After getting off the night train, we took the Berlin metro to our hotel. At the hotel, we had an entertaining conversation with the receptionist. We told her about our train journey. She replied that there are always delays on German trains! I said that Germans, in the UK, had a reputation for efficiency. She laughed. I asked, “When did it all go wrong?”, and she replied, “About 1933!”
Since the swimming pool was out of action, she gave us complimentary breakfast for our stay. On being asking about whether there were laundry facilities, she upgraded us to the “studio apartment”, which had a washing machine!
We dropped off our bags and headed out. Our first mission was to have lunch. We ended up having a “manti”, which was stodgy and somewhat bland. But it filled a gap.
After being on the night train for twelve hours, we needed to stretch our legs. We’d been to Berlin before, in 2019. So, we had already visited some of the popular places. We hadn’t properly looked at the central park, Tiergarten. This means “animal garden” or “deer garden”. Once a royal hunting ground, it’s now Berlin’s “green lung”.
To get to Tiergarten, you inevitably pass the famous Brandenburg Gate, where tourists congregate.
We continued walking until we reached KaDeWe, the largest department store in mainland Europe. We returned to the hotel via the metro.
