Mon 15th - got up early in Hamburg and did a run then back to the hostel and took our bags to the station so we could catch our last train of the trip to Berlin. The train was pretty busy and we didn't have reserved seats but managed to get 2 seats together, albeit backwards facing! We arrived in Berlin station mid-afternoon and got some lunch (sandwich) in the station before walking to the hostel (about 45mins away). The hostel was called the Easterner Hostel. We were lucky that the owner was in. We arrived at 3.30pm and usually he would have left. He was friendly and showed us around. Hostel very quiet, room was fine but heating hardly worked. We walked to the supermarket (Netto) and had rice and mackerill for tea.
Tue 16th - got up earlish and walked to the Brandenburg gate and Checkpoint Charlie. After this we walked to the Jewish museum and spent a couple of hours here which was very interesting. We then walked to the Eastside section of the Berlin Wall which was amazing to see. The art was spectacular and we spent quite a while taking photos. On the way back to the hostel we walked into the town hall and took some photos and passed through a Christmas market. It was pretty much the same as the ones in Hamburg. We got some more Grogg to drink and took the cups as souvenirs (paid deposit)
Wed 17th - up for a run early and ran down to the Brandenburg gate and the Holocaust memorial which was around the corner. We also ran over to the Reichburg. We ran then to a small cafe near the hostel and got some breakfast. After changing at the hostel we walked back to Checkpoint Charlie so I could get a stamp in my passport (forgot to take passport the day before). We then caught the subway out to the bus station so we knew where to go the next day. From here we took the subway out to the Olympic stadium. It was pretty amazing to see but we didn't bother to pay to go inside. Instead we walked back toward the city, stopping on the way at Charlottesburg and a famous department store called Kaufhaus Des Westens. Here we went up to the food dept and bought some bread and German cheese to eat. After walking back to the hostel we went to a burger bar for dinner (very delicious!).
