[Europe Trip] Day 5, 6 - Berlin (Intercityhotel, Berlin Wall, Hackethals)

29th July 2015 (Wednesday)

We woke up in the wee morning to catch the flight to Berlin.

We were grateful that we planned for a morning flight. The underground was absolutely empty. It's easier to carry our bulky luggage without the human crowds (note: there's no lift nor escalator at Marylebone underground).

We took the Heathrow Connect back to the airport at Paddington. On hindsight, it was lucky that we bought the return tickets on the first day in London. We almost missed the train, and all we had to do was just to jump on the train with our luggage and tickets.

We ate breakfast (and slacked) at EAT. in Terminal 2, level 4. Our flight, GermanWings, was delayed and there was no information on when we can board the flight until about half an hour or 1 hour later. Despite that (and the stern faced air stewards), i quite enjoy the flight. The leg space was amazing even though it was a budget airline (GermanWings offered the cheapest tickets to Berlin).

Berlin Tegal Airport was quite small. We were shocked that the custom was just in front of the plane's exit walkway and there was only about two or three custom counters. We got cleared very fast.

Berlin was the only place where we stayed in hotel. We booked a room in Intercityhotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Agoda gave the cheapest rate when we book). The reasons for booking this hotel was that it was just adjacent to Berlin Hbf, and it gave us free local transport cards during our stay there.

We took TXL towards the S+U Alexanderplatz direction (you could purchase the tickets from the officers at the airport bus-stop area or purchase via the ticketing machine) and stopped at Berlin Hbf.

Intercityhotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof

I won't say the service staff at the hotel (and the Bahn customer service staff at Hbf station) were friendly, but at least the hotel was clean and comfortable. it was especially important as I fell sick in Berlin.

We went to see the iconic Berlin Wall and the exhibitions nearby, and here was it...

I was already not feeling well during the visit to the Berlin Wall (it alternated between hot and cold on that day) and we sat around in a convenience store near Nordbahnhof Hbf. This area had a lot of construction, and i won't say it looked like a tourist area. It looked more like our neighbourhood HDB area.

We had our dinner at the Hackethals (website), it was a small restaurant, which was highly raved on the internet. Remember to be there early, as the restaurant was filled up pretty fast. It is also advised to book in advance (but not too in advance, they actually forgot our booking).
Review of Hackethals: We had their house beer, it was the best beer i ever tasted! And their portobello mushroom pork chop (i forgot the exact name) was so tender and complimented their beer very well! High recommended! I would visit this restaurant if i goes Berlin again.

We took the tram back and had an early night as i wasn't feeling well. 

30th July 2015 (Thursday)

Basically we skipped all our planned itinerary. We went to the Berlin Hbf to have breakfast, purchase some medicine and chocolate souveniors from the supermart. Among our planned destinations, the prices in Berlin was the lowest, thus we decided to get all the necessities and souvenirs in Berlin. 

Staying near Berlin Hbf was a great choice, it was a mega shopping centre on it's own, and it had a 24-hour pharmacy. 

We googled for some restaurant (i can't remember the name) with some good reviews to have our dinner. And we saw a rainbow after we returned to the Hbf!

Some observations about Germany (including Munich):

1. The transport system is based on honour: i.e. there's no barricades, you could just enter the train/bus/tram. They trust that you would pay the transport fee. 

2. The train/bus/tram were all on time. Amazing.

3. The Germans were very environmental-friendly. There were many environmental-friendly cars on the street, and they depended on bicycles and other similar modes of transportation to move around.

4. Their staples were bread, cakes, pizza, sausages and pig trotters. I tried to find some comforting soups but couldn't (or maybe it's the area i stayed).