22 Fun (and FREE) Things to do in Berlin

Top Things to do in Berlin - All of which are free!

The best thing about this post is it's not just the top things to do in Berlin. It's also free things to do in Berlin! Yes that's right - a list of top things to do, which all just happen to be free. Isn't life great? Berlin is definitely a cheap city. We barely spent any money when we were there, which is our normal practice, but unlike other cities we didn't feel like we were missing out by not spending. 

We took two days to do all of this, you may need a lot less or a lot more time - depending on how active you are.

1. See the Berlin Wall 

The Berlin Wall is a horrific historical monument that has now been pulled down or turned into beautiful art (mostly). There are a few places to see it:

East Side Gallery

This is located in former East Berlin on the other side of the Spree. It was originally graffittied just on the west side, but now it's been decorated on both sides and looks great. I love 'organised' graffiti and we had fun walking along here, which is completely free of course.  

Köpenicker Strasse 

We were staying on Koepenicker Strasse and were really pleased to see bits of the wall displayed on our street. However, I'm not sure if this display was permanent and I can't find any info about it on the internet..

Berlin Wall Memorial Bernauer Strasse 

I think this, along with the East Side Gallery, is the typical place to see the Berlin Wall -  we actually went here on our second trip to Berlin together, it is kind of interesting. There is lots going on on this street - lots of things to learn and see. If we're honest we preferred East Side Gallery because it was more our kind of thing. But if you love history and haven't learnt about the Berlin Wall in school, this is the place for you:

2. Brandenburger Tor

This is the quintessential symbol of Berlin - it's like the German Eiffel Tower, but apparently not so famous.. It's a damn good piece of architecture and was a lot less crowded than we expected. We really like this Tor/ Gate and you must not miss it.

3. Hotel Adlon

Jacko fan or not if you're looking at the Brandenburger Tor, you might as well look to your left and see Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson dangled that baby out of the window.. douche. Thoughts of Jacko aside, this is an expensive hotel and you can have luxury afternoon tea here, but it's not free (obviously).

4. Holocaust Memorial

Three minutes walk from the Brandenburger Tor (walk through it, go left) is the Holocaust Memorial. It was built in 2005 it consists of 2,711 blocks of concrete in  varying heights. Most people go and take quirky photos, but there is also a museum underneath. I have absolutely no idea why there's 2,711 blocks and I really want to know - if anyone knows please tell me! The quirky upside stones are free to walk through, and the museum is free too - though donations are appreciated.

5. Reichstag

Located just a few minutes walk from the Brandenburger Tor (this time go through and go right) is the Reichstag. The Reichstag is the 10 Downing Street of Berlin. You can have free access to the clear dome at the top and the great views, but you have to book in advance. We didn't do that this time, but I did when I was 15 and it was great! Free views always are.

6. Berliner Dom

The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) was my personal favourite of our (self guided)  walking tour through Berlin. I think it's just beautiful - Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame eat your heart out! You can go in for €5, which we didn't. But you could! Or at the very least walk around the edge.

7. Berliner Kunstmarkt 

Kunstmarkt means art market. It runs on Saturday and Sunday, is very short in length and near to the Berliner Dom. So if you go to the BD (you should) have a walk along this art market for free! (Unless you buy something..) The art was good, and I would have bought some if I had any money or a house to hang it in..

8. Zeughauskino 

This literally translates as 'stuff house cinema' and isn't free at all, but I really like this building from the outside - and not just because it's pink! Though that's the main reason. It's located opposite the Berliner Dom.

9. Altes Museum 

Another building that's just free to look at, and is also located next to the Berliner Dom is the Altes Museum (old museum). There are lots of museums near the Berliner Dom.

10. Alexander Platz

Alexander Platz is where all the shops hang out - Primark, TKMax etc, which I don't like - I don't like going to these shops in England and I find it sad that you can go to a new country and find the same shops, you might as well stay at home…

However, I really did enjoy the street artists! There were guys playing the drums on empty paint pots, and acrobats! Both were incredible. Like most street artist these were free to view, but appreciate (and deserve) a donation.

