Last year I took a trip to Berlin to see GOT7's perform one of their first European concerts on their World Tour, I had hoped London would be on the list as I had already planned my trip to the UK but unfortunately it wasn't but being the crazy fangirl I am I still wanted to show my support for them after travelling all that way and as I had never visited Germany before I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do so. I was working with a really tight schedule so only had one full day to explore the city as I was leaving the next day right after the concert, ideally I would have loved a few more days to explore but looking back I'm kinda surprised at just how much I was able to see in such a short time...
As soon as I arrived in Berlin I was greeted by these wonderful colourful bears, and also a packet of complimentary gummi bears at the hotel, which was when I realised that bears are the symbol of Berlin and gave myself a mission to find as many around the city as possible. I loved the bears that much I also brought back a bunch of cute bear souvenirs for my friends and family, I mean they're so cute right?
My hotel was near Alexanderplatz which was a great place to stay given our limited time as there were so many things to explore around the area and lots of great shops and places to eat it was also with walking distance of a lot of places and well connected to the bus and train lines so easy to reach from the airport. There is also the Berlin TV Tower (Fernsehturm Berlin) right in the center which is a great place to start as not only can you see the whole of the city from above but it gives you a good idea of where things are so you can plan out your day and of course take in the spectacular views of the city and its surroundings while you're up there.
Within walking distance from Alexanderplatz is Museum Island, which I actually suggest you spend more time exploring if you can, or just dedicate a whole day to visiting the museums there. We really wanted to go inside the museums and had planned to go back later in the day but ran out of time from all the other sightseeing, but at least this gives me a reason to go back and visit again. The buildings are so beautiful to and have a lot of history, you can still see the gunshot holes in some of them. There's so many interesting exhibitions and artworks there to so one day I would love to visit them properly.
Of course Berlin's most famous sight the Brandenburg Gate is a must see and I heard it's even more spectacular at night, this wasn't too far a walk from Museum Island (we did a lot of walking that day!) so worth making a stop just to see it in person and taking those iconic photos.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was something I didn't know much about but it's a really interesting place, some think it resembles a graveyard but all art is open to interpretation and walking through it can be a dizzying experience as the blocks increase and decrease in height and you struggle to find a way out, it has its own beauty though and it was nice to see families sitting there enjoying the sunshine, in the same way The East Side Gallery has been transformed from something painful to something inspiring I see this memorial the same way to.
A hidden gem I found while on my way to the GOT7 concert which wasn't in the guidebooks was this park, Volkspark Friedrichshain. From the moment I stepped through the gates I felt like I had walked into a fairy tale with all the beautiful statues and dreamy fountains, it was just so beautiful I had to mention it! There was also a restaurant in there to which we grabbed a quick drink at and of course places barbecuing sausages and other traditional German treats. If you visit when the weather is good then I would definitely recommend a stop here, it's the perfect place to just relax and enjoy life.
Finally I would totally recommend a sunset river cruise around the city to end your day, it was one of my favourite things we did and a nice way to see the city and end our adventures in Berlin. We didn't initially plan this, we just happened to be walking past, eating our ice cream when we noticed the last boat was due to leave so we thought we might as well hop on board and rest our feet from all the walking we had done that day.
We actually visited a lot more places in our short time there but my battery started to run out on my cameras as well as my internal battery gaining drained from so much walking in the summer heat, luckily there was lots of delicious food there to energise me! I really do hope I get the chance to visit again one day as I really enjoyed my brief time there and would love to explore more of Germany.
What city would you love to visit if you only had 24 hours?
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