We arrive in Berlin late in the evening and catch the train into the city. We find Berlin very different to Norway, it is dirty, a lot more multicultural, and basically a normal large European city. We have 3 nights here before picking up our rental car and heading off again, this time we would be driving and we can take things at our own pace, which is going to be fantastic.

On our first day we head out into the city and it is quite busy. We head first to the Berlin Cathedral, however due to a dodgy coffee we don’t have any spare change for the lockers so we decide to come back later. We head towards the Brandenburg gate and they are starting to pack up some of the many Christmas markets that are dotted around the city. It seems like in every square they have markets set up at this time of the year, all selling the same nick nacks, mulled wine and food. When we get close to the gate we see that they are now also setting up for New Year’s Eve. Brandenburg gate and most of the parklands behind it are fenced off. We find out later that this is the scene of a chaotic New Year’s Eve party attended by “hundreds of thousands” of party goers.

We managed to eventually find a gap in the fence and were able to walk down the now car-less road to the Victory Column. You are able to climb the victory column for a couple of Euro’s so we did that. It gave you 360 degree views, although from only about 50m in the air. After that we caught the bus to Potsdamer Platz, a square in another part of town where they still had Christmas markets on. Here we decided to sample some German bratwurst, I was the test pilot before the girls decided that they all wanted one. They were delicious and would end up being the first of many.

The next day we headed out to see the Berlin Wall at a place called the east side gallery. This is a perfectly preserved section of wall covered in street art, some dating back to only days after the wall started coming down. Then we headed over to Checkpoint Charlie, the allied forces check point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War. I was very surprised about the amount of people and tour groups that were here. It was a little disappointing, but still good to see.

We headed back to the Berlin Cathedral to have a look inside and to climb to the top. After that we finished up our stop in Berlin by heading to the top of the Berlin TV Tower. I just went up with the girls, and they loved it. Looking out over Berlin’s night sky, we could see a couple of different Christmas Markets still running with their outdoor ice skating rinks. The only problem was the reflective glass at the top, it was very difficult to get any decent pictures.

The next day we pick up our rental car and start heading to our next destination, Dresden. On the way we stop in at Sanssouci park in Potsdam, just out of Berlin. This place is massive and features 2 palaces, and plenty of other out buildings including a windmill and an orangery. I think the girls enjoyed getting out of the city into some open space, even though they complained about the walking! In the end it was enjoyable, even if it was a bit cold. By this time it was after lunch so it was time to head to Dresden.