Day 2 - Berlin Wall and Holocaust Museum

The Brandenburg Gate is an imposing sight

We woke early, had a basic shower and a nice breakfast. We asked about bus tours and bought a two-day ticket. After collecting our things we caught a yellow Bex bus outside the hotel. The first section went from the Dom to Unter den Linden and past Museum Insel, currently surrounded by building works.

The Holocaust Memorial was a quiet place

We saw the Russian, UK and US embassies and alighted at Brandenburger Tor. We took photos all round. We then walked to the nearby Holocaust Monument, a sculpture of 2700 stone steles. We admired it from the front and also walked through the taller stones. Afterwards we visited the exhibition of facts, stories and images of the holocaust when over 5 million Jews died. A sobering experience.

All that remains of the notorious Berlin Wall

Then we had lunch at the Hotel Adlon, featured in several spy novels. I had chicken Caesar salad and German rose wine which was delicious.The service and ambience were excellent.


We resumed the bus tour through more Berlin districts including Tiergarten and Charlottenburg. We returned via Kurfirstendamm to Potsdamerplatz and the Philharmonie, home of the famous BPO. We also passed the remaining Berlin Wall built in 1981, and saw the Checkpoint Charlie museum.


We drove past Alexanderplatz over the river and back to our hotel for a rest. Later we took a taxi to Henne, a popular place where we ate half a roast chicken with crispy skin and potato salad, plus two glasses of Riesling. Back at the hotel I had an Irish coffee. Very nice evening.