11. Fernsehturm

The other thing which hangs out at Alexander Platz (which I also don't like) is the Fernsehturm (tv tower). You can see this monstrosity from all over Berlin. I think it's well ugly, but you may have no taste and want a closer look ;) I'm pretty sure you can go up it. 

12. Watch the bungee jumpers 

Another thing that goes down in Alexander Platz are the bungee jumpers. Like most bungee jumping it's expensive to do, but like most dangerous sports it's free to observe! It's fun to watch - they scream so hard.

13. Mauerpark Flohmarkt 

The Mauerpark Flohmarkt (wall park flea market) was so excellent! I don't think I've ever been to a flea market where there is so much stuff I wanted to buy AND that stuff was really cheap! Normally I find that flea markets are full of junk and junky people trying to overcharge you for it. I'd heard that the Mauerpark was overrated, but I didn't find that that was true at all! It's only downfall is that it's only open on a Sunday.

There were so many cool things to 'window' shop for - candle sticks, old coins, old photos, jewellery, clothes, vinyls.. you get the picture. They also sell the best smelling food! We'd had breakfast somewhere else so didn't have the privilege of eating any of the food.. but we did treat ourselves to freshly squeezed OJ for EUR1. Living the dream!

14. Ost West Cafe 

Three minutes walk from the Mauerpark Flohmarkt is the Ost West Cafe (East West Cafe), we had breakfast here which was quite good, but I'd actually recommend that you eat at the Flohmarkt. Why mention the Ost West Cafe then? Two reasons: their coffee is excellent and they have a superb collection of DDR items. The staff were pretty friendly too.

15. Enjoy the Mauerpark itself

The Mauerpark Flohmarkt is actually hosted in (you guessed it) the Mauerpark. This is a pretty grimy park - but that's what I liked about it. At the top of the park is a nicely decorated graffiti wall and some swings!

16. Check out the graffiti

I am a big art fan so this is something I enjoy a lot, and around Berlin there is a lot of street graffiti - and not just the stuff that's on the old Berlin wall. This above photo is quite famous in Germany because it was in an advert.

17. Go Auto spotting

There are a lot of lovely BMWs and VWs in Berlin, it sounds cliche but it's true. We also saw lots of trabis this time. Trabis were very much wished for in East Berlin, they're also some of the worst cars ever. My favourite car that we spotted was the bottom one in the above photo - it was decorated as the German flag! 

18. Walk along the Spree

You can rent a boat/ go on a boat tour etc. But this is a post about free things to do in Berlin, and walking is almost always free. We walked along the Spree and it was very nice and surprisingly clean.

19. Ask: who let the dogs out?

We love dogs and we saw no cats, so if you're a cat person look away. We saw loads of dogs in Berlin, one looked like it was on its own (Mauerpark) but all the rest were with owners. You can ask the people if you're allowed to take photos, or just be rude and touristy like me and just do it.

20. Be victorious at the Siegessäule

Not all the sights you can see in Berlin are depressing and related to WW2 or the DDR. The Siegessäule translates as Victory Column and celebrates Prussia's victory against Denmark, Austria and France. You can climb up it (but no matter how much you work out, it will make you feel unfit).

 21. Enjoy the Tiergarten 

The Tiergarten (animal garden) is beautiful. The Siegessäule lives there and the Brandenburg Gate is right on the edge. I think it's a lot more beautiful than the Mauerpark, but not as fun. It's very big and there are lots of statues and monuments to look out for (other than the Siegessäule). 

22. See the Brandenburg Gate at night 

I like the Brandenburg Gate a lot and I especially liked it at night. When we were there Germany had just won the World Cup, so the atmosphere was incredible. 

We did all of this over a Saturday and a Sunday. On the Sunday evening we watched Germany win the World Cup, that was awesome and you can read about it here

So there you have it, free and top things to do in Berlin. We love Berlin so much and really recommend that you go there. This photo sums up our feelings about it:

Berlin for the 2014 World Cup Final!

