moriko's blog: The 2nd day in Berlin

There is one-hour time difference between London and Berlin, so I woke up late this morning. The breakfast in the hotel was good. I could have several types of breads, eggs, hams, a pot of coffee, juices, salads, and fruits. After the breakfast, I moved to Französische Strasse station by U2 (U Bahn: underground) and walked on Unter den Linden toward the island of museums (Museumsinsel) The most attractive museum for me was Pergamonmuseum, so I bought Drei-Tage-Karte for museums and entered the museum. Even at ten in the morning, there are many tourists, so it took five min. to get the ticket. I recommend to have Drei-Tage-Karte for museums because we can take a free admission to 55 museums and exhibitions on three consecutive days (Student: 9.50/adult: 19-euro). In Pergamon museum, I could see a monument of Pergamon, a market gate of Miletus. These are huge and must-see. (The building has the second floor and we can see an Islamic exhibition there.) I’m really satisfied because of the scale of these monuments and free-Japanese audio guide. Next, I went to Neues Museum next to Pergamon museum. We cannot use 3-Tage-Karte for Neues Museum so I bought a ticket (5-euro). The reason I visit this museum was that I wanted to see Egypt exhibition. There are many sculptures, however, the highlight is Nefertiti. Her face was very beautiful and sharp.

What surprised me was there were few Japanese tourists in Berlin. In the museums, on the big streets, I rarely met Japanese and Asian people. I thought that Berlin is one of the major tourist sites, but in fact, it is true for Westerners, not for Japanese yet.

After seeing two museums, I walked to Hackescher Höfe, where are restaurants, cafes, and unique shops. I had a lunch at a restaurant named “Hackescher Höfe” and enjoyed 3-course menu with a soft drink and a cup of coffee for 15,60 euro. I wanted to take photos of the dishes but I didn’t do it because of no camera battery. This restaurant was really comfortable. I could see a nice view, the foods were so delicious and sophisticated, and a staff was friendly. After having a lunch, I moved to Alexander Platz and enjoy shopping in a department store “Galeria Kaufhof.” I like foods, people, transportation systems, and buildings in Berlin, but one thing… I don’t like supermarkets or a food corner in a department store in Berlin. I never get a plastic bag for free here!

BTW, comparing to London, it is much hotter in Berlin. During the day, it is more than 30 Celsius. I was wearing long-sleeve tops in London but now I need non-sleeve!