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Berlin, Germany

Not a lot to write about today as it centered around our transfer to Berlin. I had a prebooked our flights with Air Berlin some months ago as it was a lot cheaper and quicker than a fast train – 1 hr verses about 8 on the ground.

We gave ourselves a slow start and I tried to load up a few photos onto travelpod but the internet has been ridiculously slow and continually dropping out in Austria. My SIM won’t work here of course and I have free wifi with my club membership at Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn. They say it is high speed but its slower than dial up. I try all sorts of combinations to get a three bar connection and quicker speed – like lying on the floor near an open door or lifting it high and it makes a marginal difference. In hindsight I should really give up until I am near a faster connection as I waste literally hours on what should take about 10 – 15 minutes.

It was steady and light rain but it eased for a bit enough for us to walk to the station. Its funny to think a few days ago it was 37 degrees and today we pulled out our cold weather gear to go out in the 17 degree high, apparently its meant to be summer?

We got the airport bus from the Hauptbahnhof for a mere 2.40 euro each – half an hour trip. Cheapest thing in Austria I think LOL. Had lunch at the airport – a soup and salad for a reasonable price and then boarded our Air Berlin flight which was an Airbus 319.

We had one of the best flights so far on our trip – including the well regarded Malaysian Airlines. The seats were reasonably comfortable (not like Vuehling plastic seats), and we had a good amount of leg room. Even though it was an hours flight we got a sandwich (two choices), juice and tea or coffee – all with smiling happy staff. The plane felt very clean too. 5 Stars to this airline for sure.

Berlin has two airports and we arrived at TEGAL which is north west of the city. We found a bus point and were looking at the map when a uniformed helper asked us where we wanted to go. Even though he had limited English he was chirpy and very helpful. He gave us a schedule and we wrote down the changes – two stops only on the Bus, then downstairs to the Underground – 15 stops, then change lines and two stops – presto 7 minutes walk to hotel. Awesome service all free of charge from the helper and we only paid a couple of euro for our tickets.

The underground is not as flash as the other cities we have been to but nonetheless very efficient, it took about half an hour and we popped up and made a pleasant google aided walk to our apartment hotel – Adina Check Point Charlie.

It is an Australian chain and when we walked through the door to our room we said WOW. Rated as a 4 star but feels like 5 star – very modern and large studio apartment complete with kitchenette. Whilst its a studio it has a separate bedroom, lounge dining, bathroom and kitchen area – so its equivalent to 3 modest rooms. It was very cost effective too at 130 NZD per night – we can highly recommend it and I think we will be very comfortable here.

Leaving Salzbury Austria our impressions are that unless you are a Mozart or Sound of Music fan you could probably give it a miss. Its nice but not that interesting or flashy, a tad expensive and has very little pulse – perhaps bland is a descriptor? Scenery wise I think Bavaria has more to offer.

First impressions of Berlin – its very green from the air with lots of trees, and on the ground a lot of apartment style buildings, clean, wide streets and airy. It looks semi industrial but not in a grotty way, we look forward to exploring more!

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