Christmas in Berlin

For our 2016 Christmas trip, we decided to head back to Germany - this time to Berlin!

When we went to Germany for Christmas in 2014, disaster struck and we were left food-less on Christmas day - not ideal! This year, in order to avoid this, we went to the supermarket immediately after landing, if nothing else we were well equipped for eating!

After stocking up on food we made our way to the Christmas markets in central Berlin - these were amazing in Nuremberg / Frankfurt so we had pretty high expectations. 

Above: the entrance to Weihnachts Zauber Christmas Market in central Berlin

The markets were a little different to the ones we visited in southern Germany, for starters they were all fenced off and deliberately separated from each other. The stalls were also quite different, there were a lot of indoor bars and more stalls selling ornaments and decorations. 

This Christmas market was located in the central square of Berlin, the building on the right is the Opera House. 

Of course, one thing (that we both love) at any Christmas market is the milled wine! There was definitely no shortage of Gluwein!

Another snap taken from the centre of the Christmas market - I though this captured the vibe quite well, it was pretty busy and there was lots of people out enjoying the mulled wine and food on offer.

Another mulled wine stand! This was one of the indoor ones (these didn't seem to exist in Southern Germany), we didn't go outside but I did think it was really cute. 

Next, we headed to another Christmas market, it was strangely far away from the first one - we discovered that everything in Berlin seems to be really far apart! It was a 10-15min walk on fairly deserted streets to get there but fortunately it was in full swing!

Michael enjoying his rostbratwurst (a type of German sausage) and we both got more mulled wine - just to keep up the festive spirits!

The ferris wheel was the start attraction at this Christmas market - there was also ice skating and other Christmas themed rides!

This photo gives you a pretty good idea of what it's like walking through the Christmas markets. 

Mmmm! More mulled wine!

It was cold and we had to warm up!

Just to give you an idea - the streets were well lit and decorated for Christmas but almost completely deserted!

Christmas day!

We didn't take a lot of photos (or do much of anything really) but it was good to relax and have no set agenda!

Of course, the day was filled with food (cheese mostly) and we even made our own mulled wine - I promise we are not completely obsessed but it's essential for a cold Christmas!

Christmas roast dinner 2016.

Once the Christmas festivities / hibernation was over, it was time for a little sight seeing around Berlin. 

The first stop was Check Point Charlie (below).

Check Point Charlie is the name given to the crossing point between East and West Berlin during the cold war - the picture on the right actually summarises the division in Berlin quite well. East Berlin was a communist territory and those in control didn't want citizens fleeing to West Berlin, this crossing was established as a means of controlling this. 

We also stopped by the Berlin Wall monument. 

Michael checking out the Berlin Wall Monument. 

The Berlin wall was originally created by the German Democratic Republic, who controlled East Berlin, in order to cut off East Berlin from West Berlin - it prevented citizens from the East from relocating to the West. It was only officially taken down in 1989!

Above is the Sony Centre - basically a new plaza style area in Berlin, it was heavily decorated for Christmas!

Another section of the Berlin wall - pieces have been sold off but there are sections of the wall that have been deliberately kept together or left in tact. 

From here, we continued walking to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (also known as the Holocaust memorial), which was created as a memorial for all the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. 

At this point, it pretty much started pouring rain and got significantly less enjoyable. 

We pushed on to the Brandenburg Gate - it's over 200 years old and one of the most famous monuments in Berlin / Germany. It is one of the original city gates of Berlin - and the only one still standing post-war. 

Apologies for the blurry / unfocused photos - it was hard to concentrate on photo taking when we were getting pelted by rain!

Our final day in Berlin was spent doing a lot more walking (and basically trying to stay warm). We started by heading to East Berlin and checking out the East Side Gallery. 

The East Side Gallery is a section of the Berlin wall (just over 1 km long) that is still standing but is covered in art work / graffiti - it's supposed to be a symbol of hope, unity and freedom. 

Unfortunately a lot of the art has been graffiti-ed (see top photos) and there have been fences put up in certain areas to prevent this from happening. 

The East Side Gallery is the largest open air gallery in the world and features some really famous pieces of art, like the one above. This picture is of a kiss (clearly) between the former head of the Soviet Union and the leader of the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War - the caption at the bottom reads "God, help me to survive this deadly love" - pretty powerful!

This is just a random and colourful art work that I liked the look of!

Finally we finished the day with a German meal!

Seriously, this was the best schnitzel I have ever eaten in my life! Delish!

Well, that sums up our travels for 2016 - we are currently both still on holidays but feeling usual back to work dread as our holidays come to a close. 

Next on the Agenda for 2017 is Bucharest in Romania!

Until then.

xxx