Berlin: Europe's "Special" city
30 years later, the feeling of two cities becoming one is everywhere in Berlin. Two cities full of life, colors, music and aromas. Large parks, monuments, countless small and large cafes as well as clubs and nightlife.
With the river Spree raining it down and the large Tiergarten park cooling it down, the city of Berlin will enchant you and keep you busy all the days you'll be there, as it's full of things to do. We have chosen for you what we consider a must and present them to you in this article.
1. The Brandenburg Gate
A triumphal, neoclassical arch strongly influenced by the Greek Acropolis, still standing since the Prussian era in 1791, stands out in one of the most central points of the city. Between the Tiergarten Park, the Reichstag and the Holocaust Museum, it is rightly considered the meetingplace of Berliners and tourists. Much-photographed and widely known to everyone, there are not a few who start their day there or end their afternoon, enjoying a coffee at the Adlon Hotel while gazing at the sunset.
2. The Holocaust Memorial
Just a few meters away from the Brandenburg Gate and the Parliament, on an area of about 5 hectares, you will find the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. A Memorial that will send shivers down your spine and remind you of the darkness and horror that the Third Reich spread throughout the world.
There are many memorials that remind us of the city's dark past, its division with the raising of the Wall in 1961, the Second World War and the rise of Nazism, but they are also those that, by keeping the memories alive, prevent the future from the same mistakes.
3. The Jewish Museum
The Jewish Museum, a building that combines the 18th century with a modern extension designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind, Upon entering, the visitor passes the door of a baroque palace and as he descends the stairs he encounters the new wing, an underground space of idiosyncratic, futuristic architecture.
Each route in this Museum takes you somewhere else, to another exhibit. One of the exhibits that we liked and want to share with you, for the intense experience it left us with, was that of the Israeli artist Menash Kadishman, an installation called Fallen Leaves. An incredibly quiet space with a floor covered in metal masks with no eyes and their mouths open, I was left with special feelings as all we could hear was the sound of our footsteps on the metal.
4. Reichstag
The Parliament marks the rebirth of Germany into a strong and democratically free state and the end of the World War, with the fall of the Wall. The Reichstag has been the "home" of the German Parliament since 1999. An iconic building of great historical importance where an imposing glass dome, signed by the architect Norman Foster, 230 meters high was later added to it.
5. Lake Müggelsee
A breath of fresh air for Berliners, Lake Müggelsee in the summer months welcomes many German and non-German visitors to cool off on its shores, rent a boat and take a ride, see the swans swimming up close and cool off . An ideal walk for families with children, who can play in the lake, which has sand at the bottom, but also for couples as romance is something that possesses it.
6. Charlottenburg Palace
Berlin's largest palace, built as a summer residence for King Frederick I's wife Sophia Charlotte in 1699, suffered dramatic damage during World War II. It was reconstructed several years later to tell the story in its own way. Inside the palace you will find silverware, crowns, great halls and many works of art. The great halls of the Charlottenburg have also been restored and built from scratch based on the palace's original designs with a baroque aesthetic. Among the most impressive things about the palace are its gardens.
7. The Tiergarten Park
520 hectares of park in the center of Berlin, the Tiergarten is a true oasis of coolness in the center of a bustling capital. You will need several hours to walk it all, but the only thing is that it will make you feel like you are outside the city and will fill you with peace and tranquility.
On the North side of the Tiergarten it stretches from the Brandenburg Gate, which is often considered by tourists as the "beginning of the park", to the Zoo, a favorite meeting point of young tourists. In the southern part of the Tiergarten you will find the famous Potzdamer Platz, the Reichstag. but also the river Spree, which runs through the N.