NCL Norwegian Getaway - Baltic Capitals: July 9 - July 18 Day 2

[4 of Harts]

...continuing on our journey

 

This morning we arrived in the port of Warnemunde, Germany. We arrived around 7:30am and our tour was meeting around the same time so we were early up (after a late night ) getting breakfast.

 

A real quick note about our cabin while we are early in our journey. As I'm sure that you have seen/heard, the Getaway's electricity in each room is turned on with your key card (or any magnetic card). We had taken our key from our Copenhagen hotel in expectation of this however it wasn't magnetic and thus didn't work. Truly however it only rarely came into play mostly for charging phones after a long day while at dinner. So, if you can, bring something, if you can't, manage it. When electricity is on, a light is on over top of your door. Without the key in, the light won't be lit. Once your steward comes in to clean, they will most likely unplug anything (not charging anyway). Also there are Do Not Disturb and Clean My Room switches that you can switch on to help out the steward. Also, make sure to "close" your balcony door (assuming you have one :D ) at night so the door doesn't whistle. Ok, back to our journey...

 

Groups going to Berlin thru NCL all met in the Illusionarium early. They divided us into the different tours, giving us stickers appropriately. We did the "Berlin on your own by train". We wanted to have our own time but also wanted to be managed a little as none of us had been to Berlin before. I am a history buff. That said, going to Berlin has been on my history "bucket list" for awhile.

 

We bugged out together around 7:45 once the ship was cleared. The good part of tours thru NCL is that are off the ship first. Walking for maybe 10 minutes we arrive to our train. This train is chartered for NCL. During the 2+ hour trip we got direction from our tour folks advising us that we would arrive together, bus to a location together, then we were on our own. Once we arrived as stated we hopped on a coach and did a quick tour of the area from our guide. When we arrived (former East Germany, close to Unter Den Linden (Linden Boulevard) we were then... "on our own". :)

 

It had started raining pretty badly and my 1 umbrella wasn't cutting it so we stopped into a shop next to the Hilton and bought 3 more. They also had wifi so it gave us a chance to catch up on the tech world while we dried off. Moving on we looked for a place to have lunch. Well oompapa there it is. A Lowenbrau restaurant. We were ready for some beer and grub :beer-toast: The waiter was all dressed up in Bavarian garb.... so we knew we were in a tourist area, haha. He helped me thru the menu in German. My wife had no problems almost like she was reading a different menu. (later I flipped over my menu and saw it was in English). We ordered 2 liters of bier and Bratwurst with mashed and sauerkraut (ooh how German of us ;p ). The girls ordered some cheeses and breads along with some other assorted non-meats. It was wonderful. The rain had stopped and our stomachs were full.

 

Heading West we made it to Potsdamerplatz then North along the former site of the Berlin Wall. In the ground was the location marked by a double row of cobblestones. Moving further we stopped at the Holocaust Memorial. I have seen a fair amount of memorials and I think that this was very tastefully handled. The shorter and longer concrete structures and the hills and valleys really makes you think. Everyone interprets it differently I think but I took it as how easily people just vanished, one day there, the other gone. Also how it was all shapes and sizes, kids and adults as well as ethnicities. I'm glad we got the opportunity to see it in person.

 

Moving further we stopped at one of if not the most iconic symbol of Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate. I regaled my family as to the history and the powerful symbol that this gate was. Although it was way too busy with tourists and the like, it was a highlight. As we only had a few hours to manage an entire city we trudged over to the Reichstag, where many feel "it" all started. I was psyched to walk up and take in the history of it. However it was "sold out" for the day. Note: if you want to tour the Reichstag, either get a tour with tickets or order them prior to. I was disappointed but we trudged on some more.

 

We had time for one more site, one that truly gave me a feeling of being there. I chose the Kaiser-Wilhelm Church. The once proud church fell victim to the Allied bombings and stands as one of the few memories of the decimated city and WWII. We hopped in a cab and were on our way. It cost about $20 Euros to get basically thru the Tiergarden to the church. The old church and the new church with it's cobalt blue glass were amazing. I highly recommend this if time allows.

 

Our Berlin tour wrapped up with a couple more beers nearby and a cab ride North to a different train station, Gesundbrunnen by 5:00. We had a half hour to spare so, as per, we got another bier at the station. :beer-mug: (c'mon it's Germany). We met our group and our trained pulled out about 5:30 and we were off.

 

Arriving around 7:30ish we encountered long lines getting back on the ship. Remember, no water or liquids. The German Security was tight and I'm glad they wear rubber gloves. I saw kids, old ladies, and old fat dudes like me frisked once for security and twice for good luck. That is why the line took close to an hour to get thru. On board we were running tight for our 9:00 La Cucina reservation. I called from the room and pushed it to 9:30.

 

La Cucina... ah... probably our favorite restaurant. I got the lasagna and my wife got some sort of chicken but she had "the best Caesar salad ever". I was floored :D The girls got some pasta dish that they loved as well. We used our included specialty restaurant voucher for this and were very pleased. I highly recommend this restaurant.

 

Late night eating, gambled a little and watch a little TV back at the cabin. A wonderful day in Berlin and a wonderful dinner to finish it off.

 

Attached photos: Big beer, remnants of the wall, Holocaust Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, new Kaiser Wilhelm church

 

As always, feel free to comment or ask questions.

 

Tomorrow- relaxing day at sea

[4 of Harts]

check out my "combined thread" for the rest of the trip

[easyboy]

Sounds like an interesting Berlin tour with nice glasses of beer!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[4 of Harts]

Sounds like an interesting Berlin tour with nice glasses of beer!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

It was fun but as expected we didn't have enough time in Berlin.