BERLIN, GERMANY

RIX-BER

28.12.2023: Three unexpected “voluntary” days off at work created a rather convenient situation — from December 23 until January 1 the calendar suddenly became completely free. Sitting at home for that long didn’t sound particularly appealing, so we started looking for a quick escape somewhere. After a bit of searching, we stumbled upon surprisingly good flight prices to the German capital — Berlin.

The dates worked out almost perfectly as well, allowing us to squeeze in a short trip while still
making it back in time to celebrate all the holidays with family. The flight departs early — 6:45 in the morning — which basically guarantees that the night before won’t be particularly well slept. But the upside is obvious: we’ll have almost the entire day available in the city.
For me, this will already be the third visit to Berlin. The first time was during a school exchange
program, and the second time was back in 2009 with my family when we attended the World
Championships in Athletics. The event took place in the famous Olympic Stadium built for the 1936 Olympic Games — Olympiastadion Berlin. For Madara, however, this will be the very first visit to Germany’s capital.

BERLIN: BRANDENBURG GATE

28.12.2023: We arrive in Berlin efficiently and without any complications. Around 8:30 AM we step out at Alexanderplatz station, right next to the famous Berlin TV Tower. The first task of the day is very clear — we must complete Grandma’s mission. A selfie at the World Clock where she was more than 30 years ago. It’s quite an interesting structure in the middle of Alexanderplatz. The clock was installed in 1969 and shows the international date line along with 146 different cities across multiple time zones, including Riga. Apparently, it’s also one of the most popular meeting points for Berliners. Something like our own Laima Clock in Riga, next to the Freedom Monument.

The city itself feels surprisingly calm and quiet for a 3-million-person metropolis at nine in the
morning on a weekday. Most shops don’t even open until 11 AM. We decide there’s no reason to rush or jump on the metro, so instead we take a slow 40-minute walk toward the Brandenburg Gate. At this point, the main logistical problem of the morning is breakfast. As it turns out, finding food this early isn’t exactly simple. Almost everything is still closed. Eventually we locate a promising option — Kamps Bäckerei mit Backstube on Friedrichstraße, already quite close to what is probably Berlin’s — and arguably Germany’s — most famous landmark: the Brandenburg Gate. For €18 total we secure enormous coffees, very tasty sandwiches, and a rather average cinnamon bun.

Refueled and operational again, we continue walking toward the Brandenburg Gate along the
main boulevard Unter den Linden.
When we reach Pariser Platz, preparations for the New Year’s Eve celebrations are already in full
swing. A massive stage is being built, scaffolding everywhere, trucks constantly arriving and
leaving. Not exactly the ideal moment for peaceful monument viewing — but it is what it is.
We walk around the site as best as we can. The Brandenburg Gate, built in the 18th century, is
one of the most historically significant monuments in Germany. During the Cold War it stood
directly on the border between East and West Berlin, serving as a symbolic gate between the two
halves of the city.
Originally, it also marked the beginning of the road leading from Berlin to Brandenburg an der
Havel, which once served as the capital of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg.

TOPOGRAPHIE DES TERRORS

28.12.2023: We continue toward the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe — Denkmal für
die ermordeten Juden Europas. A 19,000 m² field is filled with 2,711 concrete columns of varying heights, creating something between an architectural installation and a labyrinth you can physically walk through. Each block measures 2.38 × 0.95 meters, with heights ranging from
0.2 to 4.7 meters. As you move deeper between the columns, the ground gradually slopes and the slabs grow taller, slowly isolating you from the outside world. What begins as a simple geometric grid quickly turns into a strangely disorienting space.

Very close by is another historically significant location — or rather, where it once stood. Today only an informational plaque marks the site of the Führerbunker, the underground bunker where Adolf Hitler and his wife spent their final days before Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
Continuing along the same historical theme, we head to the Documentation Center Topography of Terror (Dokumentationszentrum Topographie des Terrors). Through extensive audio and visual material, the exhibition documents the rise of Nazi Germany, the genocide against the Jewish population, and ultimately the collapse of the regime alongside the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

There is an enormous amount of written material — realistically far more than we can read during one visit — but the visual exhibits alone are powerful. Historical photographs from Berlin and portraits of the political leadership of that era help place everything into context. Admission is free, which makes the scale and depth of the exhibition even more impressive. One unexpected moment comes when we enter a room specifically dedicated to Jews deported to Latvia. The display includes information about concentration camps and mass killings in Salaspils and Liepāja (Šķēde). Seeing familiar Latvian place names in the middle of a Berlin museum makes the history feel suddenly much closer to home. Germany’s past is undeniably complex — rich, dramatic, and at times very heavy.

