hackescher Markt S-bahn station, our guide Jessica led us through the city past dozens of Berlin's most interesting attractions including Museum Island, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie. In addition, we were provided with an in-depth history of the city and interesting facts about the years under Nazi control, World War II, the Cold War, and the years since the collapse of the wall.
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| Altes Museum |
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| Brandenburg Gate |
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| Holocaust Memorial |
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| Christmas Market in Gendarmenmarkt |
Despite our reservations about guided tours, the 'Original Berlin' walking tour exceeded our expectations, provided a great introduction to the city, and was very affordable. There are a number of reputable operators offering a range of guided walks which all sounded extremely interesting (and one of which we did - but more about that later). We'd highly recommend a tour like this upon arriving in the city. In fact, we've actually looked for similar tours to join in our next cities, Brussels and Paris; however, neither has the variety of tours or reasonable prices that Berlin offers.
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