Berlin by Night with Contiki

As one of our ten hour driving days, it’s little surprise that I can remember very little about day three of our European Whirl except a nerve wracking few seconds where we had to stand up and introduce ourselves on the coach. Before reaching our hostel in Berlin however, we took a stop off at the East Side Gallery.

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, artists gathered to transform this part into a gallery by expressing their hopes for the future through art. It was amazing to walk the length of the wall that previously separated East and West Berlin thinking that you would once have had to risk your life to cross it.

We hopped back onto the coach for a short ride to our home for the next two nights: Generator Hostel Berlin East. This was probably my least favourite of the places we stayed as our included dinner was pretty horrible – think slop on a plate disguised as pasta – and the rooms were fairly cramped. Complaining aside, we went down to the hotel bar for a few drinks before a group of us decided to take the tram back to explore Berlin by night.

Important things first: pretzels.

Deliciously salty and covered in cheese, my first pretzel was an experience worth remembering.

Following the iconic TV tower, we made our way to Alexanderplatz. This was the former central square of East Berlin and the TV tower was constructed as a futuristic-looking watch point where the Soviets could look over to West Berlin.

From here, we strolled through the city taking in the beautiful lit up buildings. We were all surprised at how quiet and peaceful it was – even though it was a Monday night, you’d expect there to be more people around in the capital city centre!

We took in the beautiful Berlin Cathedral and looked out over Museum Island…

…before making friends with some ‘Buddy Bears’.

Unable to find much else going on, we took the tram back to the hostel and after a brief period where we got completely lost, were tucked up in bed ready for a long day of sightseeing the next day. Little did I know that this would be the most sleep I’d have for the rest of the trip!