BEBELPLATZ

28.12.2023: Time to refuel! Right next to the university at Bebelplatz, we find a Christmas
market and decide this is the perfect place for a late lunch. I go for a German classic — currywurst with sauerkraut and beer. Hard to go wrong with that German combination.
Afterwards, however, it’s time to head to the hotel. The early flight is catching up with us, and a short reset is needed. Even just an hour of sleep sounds like a strategic investment at this point.

Our hotel is Vienna House by Wyndham Andel’s Berlin, located on the former East Berlin side. The difference becomes noticeable during the tram ride there. The surrounding residential areas look surprisingly familiar — not that different from the apartment districts in Riga like Pļavnieki or Purvciems, with similar Soviet-era style buildings. The price for the stay: €389 for three nights with breakfast included. Not great, not terrible.

In the evening, after a short restart, the original plan was to visit the Reichstag, the German parliament building. Unfortunately, due to an incomplete registration form, that won’t be happening today. Apparently the paperwork matters. The new plan is to return tomorrow morning and stand in the live queue, which should give us a better chance of getting inside.
So for tonight, we scale things down: walking through a few Christmas markets and enjoying some glühwein instead. Not exactly a bad backup plan.

ZOOLOGISCHER GARTEN BERLIN

29.12.2023: After successfully standing in the live queue at the Reichstag and securing two tickets for tomorrow around midday, we can safely move on to the next mission of the trip — the animal tour. We take the first half of the day a bit slower. Madara isn’t operating at full capacity after yesterday’s enthusiastic glühwein testing session. Right from the Reichstag we hop on bus 100, heading toward the Berlin Zoo. The route conveniently takes us through the massive Tiergarten park, passing the famous Siegessäule (Victory Column) along the way.

You can actually climb to the top of the column, but today we’ll skip that particular activity.
Entrance to the zoo costs €20 per person, with the option to add the aquarium for an extra fee. The park itself is huge, and since we’ve never been here before, we decide that the zoo alone will be more than enough for today.
At the entrance we grab a park map and begin systematically exploring from one side, inspecting the large, small, furry, two-legged, and many-legged residents. Our first stop is Nashorn-Pagode — the Rhino Pagoda. Unfortunately, both giants seem to be in full midday nap mode. One of them is lying in the water with only the parts necessary for breathing visible above the surface, while the other is peacefully asleep in a corner near the fence. No impressive rhino
demonstrations today.

Next stop: Hippo-Bay. The large hippos are also resting, while the smaller ones run around a bit and splash in the water. Moving on. Welt der Vögel — the World of Birds. Colorful parrots and various other birds are on display. Nice to look at, but personally I’ve never found birds in Zoo’s particularly fascinating. Besides chirping, they rarely provide much entertainment. Time to move on to the four-legged animals. After walking through several enclosures, two places clearly stand out as favourites: Reich der Jäger and Affenhaus — essentially the big cat territory and the monkey house.

In the predator section we manage to see all the major feline celebrities: tigers, leopards, and lions, along with several smaller nocturnal hunters, including a little fox. Interestingly, many of these animals are quite active. In the Riga Zoo, my memory is that the big cats usually hide somewhere in a corner and sleep all day — though, to be fair, that behavior is probably very on-brand for cats in general. The monkey house is even more lively. There are so many different species that listing them all would be impossible, but the clear highlights are orangutans, gorillas, and chimpanzees.

We also arrive just in time for feeding time, which makes it possible to watch the animals actually
interacting and moving around. Among them, the gorillas stand out immediately — noticeably more intelligent and thoughtful in their behaviour compared to many of the other animals we’ve seen today.