We were really pleased to be able to go to Berlin for the weekend of the 2014 World Cup final. We drove down with Tanbay's sister and her boyfriend on the Saturday. We spent all of Saturday and Sunday morning sight seeing and then we got ready to support Germany: 

We (I) miraculously managed to navigate the U-Bahn and we successfully got to Hansaplatz. Here's a picture of us on the train:

Our plan was to walk through the Tiergarten and watch the game on the big screen behind the Brandenburger Tor in what's called the 'Fan Mile'. So we walked along and enjoyed marching with the other dressed up people, everyone was very excited and it was fascinating to be a part of it.

We made it there, and it started raining:

The rain was pretty depressing and with the umbrellas we couldn't see anything at all. People started to climb on parked cars to get a better view and when the police turned up we decided to leave. We were hungry, we were being rained on and we wanted to see and hear the football!

We felt like we were wimping out a bit, but don't worry it was the right decision and we went back later. Anyway we went to a pub and watched the game with real Berliners. The seats were comfy, there was beer and we could see perfectly!

I walked Tanbay's sister back to the hostel after a bit, proving once and for all that I am a better big brother than Tanbay is, and also that it's safe to walk around Berlin at night, or at least it was at that particular date and time and part of Berlin.

Anyway it went onto extra time and, as I'm sure you know GERMANY WON!! 

We took the U-Bahn to Alexanderplatz to see what was going on there - a few people were waving flags: 

But the party was definitely on at the Brandenburg Tor, so when a homeless person said 'fick dich' (fuck you) to me, we decided to go there instead. 

By this point it was very hard to navigate the U-Bahn, so we got lost and took the S5 instead of the U5 (easy mistake). We didn't have to wait too long though and we saw lots more fun, happy people: 

We finally made it to the Brandenburg Tor, it was busy and beautiful:

 We walked as far as we could up to the Gate:

Some guys made a human pyramid and were filmed by national tv: 

We walked around a bit and joined in with the singing. The atmosphere was electric - everyone was so happy, it was amazing to be part of it! Our last train was cancelled so we walked back. This was good because we got to see all the cars celebrating and beeping. Near-ish our hostel someone let a firework off into the street from the houses above, so we had to shimmy up to the walls and run along. It was fun though, I felt like we were trying to escape the DDR - ha. 

All in all, it was a fantastic night, I'm so so glad Germany won and even more glad that we were in Berlin when it happened! This selfie pretty much sums up our excitement: 

Well done Deutschland!

How to Find Australian Animals (and how to avoid the nasty ones)

If you want unique animal travel experiences, head to Australia: More than 80% of all mammals, reptiles and amphibians in Australia are unique to this epic country!

Some, like the kangaroo, wombat and koala are famous for their cuddliness:

Others, like snakes, jellyfish and spiders are famous for their dangerousness: 

So the purpose of this post is two-fold. It's going to start off by answering this question:

How can I find the cute Australian animals? 

And will finish off by answering this question:

How can I avoid the dangerous Australian animals?

So, without further ado, let's start with the cute animals:

Kangaroos

When we first landed in Australia we had 'kangaroo goggles' - every piece of old bark/abandoned tyre/lump of mud looked like a kangaroo. We were quickly disappointed and figured we'd never see an actual kangaroo. 

Then, two weeks later, we were walking in the woods, when two GINORMOUS bucks (male kangaroos) randomly crossed our paths. Despite the fact that they were (a lot) bigger than us, they had terrified 'deer caught in the headlight' eyes and quickly bounced off. 

We learnt two things, firstly you're more likely to see wild kangaroos on a rainy day, (I probably should have mentioned it was raining that day). And secondly, wild kangaroos rarely let you close:

After that day, we saw lots of kangaroos in fields, by the sides of roads and railway lines, but our next super-exciting-wild-kangaroo-encounter was on Kangaroo Island, that's a whole other story which can be found here: Is Kangaroo Island Worth It?

Again though, these wild kangaroos didn't let us close, but don't worry if 'pet a kangaroo' is on your bucket list, head to a wildlife park to find a friendly photogenic one, we went to:

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Queensland):

Ballarat Wildlife Park (Victoria):

and Caversham Wildlife Park (Western Australia): 

As you can see, we were pretty close to the kangaroos. 

