monday 16th January 2012

Waking up to meet the coach at 4am was a bit of a shock, but once I was up and ready the journey was exciting looking at guidebooks and suggestions of what to see or do… yes planning has never been in advance for me. We arrived in Berlin at around 9am and went straight by coach to the hostel. As I have visited Berlin before I knew what a large city it is and location is important in where to stay and I was pleasantly surprised to be staying in Meininger City Hostel, Mitte, which was situated in the centre of Berlin and next to Hauptbahnhof, the main transportation hub for Berlin, containing both inter-city U-Bahn services and national and international train lines.

The U-Bahn is Berlins equivalent of the underground, it is a frequent service running all over Berlin with a colour system and easy to use map. Travellers are required to purchase a ticket before travel and activate it at the platform of the train. With no barriers or ticket operators it is quite easy to get around for free, but be warned a 60-euro instant fine is for anyone caught out on the trains.

The first thing we decided to do after putting our stuff in the rooms was to have a walk around and get to know the city, from past travelling experience I have always preferred to walk and see the sights and un-sights as it may be of a city and this time there was no exception. The hotel was a stones throw away from the Brandenburg gate and so we started from there. With such a grand structure and history surrounding the wall is was no surprise it was full of school groups, tours as well street performers. Through the gate Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week could be seen to be setting up behind, with one of our targets of the week to experience it.

The next plan of action was to walk to the Jewish Museum, unknown to us it was a short walk from the gate we headed down the central Mitte road towards Alexanderplatz, an up and coming creative district and ended up at the Central Art Gallery of Berlin which is full of character and fine art. We were told about Gallaries Lafayette, a concept shopping space in Berlin, which is known for its grandeur and architecture. The spiral shape throughout the building transcends down to the basement and is a art piece in its own right. With balconies all around the structure it is quite a spectacle.

When finally arriving at the Jewish Museum, it was closed and getting late and so we headed back to the hotel to plan the day ahead.