WEIHNACHTSMARKT AN DER GEDÄCHTNISKIRCHE

29.12.2023: After all the walking in the zoo, both hunger and a desire to sit down for a moment start becoming very noticeable. The quick emergency solution appears in the form of a McDonald’s right next to the zoo exit. Just enough fuel to keep us operational until we reach the real destination — Weihnachtsmarkt an der Gedächtniskirche.

This Christmas market offers pretty much every possible German culinary indulgence. We circle the market several times and gradually collect the essentials: giant currywursts, mozzarella sandwiches, mulled wine, and of course German beer.
Compared to the market at Bebelplatz, this one is noticeably larger and more atmospheric. The stalls are arranged around the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which stands right in the middle of the square. We also sneak inside for a quick look — just a brief peek through the doorway to see what the interior looks like.

It rains lightly from time to time, but nothing serious enough to ruin the evening. Later we walk along Kurfürstendamm, one of Berlin’s main shopping streets, where many of the major global brands have their stores. We make a quick stop at the M&M’s shop, picking up some dangerously good nut-filled chocolate. After that, a short rest from walking at the Hard Rock Cafe, and then it’s time to head back. Our trusty bus 100 once again takes us through Alexanderplatz on the way to the hotel. After roughly 25,000 steps, the legs are definitely starting to feel it.

REICHSTAG

30.12.2023: On the third attempt, we finally manage to get inside Germany’s main house — the Reichstag. Security at the entrance is almost identical to an airport check. The funniest moment comes when Madara’s bag is scanned and the staff confiscate my beer, which I had strategically
packed for later consumption. However, they politely hand us a numbered token, explaining that we can collect it again on the way out. Efficient German bureaucracy in action. Inside the glass dome, we receive an audio guide that automatically explains different landmarks depending on where you are standing. As you slowly walk along the spiral ramp around the perimeter of the dome, gradually climbing higher, the guide points out the most important buildings and sights
visible across Berlin.

Since the city is relatively flat, you can actually see quite far in every direction — even though the weather today is slightly cloudy. The core of the dome is built from hundreds of small mirrors
that reflect sunlight down into the parliamentary chamber below. This clever design allows the building to maximize natural daylight and reduce electricity use for lighting in the main hall, where Germany’s elected representatives sit and make their important decisions.

Overall, it’s a very worthwhile attraction. Even more so considering that it’s completely free — you just need to register correctly and on time. On the way out, we remember to collect our confiscated beer. Madara blushes slightly while receiving the Berlin pilsner back from security.
But rules are rules. And beer is beer.

BERLINER DOM

30.12.2023: Next on the list is another very symbolic Berlin landmark — the Berliner Dom, the impressive cathedral standing right on the banks of the Spree River, near the Karl-Liebknecht-Brücke bridge. Just nearby we also stumble upon the James Simon Gallery, completely by accident. The building immediately catches my attention — its slender white colonnades were actually one of the architectural inspirations that was used when designing the extension concept for the Latvian National Theatre where I worked as well. Funny how sometimes you unexpectedly run into buildings that once lived only in your reference folders.

After a short rest at the Christmas market on Schlossplatz, the plan is to continue to the
Körperwelten Museum, where we’ll get a closer look at the inner workings of the human body.
But before any educational activities can begin, a more practical need must be addressed — food. We stop at Azem Bistro, a kebab place located on the corner of Rathausstraße and Spandauer Straße, right next to the Rotes Rathaus, Berlin’s city hall. A quick and efficient refuelling before heading into the museum.

KÖRPERWELTEN – MENSCH MUSEUM

30.12.2023: The museum is located inside the base building of the Berlin TV Tower, which has a kind of star-shaped layout. Naturally, we manage to walk almost all the way around the building
before finally finding the correct entrance — which, in the end, turns out to be right on the
main side facing the Dreiecks-Beete Fernsehturm park. Google Maps didn’t help much either. It claimed the entrance fee was €7, but once we arrived the actual price was €17. At that point there’s no turning back — if you’ve already made it there, you might as well go in.

