The journey begins in Berlin during the Christmas season, December 2023【102】
This is a travel diary from a 15-night, 16-day European trip over the Christmas and New Year period.
2023/12/22 London → Berlin
Departed from London's Gatwick Airport 30 minutes behind schedule and flew to Berlin, which took about 2 hours.
Perhaps due to the holiday season, there was a long queue for immigration, and I waited for about an hour.
From Berlin airport, I went straight to the hotel, checked in, left my luggage, and then went for city sightseeing.
Found a small Christmas market near the hotel.
Since I hadn't eaten anything since morning, I bought a sausage dog.
There were large containers of ketchup and mustard available for self-service.
After eating, I took a walk around the city.
The traffic lights in Germany have this AMPELMANN design.
Brandenburg Gate
The projection mapping was beautiful.
The Christmas market was quite large in scale.
Bought some unusual sweets at a supermarket on the way back and ate them at the hotel.
They were fluffier than they looked and I finished them off quickly.
Thinking how much colder Berlin was compared to London, I went to sleep on the first day.
2023/12/23 Berlin
Woke up at 9 am.
Had breakfast at a cafe near the hotel.
Planned to do a lot of sightseeing today, so I bought a 24-hour ticket for unlimited travel on Berlin's public transportation.
You need to stamp the ticket with the date and time before boarding.
Took the train to the East Side Gallery.
Traveled by train to Charlottenburg Palace.
Then took the train to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
Moved to a shopping mall called Mall of Berlin and had currywurst for lunch.
Also bought waterproof spray at this shopping mall.
Hackesche Höfe
Took a coffee break, feeling tired from walking.
Warmed up with hot wine at the Christmas market on the way back.
Bought flavored almonds at the same market and ate them at the hotel.
There were various flavors, all of which looked delicious.
