Berlin… historical Berlin, political Berlin, international and diverse Berlin – as the city is called: the place to be. But is it? Get to know eleven worthy spots.

1. Alexander-Square: Television-Tower

The Alexander-Square (GER: Alexander Platz) is the place where the television-tower – the nearly most famous sight of the German capital – is located. Not only in the huge shopping-center ALEXA you have great shopping- and eating-opportunities but as well on the other side of the main-street. It is the first central spot you reach when coming from the north-west and ten minutes walking from the Prenzlauer Allee.

2. Brandenburg Gate

Another popular spot to take photos and show that you are in Berlin is the Brandenburg Gate (GER: Brandenburger Tor). When continuing to straightly follow the Prenzlauer Allee you will reach this sight at the end of the street. From there you immediately get to the Mall of Berlin (to the left) and the German Bundestag (to the right).

3. Mall of Berlin/Bundesrat

The Mall of Berlin is a quite new as well as luxurious shopping-center in its British style as we learned. Nonetheless it offers good entertainment for children as well and a food corner. Regularly there do special events take place as well which you can follow on TV. It lies between the building of the Bundesrat and the Memorial To The Murdered Jews (see below).

4. Potsdamer Platz

Personally, I would describe the Potsdamer Platz (ENG: Square of Potsdam) in Berlin as some kind of Wall Street. Not at last because of its tall office buildings where among others media houses are located. It is not far away from the Mall of Berlin and could be easily reached by foot within ten minutes. On your way there you could observe more ministries.

5. Kurfürstendamm

“Ich bin direkt am Ku’damm” (Engl.: I’m right at the Ku’damm [short version of Kurfürstendamm]) – Millenials who have watched the music video of Kay One’s “Ich hab Style und das Geld” (Engl.: I have style and the money) would doubtlessly joke about this sentence and mimicry it when at this place to be. Otherwise the Kurfürstendamm with the Kaufhaus des Westens (short: KaDeWe – the largest department store with luxury goods) being the heart of the street marks the 5th Ave of Berlin. It is close to the station Zoologischer Garten (near the Berlin Zoo).

6. Berlin Zoo

The Berlin Zoo can be considered the most popular zoo of Germany and a very popular spot for families but as well people in general. The zoo itself contains an area of 33 hectare while the complete zoo has a largeness of 160 hectare. This makes it the biggest zoo in Europe and extends it popularity to worldwide attraction. Thanks to this large area people have an assured conscience that the approximately 20,000 animals of cca. 1,000 different species are held well and accordingly. This increases its popularity even more. One of the biggest attractions may be the red panda. On very hot summer days, personally, I enjoyed the pinguins. The zoo also includes a large aquarium with amphibians for colder days. In between you can enjoy yourself in the café included.

7. Bundestag

The parliament 0f Germany close to the central station of Berlin lies to the right of the Brandenburg gate, when walking towards palace Bellevue. For a political visit this is definitely a must-see spot. A little clue: between the building and the central station lies a park where you could excellently enjoy a picnic on a hot day. Sadly we were there when construction works took place which downgraded the photo. Here I also shot my look for shirts with a message which you can check here.

8. Bellevue Palace, Germany

The palace Bellevue – the residence of the German government approximately 1.5 km away from the Bundestag-building was our son’s personal highlight. The emerald and flawless green meadow that invites to sink in. Which child does not love to be allowed to sit on grass? A complete contrast to the otherwise messy capital.

9. Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie is the area where Berlin got divided into the Russian and U.S.-American area and marks the border of historical Berlin. Walking along this street in the darkness of the evening with the lights burning bright and the crowd excited to embrace a memory at this historical place made you feel like you were part of the happenings of the past. On the right side of the street there is a big souvenir shop with a part of the Berlin Wall which fell in November 1989. You can find it in the Eastern part of central Berlin and Kreuzberg at the Friedrich-street. Checkpoint Charlie itself is named after the international spelling-alphabet of the NATO (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie).

10. Charlottenstraße

Finally I have found the beautiful street of Berlin which I have been searching for since travelling to Berlin. After all personally I call every dirty place “the Berlin of…” but there was hope. The Charlottenstraße (Engl.: Charlotte-street) where the famous Humboldt University to Berlin lies, connects the West-Berlin-spot (Alexanderplatz) with East-Berlin (Brandenburg Gate). This is something you find out when actually driving through Berlin by car the direct way (whereas I think I could perfectly walk this road by foot, too). Many Greek-Roman inspired buildings go all along the street Unter den Linden a real surprising adventure revealed in the very end.

11. Memorial To The Murdered Jews Of Europe

One of the most popular photo spots turns out to be one of the saddest and most thoughtful places on earth in history. “The black tiles. The place with the black tiles.” – for politically uneducated people like me me this place is also known as the Hanna Arendt-street and marks the memorial of the murdered Jews in Europe during World War II. It lies geographically to the left of the Brandenburg gate behind the U.S.-American embassy of Berlin. You can listen to the stories of Hannah Arendt and Cora Berliner (after whom the square is named). Both women were Germans with Jewish roots and victims of the Holocaust. Dr. Cora Berliner (1890-1942) was an economy- and social-scientist as well as forerunner of social work. Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a German-U.S.-American writer and political theorist. The professor of political theory published many books about totalitarian systems and revolutions and is an important personality because of her books. She fled fron Germany after being haunted and prisoned by the GESTAPO.

Berlin – The Place To Be

Berlin definitely is an adventure and different every time we visit it. It is fun, international and even a welcome change to Hamburg. Personally, I did not succeed to find an actual Berlin native among others when asking for a way which makes Berlin quite special. The city is extremely versatile with every step you take and makes more than one visit even more worthy. Become a part of the happening. Be at the place to be.

Even though I already filled this article with quite many photos and numerous spots to be there is far more worth spotting in Berlin among others the red town hall or beautiful churches. Therefore I will share all photos from our two trips to Berlin on my Instagram-channel (@JohannaKarajan). Stay tuned.

Love, Johanna