Berlin : Branderburg Gate

During our work trip, we were lucky because..

We have one Sunday off! 

It doesn't usually happen during trips like these - we always have to take the first flight home available, even on weekends - except that this time, the first flight home available was on Monday evening.

So..the boss being the boss,

"Where do you feel like going over the weekend? We can't just spend Sunday in the hotel room in Europe"

"Why not Berlin? It's only, like, 3 hours by train from here"

And off we go to Berlin!



(I do think that sometimes, my boss can be cool.)

So we took the express train to Berlin from Hamburg at 7 am; determined not to waste any time to spend there.

What I had with me during the short trip. Flats, sweater, big bag to carry stuff.

We listed a few places we'd like to visit - the Berlin parliament building, Berlin's famous Brandenburg gate, the Berlin wall, the Berlin Sony Center and Berlin's underground tunnel tour (these places were recommended by our counterpart in Germany and also by Hawa who's currently residing there. Hawa, you owe me pictures from your Canon!)

Reached Berlin Central Station after about 3 hours. Decided to go to Brandenburg gate first, since it is the closest station to Berlin central.

It was around 9.30 am when we reached the place, and thank God it was a sunny day!

Brandenberg gate, or Branderberger Tor was built back in 1700 so it is one of the most ancient monument (built as a symbol of peace and unity) in German history - making it the must-go place in Berlin, besides the famous Berlin wall. Already even existed during the Napoleon century. It plays a major role during the separation of East and West Berlin - that when the Berlin wall came down in 1989, people went to the gate to celebrate.

Go here if you want to read about the history. Go below if you appreciate pictures instead.

Most of the tourists would refer to this place as "the one with horse carriage", including yours truly T.T Googled and found out that it's actually called a quadriga, a car or chariot drawn by four horses; raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests in Europe back in the day.

There was a marathon going on when we were there; so a lot of roads were closed and a bunch of food stalls around, which of course we didn't get to eat.

#Muslimfirstworldproblems

The architecture of the place and buildings surrounding the place are stunning (as you can see from pictures). Built according to the plans of Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791, the Brandenburg Gate is modelled on the Propylaeum of Athens’ Acropolis. On both sides, there are six Doric columns supporting the 11 meter-deep transverse beam, which divide the gate into five passages.

Where else can you see buildings like these?

We walked around the area, and surprised that it is actually very huge - covering almost up to the Unten de Linden boulevard area (where most of the famous shops are, sort of the Champs-Elysées of Berlin, I think)

Walked around Pariser Platz a bit. Felt like I was in Paris!

It was a nice place to visit, and definitely one of the major landmarks if you ever found your way to the city. After a while, we walked to our next destination - the Berlin parliament building! Will blog soon.

Didn't buy any fridge magnets because I thought it was getting uncool and waste of money (bought A LOT of them during my trip to Amsterdam). But upon reaching home, the first thing the husband asked,

"So where's my fridge magnet?"

-_____-"