When I wrote about spending time in Berlin in 2018, I found the city quite stressful. It was busy, their metro system confused me, and I came home with a firm opinion that I didn’t really like Berlin. With the benefit of hindsight, and all the things I’ve learnt from trips since then, I know I would do Berlin differently, plan better, and likely love the city if I visited again. I wanted to share 10 photos that’ll make you want to see the city, because honestly you should. If you’ve already been, I hope these photos bring back good memories of your time spent there.
If you’ve been to Berlin you’ll likely recognise this shot. Badeschiff is an old anchored barge turned into a swimming pool, so you can go for a swim over the river. It’s a really cool area with plenty of space to sit and have a drink, lockers to leave your stuff, and you can even hire a swimming costume and towel if you’ve not got yours. Where else can you say you swam over, not in, the river?
The Holocaust Memorial is a stark reminder of some of Germany’s not so great behaviour in the past, and the city doesn’t shy away from that. Also known as the Memorial To The Murdered Jews Of Europe, the memorial is outside, free to see, and it’s huge. Wandering between the stone pillars is quite sobering, but do make sure you’re respectful-I saw people climbing up and taking stupid photos which is absolutely out of order.
This photo doesn’t look like much, but the Topography of Terror, on the right, is a free gallery showing exactly how Hitler came into power and how things unfolded after that. It’s not a fun thing to do, but it’s very interesting and a must see. We can only stop things happening in the future if we understand how they happened in the past.
Berlin has loads of these Photoautomats, photobooths where you can get old fashioned passport style photos done. You can change pose between shots too and the results are usually hilarious. I used a fair few of these to make a brilliant souvenir to bring home.
East Side Gallery has turned part of what used to be the wall diving East and West Germany into an outdoor art gallery. It’s covered in street art from all different artists, and visitors write messages of hope on there too. You could spend a good few hours here looking at everything on the wall and it was my favourite part of the city.
Brandenburg Gate is well worth seeing when you’re in Berlin. It was inspired by the Acropolis in Athens and it’s easy to see why.
Who can resist a Panda? I got to cross ‘seeing a real life Panda’ off my bucket list when I visited them at Berlin Zoo.
The Jewish Museum is harrowing but brilliant. The Fallen Leaves exhibit, a large space full of 10,000 metal faces visitors are encouraged to walk on, represents the many victims of war. It gave me goosebumps walking over them and hearing the noises they made echoing around the room.
Have these photos made you want to visit Berlin?
Berlin is a place I would like to visit, and seeing your photos has confirmed that. It seems like there is a lot to learn about and enjoy while there — thanks for sharing!