We left our hotel and caught the train and then a bus to Charlottenburg Palace. Much like Nymphemburg Palace we visited out in Munich, this was a huge, opulent palace owned by Germanic royalty for many years. Unlike Nymphemburg palace, unfortunately this one got bombed during the war (as did most of Berlin), and so much of it had been reconstructed rather than just restored. It was hard to tell what had been fixed or entirely replaced, which was a shame.
After we got off the bus, we were keen to find a place for a quick coffee, however there wasn't much in terms of eateries around. While walking in the direction of the entrance we strayed into a large Christmas market which ended up getting amalgamated with the forecourt of the palace - happy accident. All the stalls were closed however as it was so early. We were able to buy our tickets with ease as there were few people yet.
Charlottenburg Palace isn't as opulent as Nymphemburg, but is still quite regal nonetheless. Charlottenburg had a strong silverware game, as a good third of the palace tour was silverware and porcelain exhibits. Apparently they even melted down their silverware in times of economic stress. There was a good visual display on the timeline of the palace; how it grew and was shaped through the ages.
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| The so called Porcelain room - guess why? |
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| Lots of silverware! |
A lot of creaky floors and a couple of nondescript doors later, we'd finished the walk-through. There were other parts of the palace you could also pay to go and see but they weren't as interesting to us. We departed with rumbling stomachs, and a renewed desire for brunch. We got lucky as we headed back towards the station, and found a cafe called 'Charlotte' which tried to live up to the Palace, complete with indoor fountains and a few large paintings but it wasn't quite the same.
We ordered some coffees and the pancakes. The coffees came quickly however the pancakes seemed to take longer than it normally should. Turns out it was worth the wait, the pancakes were astonishingly good! Very light and fluffy, both Addy and I were surprised. After another short game of waiter-roulette, we were able to pay.
Our next stop we decided was going to be the 'Science Centre Spectrum' located next door to the Deutches Technkimuseum (Technology museum) a couple of U-train stops away. It was included on our museum pass. Much like the Science Centre in Brisbane this place is all about science and making it fun. As such, there were a few school groups there doing exercises but it didn't detract from our enjoyment. Each floor was centered around a different topic: light, optics, fluids and engineering. On the introduction card for each floor there were always some heavy questions (What really IS light, and how do WE see it?). We found a cool music-deck on the sound level. On the top of it you had a few cubes you could manipulate to play different beats, tunes and melodies depending on which they were facing, and so you could become your own DJ. I could have played with it for hours.
As it was getting later in the afternoon, and as the museums like to close early (around 6ish), we had enough time for one more. To round out our time in Berlin (and kinda Germany), we decided to go to the German History Museum. This place was a brilliant chronicle of German history from the early middle ages right through to the present. The first section of the exhibit (middle ages to 1914) was all on the first floor. There were exhibits about Martin Luther, Napoleon and the impact industrialization had on the country. It was rich in information.
Once we had snaked our way around that part, our feet were a bit tired, but I insisted we push on and quickly cover the remaining segment from 1914-present on the ground floor. To be fair, the museum gave an accurate and interesting recount of the two world wars, and the final part of the museum was centered around German during the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin wall.
By this stage we were pooped. I felt we had hit our steps PB again - or come close - but with dismay Adelaide said we'd only done around 14,000; just a normal day on our trip! (That said I had done a bunch of steps earlier in the morning dancing 😋). We set course back to the hotel. When we got nearby we spotted a kebab shop across the road, and figured we'd have a Doner and chips for dinner. Lazy but delicious! Our early dinner didn't set well with Adelaide and soon she was already hungry for a crepe, but neither of us could be bothered to put our 35 layers back on to go back outside and get one. Another tough part of our holiday!
It was nice to get a proper full nights sleep for once though, too. Tomorrow we are departing Berlin bound for Hamburg!
Tchuss!
D+A
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