For our last few days in Berlin, we visit a baroque palace, learn more of the dark history of Germany and explore beautiful buildings and sights around the centre of Berlin.
Today we set out to explore Charlottenburg Palace, a baroque palace in Berlin built in the 1700s. We had to take the U-Bahn to get there as it was a 20 minute train ride from the city. Public transport here has been relatively easy - so strange to still be using paper tickets! Although Sam figured out later on Berlin does have a public transport app.
We had a decent walk from the nearest train station to the palace through the neighbourhood of Charlottenburg. The outside of the palace itself from the street was fairly underwhelming. The entrance/parade ground was a bit more dramatic.
We pre booked our tickets and after some confusion in the bag check area, we set off with our audio guides to explore the Old Palace. We didn’t take too many photos inside because our guides told us it wasn’t allowed but none of the security guards seemed to care.
The audio guides were highly informative and gave us an appreciation for the history of the palace, as well as its namesake, Sophie Charlotte. The rooms were stunning. The palace was heavily damaged during WW2 and much work has been done to faithfully restore each room to their former splendour. The Porcelain Cabinet room was my favourite in the Old Palace. I didn’t get a photo because of the confusion over if we were allowed to or not but here is one from the internet - it still doesn’t quite show how spectacular this room was.
The New Palace was a wing added much latter on by Frederick the Great in 1740. Many of the rooms were destroyed in the war but have been reconstructed to reflect different time periods throughout the palace’s history. Where pieces are missing, especially in the ceiling panels, abstract art has been used to fill in the blanks. My favourite room was the Golden Gallery with its gold leaf rococo. Sam liked the White Hall and its abstract ceiling panel.
After our tours through the palaces, we meandered outside to the palace gardens. The palace gardens were quite muted in colour and the lawns could have done with a trim! There was a great view of the palace looking back from the end of the garden.
Before we left the grounds, we walked around the lake to the mausoleum which was built for Queen Luise, the wife of King William Frederick the 3rd, when she died. The King had a beautiful marble tomb commissioned for his beloved wife. I told Sam I expected a mausoleum but he just laughed at me 🤣
The later half of the afternoon was spent at the Topography of Terror. The museum is located on the former site of the main SS Reich office and details the terrors and atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. It troubled me how many Nazis were not tried for their crimes and went on to live relatively peaceful lives. It was quite a dark experience to end the day.
Our last day in Berlin was relatively slow paced. We explored the Humboldt Forum which is a museum built in the grounds of the former palace. The outside of the building is a recreation of the original palace which was demolished after the end of WW2. The museum is full of artifacts collated from various cultures around the world. One statue in particular, a Nigerian head, has created some controversy as the Nigerian Government has asked for it to be returned to them (which Germany eventually agreed to, but the head is still on display).
After some research on the best viewing points of Berlin, we decided to pay 3 euros each to visit the top of the Humboldt Forum. It was, unfortunately, quite overcast but we got some great photos of the city.
Following on from this we went into the Humboldt Lab which was exhibiting on climate change and the effects on our planet.
For lunch, I couldn’t leave Berlin without having currywurst! We stopped into a little fast food outlet for a quick bite to eat. No photos as we inhaled it - sorry!
On our way back to the hotel, we walked along the canal, past the other side of Museum Island and through an Art Market. Sam seriously contemplated buying a print but with so long still to travel, there was too high a risk it would get damaged!
For our last dinner, we had Indian on a barge in the canal!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Berlin. It was a fantastic start to the trip - my only regret is not getting out to experience more of the Berlin lifestyle. I didn’t capture it in photos for privacy reasons but tight leather pants and platform shoes are very much in fashion in this city! I did dress in more muted colours here so as to not stand out as well as it was very rare to see anyone wearing much colour unless it was in their hair!
Until next time! Prost!
