Looking back, I think we could’ve stayed a little longer in Berlin. But that wasn’t the plan for us. We went from beautiful (but cold) Stockholm, Sweden, and made our way south to gorgeous Berlin.

Getting there was a whole separate adventure in itself. We were taking our very first overnight train! I know, I can’t believe it either. It felt like something out of Harry Potter. We boarded the train at Stockholm Central Station around 6 p.m., after stocking up on dinner from a local grocery store. We quickly made our way to our room, and we were beyond impressed. We had a cozy twin-sized loft bed and a bench seat that later turned into another twin bed. There was a huge window, plenty of storage for our bags, and the best part; a side table that doubled as our personal sink! We were in heaven. We spent the evening watching the beautiful night views of Stockholm before tucking in for the night. When we woke up, we were in Germany!

When I say we were ready to take on the day, that’s an understatement. At this point, we were a week into our Europe adventure, and the jet lag was still very real. But this night train gave us the best sleep we’d had so far. We rolled into Berlin around 11 a.m., dropped our bags off at our hostel, and hit the ground running.

Our hostel was conveniently close to “Museum Island,” a road along the river lined with six different museums. Following this path, we popped out at the most incredible structure I have ever seen. The Berlin Cathedral. When I say this cathedral took my breath away, I am NOT kidding. It was so impressive. The large courtyard leading to the entrance, the towering domes, and the intricate statues lining the pillars; it was hands down the most beautiful building I’ve ever laid eyes on.

After gawking at the cathedral for a good while, we made our way across the street to the Berlin Palace. From there, we wandered over the river and stumbled upon another stunning cathedral. Its doors were open, so we decided to peek inside, and we’re so glad we did. The interior was gorgeous, filled with colorful stained glass and beautiful marble statues. We could’ve spent hours there.

After we were done drooling over all the beautiful statues, we finally decided to track down some lunch. Our mission was to seek out a famous German street food called Currywurst. Picture bratwurst covered in curry ketchup, served over crispy fries. We were so eager to try this that we walked a mile and a half out of our way to track this down. Totally worth it!

After lunch, we continued our tour of the city. Next stop: Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall. We took time to learn about Berlin’s history, walked along the remnants of the Wall, and reflected on its significance. Adding on to this theme we then made our way to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This memorial wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s an entire city block filled with dark concrete pillars of varying heights. Beneath it, there’s a free museum that we can’t recommend enough. It was an incredibly powerful and moving experience and one that I think everyone visiting Berlin should take the time for.

Finally exhausted from the day, we headed back to our hostel. Passing through the Brandenburg Gate on our way back. In total we walked almost 10 miles on our first day in Berlin! It was definitely time for bed.

For our last day in Berlin, we backtracked a bit and visited one of the museums on Museum Island, the Neues Museum. It’s home to an impressive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts (including the bust of Nefertiti!). After a couple of hours, we were ready for another food adventure: schnitzel! We had ours in an unconventional way, inside a pretzel bun… and it was to die for. Honestly, German food was our favorite on this trip so far.

Before leaving the city, we returned to the Berlin Cathedral and decided to pay the entrance fee to go inside. I was a little on the fence about paying the entry fee at first. I just didn’t think the inside would be any more spectacular than the outside (and looking at it form the outside was free). I am happy to say I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was just as breathtaking inside as it was outside—maybe even more. Words can’t even describe how gorgeous and large it was. With the entry fee we even got to walk all the way up to the top of the cathedral for a panoramic view of Berlin. I thought this was amazing…… Connor not so much (you must remember, Connor is terrified of heights). He made it to the top, but I’m not sure he enjoyed the views the same way I did!

And just like that, our 30 hours in Berlin have come to an end. We headed back to our hostel, grabbed our bags, and we were off on our next adventure. Although short, this trip was one of the most impactful places we’ve ever visited. In total we were in Berlin for 30 hours and managed to walk upwards of 18 miles to soak up as much culture, beauty, and history as we could. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

Final Thoughts:

Berlin is a beautiful city with a rich and complex history. We would highly recommend this destination for the “history buff” travelers. This is a great stop for those who are willing to fully immerse themselves in German culture; whether it’s through museums, local cuisine, cathedrals, palaces, or memorials. With that said, Berlin is on the more expensive side for travel. So, if you are planning a stop here, we suggest picking and choosing which attractions are most important to you. Overall, we loved our stay in Berlin and would think it is definitely worth adding to your itinerary next time you are in Germany.

Overall rating: 8.3/10

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