The museum consists of real human organs, body parts, and even entire human bodies that
have been preserved and displayed for educational purposes. These are real people who, during their lifetime, donated their bodies to science and education. Right at the entrance, the first exhibit is actually a partially exposed leopard. Not exactly human, but still fascinating. You can clearly see the powerful muscle tendons, almost like thick cords tied together with ligaments.
From there the exhibition continues with the major joints of the human body, showing both
natural joints and prosthetic replacements. Along the way, several displays also illustrate how
different professions shape the human body.

For example: a fisherman with a very strong upper body Each example highlights the muscle groups most developed in that particular activity. Preparing just one such human body exhibit can take up to three years. There are also displays comparing healthy lungs with the blackened lungs of a smoker, which make a pretty clear visual argument.
We obviously didn’t read everything in detail, but we still spent about two hours exploring the
exhibition. Educational and definitely interesting. With more patience for reading, you could
easily spend three hours or more here. We finish the evening at the Christmas market right at the foot of the TV Tower. This one might actually be the largest market we’ve visited so far. There’s even an ice skating rink in the middle, and every couple of hours Santa Claus flies across the square with reindeer and sparkling sleigh effects.

It’s clear that Germans take their Christmas markets seriously. None of the markets we’ve
visited so far could complain about a lack of visitors. a sprinter with massive hamstring and glute muscles a delicate ballerina with a completely different body structure

EAST SIDE GALLERY

31.12.2023: The East Side Gallery is a preserved fragment of the Berlin Wall along Mühlenstraße, where nearly the entire length of the wall has been covered with murals. Some of them are highly detailed works of art, while others are a bit more… interpretive. Either way, the paintings have
transformed this historic wall segment into one of the more unique attractions on the former East Berlin side. The wall eventually ends near the Oberbaumbrücke bridge. From there you can also spot another monument in the distance on the Spree River — the large aluminium sculpture known as Molecule Man.

Naturally, the biggest crowd gathers around the famous mural showing the kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker, titled “Mein Gott, hilf mir diese tödliche Liebe zu überleben.” Everyone who possibly can wants a photo there. I’m not particularly eager to stand in a long crowd
for it, so we decide to keep moving. Today we’re getting around the city using Bolt Drive. As
it turns out, for short trips with two people it’s actually cheaper than buying metro tickets, which makes the decision fairly easy. Our next destination — and the final stop of this trip — is
another section of the Berlin Wall, but this time in a different form: the Berlin Wall Memorial.

BERLIN WALL MEMORIAL

31.12.2023: The East Side Gallery represents the Berlin Wall from the former East German side, while the Berlin Wall Memorial is approached from what used to be West Berlin. We park the car on the western side and walk the final block on foot.
The difference in architecture between the two sides is almost impossible to describe. On the
former East German side, the buildings are the same familiar Soviet-style panel blocks we see in
Riga — the kind found in districts like Dārzciems or Purvciems. The same concrete apartment
buildings, sometimes slightly renovated or insulated, surrounded by somewhat darker, more
austere streets.

On the western side, however, the atmosphere changes completely. Small, pleasant streets with
modern buildings, cafés, and a much lighter urban environment. It really feels like stepping
between two different worlds — which in many ways perfectly introduces the historical site we’re
about to visit.
We arrive at the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße. Here the history becomes very
tangible. One side of the street was located in the East, the other in the West. Along the street, numerous information panels explain the dramatic events that took place here and commemorate the victims of the Berlin Wall. In the nearby park, the routes of escape tunnels
are clearly marked, showing where people secretly dug underground passages in desperate
attempts to reach the western side.

Some buildings even stood directly on the border, meaning that neighbors in the same apartment building could end up living on opposite sides of the divide. Every escape attempt had only two possible outcomes: reaching the West — or dying on the spot. There was no middle ground. After exploring this heavy but incredibly important piece of history, we sit down for a coffee and a croissant at Espresso House. Interestingly, the café itself is located in one of those buildings where one side once belonged to East Berlin and the other to West Berlin.

With that, we close the final chapter of this trip — and also of a year full of travel and adventures.
In 2023, we managed to visit 4 continents, 12 countries, and 27 foreign cities. We spent a total of
three full days inside airplanes, flying more than 50,000 kilometers. Not bad, right? Now we’re already curious to see what 2024 will bring.

Total trip cost: €995
Per person: €497
Per person per day: €124