Berlin – a lesson in GCSE History

When my daughter expressed her disappointment at not being offered a place on the school GCSE History trip to Berlin, I jumped at the opportunity to suggest a mother- daughter trip during half term.  To my delight, she agreed and off we went on a two night, two and a half day whistle stop tour of the city.

We took an early flight with Easyjet from Gatwick to Berlin Brandenburg Airport followed by a short train journey on the S-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse.  The train and underground networks in Berlin are excellent – efficient, clean and easy to navigate.  In just 33 minutes we were in the centre of the city and conveniently, just a 5 minute walk from our hotel.

We stayed at the four star Leonardo Hotel Berlin Mitte (bookable via Greenstar Travel through Kirker), superbly located in the Mitte and within easy reach of all the sights of Berlin. We were lucky enough to secure an early check in so headed to our room to drop our bags and then out again to find some lunch and start exploring the city.

Top tip: Download the S-Bahn app for quick and easy travel help around the city.

A wander up the wide, tree lined Unter den Linden took us to Brandenburg Gate.  The gate, one of the former city gates and the only one remaining of its era, is one of the most recognisable icons of Berlin and, in fact, Europe. The gate has been witness to victory, peace, war, division and unity.  It’s a touristy spot but you can’t miss a visit when in Berlin.

Just the other side of the gate into the old west of the city sits the Reichstag. The Reichstag has been the seat of the German Brundestag since 1990, the year of German reunification following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. At the top of the building rises the majestic dome, designed by Norman Foster and offering gorgeous views of the whole city.  Berlin is low rise, being built on marshland, and the dome offers one of the best few 360 degree aerial views.

Top tip: Visiting the dome is free of charge but to enter the building it’s necessary to register before you go, which you can do on the Deutscher Bundestag website.

The other aerial view that may appeal is from the top of the Berliner Fernsehturm in Alexanderplatz, the original broadcasting system for East Berlin.  The tower stands at 368m, the tallest building in Berlin; the visitor platform is at 203m.

Following our visit to the dome we wandered along to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Occupying a prime real estate plot in Berlin, this incredible stone memorial is open to wander through and interpret, as the artist wanted, in your own way.  What was evident throughout our whole stay was how much the German people are still so repenting of the atrocities their predecessors carried out and how much they want this period of history to be explored.  For this reason, all memorials and museums dedicated to the holocaust are free of charge.  Under the memorial is an underground museum explaining the history behind the terrible atrocities of World War II.  It is believed 6 million Jewish people were murdered during the holocaust; as you wander through the museum, victims’ names are read out and projected onto a wall one by one – it is estimated that it takes 7 years to read the entire list.  This was an incredibly thought provoking and educational visit.

We had had an early start so we strolled back to our hotel and found a lovely local German restaurant for dinner, Boulevard Freidrichstrasse – the Wiener Schnitzel was delicious! To walk off our dinner we wandered back to the Brandenburg Gate to see the last light shows of the annual Festival of Lights which looked incredible against the backdrop off the gate.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast (the hotel buffet breakfast was excellent), we walked towards the meeting point for our walking tour of Berlin.  We had been advised this was a must when in Berlin and what great advice.  We booked a 4 hour Discover Berlin tour with Original Berlin Walks to give us an overview of the city’s history.  Meeting near Museum Island we met our guide, Rebecca, a half German Canadian who emigrated to Berlin due to her love of the city several years ago.  She was excellent.  She was incredibly knowledgeable, as you would expect, but also delivered her knowledge with eloquence and humour (where appropriate).  Our tour took us to Checkpoint Charlie via a detailed history of World War II and the Cold War and certainly helped secure tons of GCSE revision!

That afternoon, short of time to go to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp (45 minutes by train north of the city) we explored the DDR Museum.  The museum is definitely one of the best in Berlin and gives a fascinating insight into life in East Germany.

That evening we had reserved a table at Katz Orange in the Mitte.  It was absolutely lovely with great food and friendly service in a pretty setting too.

If you fancy shopping, there’s lots of opportunity in Berlin however luxury department store KaDeWe is worth a visit purely for the food halls on the top floor.  Ampelmann is a fun stop to buy memorabilia of the most famous little guy in town (find out the history behind him here) and there are many small boutiques to be discovered around Neue Schönhauser Strasse and Müzstrasse in Mitte and between Kantstrasse and Ku’damm in Charlottenburg.  We spent our last morning mostly eating our way around the food halls in KaDeWe before taking the train back to the airport.

Our whistlestop tour had been absolutely brilliant – fascinating, educational, thought provoking and incredibly interesting.  Over two and a half days we walked over 40,000 steps, ate several pretzels and bratwurst learned a huge amount about one the most important a periods in recent history.  We were both struck by the warm welcome we received and how relaxed and easy going the city is and how easy it was to get around.  It wasn’t hugely busy either and October is lovely month to go.

Other places to stay

If you’re looking for a luxury stay in Berlin, stay at Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin.  Situated in a prime position on the Under den Linden, opposite the Brandenburg Gate, Hotel Adlon is the height of luxury and exemplary service.  The hotel is unfortunately known for the Michael Jackson baby dangling incident in 2002 however more importantly has been host to many celebrities in its time, particularly during the ‘Golden Twenties’.   Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Charlie Chaplain….. the list is impressive.  The hotel has retained this historic glamour whilst embracing modern day luxury and forward thinking.

As always, we love hearing from you so do get in touch if you want to chat through your next adventure.