Euro-trip ? Here I am !
Heya lovely readers ! This article will be the first of a brand new European sequence. As you might know, my Australian adventures took an end few months back, to be followed by some fun times in Vietnam. Next stop? Germany! I finally kissed my long-lost boyfriend in Frankfurt’s airport, after 3 months of awful Skype connection and doubtful (sometimes sexy) Snapchats. Two weeks of heavy cuddles later, we jumped on a Flixbus to Berlin for a week-end adventure. Even tho Steffen is German, he had visited the capital only once before. Still he took the tittle of ”tour guide”, which he filled up brilliantly. We’ve done all the things from our bucket list, and for no more than around 70€ total. If you’re planning on visiting the city on a budget, take notes, Cuz we had a freaking awwwesome time!
Luxury Couchsurfing Experience
Alright, so I admit to be really cheap when it comes to accommodation. Europe has some very expensive cities, and decent/affordable hostels aren’t running all corners. The first thing I did when planing our trip was to ask around: does anyone know a Berliner with a big heart and a spare couch? Luckily, I received a positive answer! My mom’s former colleague Dominique welcomed us in a massive double room in Mitte (a pretty hip neighborhood) and some delicious home-made humus. An other alternative would’ve been to use Couchsurfing.com.
Day 1 : MuseumInsel + Cheap white, bitte !
Let’s be honest, visiting Europe in March isn’t ideal. It is cold, rainy and cloudy about 85% of the time. Cool thing is, there’s so much monuments to visit that most cities are still enjoyable from under roof.
Berlin has literally an entire Museum Island that groups together 5 of the biggest galleries in the city (Pergamon, Bode, Neues, Altes & Altes nationalgalerie). Each museum has an entry cost of ≈ 10 €, which does make the whole thing a bit pricy. However, there is an Island pass (all 5 museums access for 18 €), and a Berlin Museum pass (over 40 museums access for 24 €) which are def worth a try. If you find 5 museums in a row a bit heavy, I would advise you to skip on the Pergamon and aim for the Alte Nationalgalerie instead.
When we got back to our room that night, I tought: TGIF! In Berlin! Heels out!…Uh-oh. My fever-ish boyfriend wasn’t reacting the same way. But our host mentioned a wine bar located around the corner called The Weinerei. And it has an absolute dream concept : rent a glass for 2€, serve yourself as many time as you want, and pay what ever amount you think it deserved. Our host Dominique gladly joined me for a girls night in this livingroom-alike atmosphere. 4.5€ totals! It’s highly recommended 😉
Day 2 : Balloon, Sun & Dinosaurs
Morning #2 began with great news: Steffen was feeling better, the sun was up high, and a hot-air balloon was floating ’round the sky. We started our day with the Museum of Natural History (Museum für Naturkunde). The exhibition is golden. It’s probably a child’s heart that would bring you there, but the exhibits and infos will pick up on your adult’s curiosity. It is totally worth getting the Berlin museum pass to add this one on top of the Island galleries.
Our second day task was to walk to the famous Reichstag. The building is certainly impressive from the outside, but so was the line to get in for a visit. The tours were fully booked on that afternoon, so we picked a spot for the next evening. Steve decided that the rest of this day should dedicated on following the hot-air balloon around. The quest brought us to the Brandenburg Gate, the Jewish memorial, the Topography of Terrors and finally to Checkpoint Charlie. We sat for lunch at the Currywurst Museum. For those who don’t know, currywurst are probably the Berliniest of all food (#sooooBerlin #street). I’m talking about sausages + sauce + bread…but definitely NOT. a hot dog. Fake-meat options are also available, so we both got a craving satisfied. Best way to spend the night? Massive bowls of pastas and few episodes of Planet Earth.
Day 3 : How the F*** do you pronounce Reichstag!?
Sunday = Brunch day !! When Dominique mentioned that vegetarian place across the street, it sounded to good to resist. We arrived a few minutes before the opening, and had to rush our way to a table. Morgenrot Café offers a satisfying vegetarian/vegan buffet of fresh, quality food (including scramble tofu, humus, salads, pastas, chocolate spread, German bread, etc.), for a total of 7€ per head.
We left the restaurant with proper food babies, and spend our walk to the parliament on practicing my ”Reichstag” pronunciation. Of course, my German teacher never seemed to be truly satisfied. The visit was actually pretty sweet. There’s free audio guide available if you are into that, but we chosed to simply walk the stairs and take some pictures from the rooftop.
BF was getting sick and tired afterward but we still made our way to the East Side gallery. Super cool murals and all, but damn it was freezing and we were dead tired. We crashed our last night with burritos and the sweet voice of David Attenborough.
Berlin turned out to be one of my favortite European city, because how lively, historical and full of surprises. I defenitly need to go back there during the summer next time, and give a try to its famous nightlife. Till next time, Berlin !
Naturally lost 