Sightseeing by land and water!

Sunday

I woke up the following day to a beautiful blue sky, and the day’s temperature soared to a sweltering 27 degrees C! Still, I wasn’t complaining, as sightseeing is always better in dry and sunny weather than pouring rain. After breakfast, my first visit of the day begun with a trip on the train to see the TV Tower, or Berliner Fernsehturm as it is known. So, I took the train to Alexanderplatz which is the nearest station to the Tower.

The 368-metre-tall tower opened in 1969 and has a viewing platform at 203 metres and a revolving restaurant at 207 metres, each offering 360-degree views across the city. There is a selection of ticket options: just the viewing platform, an included VR experience, or an included drink or meal in the Sphere bar or restaurant. It isn’t particularly cheap to go up the Tower with the standard ticket costing about £30 per person. I bought my ticket at the Tower, as I wasn’t sure on timings, but you may be able to get the tickets a bit cheaper online. I did enjoy this experience, though, and always try and get an aerial view of all the cities I visit. There is a small area up here where you can get some refreshments along with a gift shop for all those sky-high gifts! When I arrived mid-morning, it wasn’t too busy at all up the Tower; so probably best to go earlier in the day rather than later.

I was close to the River Spree at the Tower, so after my visit here I decided to head across to the river whilst it was such a gorgeous day and see if I could get a trip on one of the many river boats that are available. I just happened to come by a little ticket office by the river that did 1-hour boat cruises with an English-speaking guide. The lady was telling me that many of the boats just have recordings now instead of an actual guide. The tour company I used was www.reederei-hadynski.de and was cash only at the desk, but it wasn’t expensive, and you can hop onto this website and book cruises on there too. The cruise was most enjoyable, and the guide was really entertaining. Quite a few of Berlin’s main historical sites can be viewed from the river. There was a covered area to the back of the boat, which was welcomed in the extreme heat of the day, and you could purchase drinks and ice creams onboard. The boats run all day until about 5pm.

After the boat trip, I walked along by the river for a short way before deciding to stop off for some refreshments so that I could soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the views for a bit longer before making my way over to the Neptune Fountain. The fountain is lovely and was designed in 1891 by Reinhold Begas, and has Neptune, the Roman god, in the centre. The beautiful fountain is said to be one of the most beautiful fountains in Berlin. This popular meeting place for tourists and locals is positioned between the Red Town Hall and St Mary’s church.

I then headed back to my hotel before venturing out again to complete my day with a nice meal. The first restaurant I came across, that was only a short walk from my hotel, was a small and quaint Italian called San Marco. This was a great choice, as was the spaghetti bolognaise, and not expensive. I certainly didn’t want to be walking a long way to find somewhere after a long day in the heat – this was just the place to finish off a perfect day!