It was partly cloudy and 16˚C (60˚F) again for Phil’s first day at the conference. He left early while the rest of us took our time to get ready. We were off to the Natural History Museum.
It was another easy underground train to the museum. First we fuelled up with lunch at the cafe. The kids were quite excited and uptight. This was quite common throughout the trip. It often took them time to warm up to new places. The museum was pretty busy too. It was in the animals room that they eventually calmed down. We spent a while there looking at all the species. After that we had a happy rest of the afternoon. Ended up staying for about 3 hours. The museum wasn’t very big but just right for our two – 1 floor with 12 rooms. We got to look through microscopes, watch cool videos and see the biggest wet collection (creatures in jars) in the world. The kids also enjoyed the minerals room. Bought some souvenirs then back to the apartment.
Dinner was once again at the Mall of Berlin. I ate leftover noodles just before we left. Met Phil at the mall then we walked to the Festival of Lights where landmark buildings are lit up with different projections. Started at Brandenburger Tor and walked down the main avenue to Museum Island where the displays were impressive. I liked the accompanying music with the lights. The kids were pretty tired by then so we caught a taxi back to our place.
Notes
The Sights and Transport
• Gendarmenmarkt
• Hilton Berlin (conference)
• U-Bahn to and from Frazӧsishe Straße to U Naturkundemuseum
• Museum für Naturkunde
• Festival of Lights
• Unter den Linden
• Museum Island
• Taxi from Museum Island back to the apartment
Friday, 13 October
Conference Day 2 for Phil and Zoo Day for us. Nicer weather - sunny and 17˚C (63˚F). Still quite cool in the morning so once at the zoo we headed to the aquarium first to warm up. We saw a rhino, giraffes, mountain goats, elephants, flamingos and gorillas along the way. It’s a lovely zoo. Flat and easy to get around but quite big so we didn’t see everything. We saw the highlights – aquarium, pandas, apes, penguins, sea lions, the hippo house and the bird house. We had morning tea at the aquarium which was my favourite area and had lunch near the playground which seemed to be the kids’ favourite area. We found the playgrounds in Europe to be very cool and challenging – not as safety conscious as Australia.
After lunch we saw the penguins and watched the California sea lion show. Catherine also wanted to go to the petting zoo – another kids’ highlight. They fed the goats and sheep and patted some donkeys. It was a long day (7 hours at the zoo) and it wasn’t a surprise when Catherine had a meltdown at the gift shop.
Back in our neighbourhood we stopped at the supermarket before going back to the apartment and got dinner - sushi, couscous salad, gyoza and kebab. Phil briefly went to the conference dinner that night to receive a Rising Star award for research.
Notes
The Sights and Transport
• U-Bahn to and from Mohrenstraße to Berlin Zoologischer Garten
• Berlin Zoologischer Garten
• Restaurant Wasserwerk (conference dinner)
Saturday, 14 October
Conference Day 3 – the last day (Phil presented in the morning). Finally a comfortable day weather-wise – 20˚C (68˚F). The children and I went to the chocolate shop, Ritter Sport, where they created their own chocolate. They both chose milk chocolate with popping candy and marshmallows but their third ingredient was different. Catherine chose raspberry flakes and Nicholas chose gummy bears. Had to wait 30 minutes for the chocolate to set.
We explored the shop, the chocolate making exhibit and the cafe. The kids had chocolate fondue for the first time. We dipped a handful of yummy fruit in the yummy chocolate. By the time we were finished eating their chocolate was ready to pick up.
We briefly ducked in next door to walk through the Galeries Lafayette – a contemporary version of the Galeries Lafayette in Paris. Neat art deco architecture inside. Next stop was Gendarmenmarkt we watched and chased big bubbles floating by. We then sampled the custom chocolates the kids had made. They were both happy with their choices.
We then took a train to Alexanderplatz. Nicholas wanted to go up the Berlin Tower. We had to wait a while for our entry after buying tickets to go up. We had a couple of hours to kill. We walked around a bit but Catherine was too tired. So we found a quiet spot in a beer garden and rested there. Catherine ended up falling asleep on my lap while Nicholas played games on my phone and I people watched. It wasn’t too long until we got the 30 minute SMS reminder on my phone. So we walked over and waited another 15 minutes before we found ourselves at the top of the tower. It was really busy and crowded. The kids weren’t enjoying it too much. So we quickly did a lap and took photos then it was back down again. I think Phil’s views from the top of the cathedral dome (his brief lunch outing) were much better.
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| Berlin Photos |
The Sights and Transport
• Ritter Sport Bunte Schokowelt
• Galeries Lafayette
• U-Bahn from Hausvogteiplatz to Alexanderplatz
• Alexanderplatz
• Berlin Tower
• U-Bahn from Alexanderplatz to Mohrenstraße
• Berliner Dom
Sunday, 15 October – Tuesday, 17 October
On our last day in Berlin we did quite a bit of walking. Of course it was a beautiful sunny day. Our flight to London wasn’t until the late afternoon. So we did a bit more exploring. Walked back to Tiergarten in search of the bigger playground. It was a nice Sunday stroll through the woodsy park and we saw some more sights on the way. The kids got their energy out at the playground and then it was time to get a taxi to the airport for our long journey home.
Notes
The Sights and Transport
• Brandenburger Tor
• Carillon Tiergarten
• Kinder Spielplatz Tiergarten
• Reichstag
The Journey
• TXL - LHR: British Airways, 2 hours, Airbus A320
• LHR - (Stopover: DXB) - SYD: Qantas, 22.5 hours, Airbus A380
• SYD - CBR: Qantas, 55 minutes, DHC-8 Dash 8-400
• 4 countries in 36 hours: Germany, UK, UAE and Australia
The Movies and TV
• Baby Driver
• The Circle
• Spider-Man: Homecoming
• Wonder Woman
• The Good Place
• Better Call Saul
• Asian Provocateur
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