Admission isn't really cheap (around AU$30 per adult) but the animals are obviously well cared for and respected and so it's 100% worth it. And kangaroos aren't the only animals they have there, they also have...

Koalas!

We first saw wild koalas on our second Australian House Sit in Adelaide. Our lovely home owner told us that koalas are often in the nature reserve next door, so every time we walked the dog we spent a lot of time searching for koalas:

When I say searching, I mean that every eucalyptus tree we passed we stared at intently, hoping to catch the smallest glimmer of grey fur between the tightly knit leaves. 

Hey, where are the koalas at?

When we finally saw koalas a week later, we realised how pointless that staring had been. When a koala is in a tree, there's no need to search for it, it's very obvious:

So our tips for seeing wild koalas: 

1) Don't waste time staring at eucalyptus trees, if a koala is there you will know

2) Ask the locals where they usually spot koalas. 

But, like kangaroos, you're not guaranteed to see a koala in the wild. So if 'see a koala' is on your bucket list, head to a wildlife park again. 

We were extremely happy to hold one at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (which is the oldest and biggest koala park):

This was one of the absolute highlights of our trip. I'm so happy in this photo, you can't even tell that the koala's claws are really, really digging into me - those bad boys hurt! But still, best day ever.

Incidentally, (despite how stoned the above koala looks), they don't sedate the koalas or anything horrible, they just limit the amount of time that you can hold them (enough time to take a photo). They are very good with the koalas and won't let you hold them if the koala isn't interested. 

Emus 

Emus are (undoubtably) proud to share the top spot with the kangaroo on the coat of arms of Australia, (they're also on a few of the coins). 

Emus are pretty common all across Australia so you'll probably spot one (we never did though)! 

However, we did learn a lot about emus and met one called Julia at Emu Ridge on Kangaroo Island. Julia actually toed her husband to death, we weren't told why. Emu males are actually the ones who incubate and nurture the babies, but perhaps Julia's husband did a bad job. Who knows. 

Wombats

Wombats are ugly. I'm sorry but I think they are the ugliest things ever: 

Like the koalas, you can pay to have your photo taken with them, but you're not allowed to hold the wombat, the staff do instead:

Despite their ugliness, wombats are still pretty cool. Firstly, unlike kangaroos and koalas, their pouch is backwards! So if you're looking at the back-end of a wombat, you might just see a baby:

Photo Credit: Matt Jones

Another cool thing about ugly wombats is their poop - it comes in cubes!

So how do you find these back-to-front-babies that have cube shaped poop? They are actually best found at night because they are nocturnal. They have a great sense of smell and hearing though, so if they smell or hear you, you won't see them.

There are still well known wombat hangout zones though so, again, ask the locals. 

And let us know if you see any cube shaped poop!

On that happy note, let's move onto the dangerous Australian animals: 

Spiders

Australian spiders: don't worry, definitely not as bad as you think. I mean sure, the Sydney Funnel Web Spider is one of the most deadly spiders in the world, but, there have been no (recorded) deaths since the anti-venom became available in 1981. 

Most Australians have their homes sprayed to deter spiders (and cockroaches). So in the whole nine months we were in Australia we only saw three spiders: a Black House Spider (which was outside), a female Black Widow (which was also outside, and also dead) and a Huntsman Spider. 

Now, this was the Huntsman Spider: 

It was DINNER PLATE SIZED. But before you become too upset, I should probably tell you that he's not venomous. He was quite happy being put in a (large) pot and being chucked outside. 

Essentially, Australian spiders aren't that scary, but for more information do check out this website, http://spiders.com.au it's really informative and has great pictures. 

Snakes

My dad has a theory that every human is either afraid of snakes or spiders, depending on which part of the world their ancient ancestors come from. The theory fails with me though, I'm not scared of either (moths on the other hand...)

My point is, if you've made it past spiders, chances are you're now going to freak out about snakes. But, as with the spiders, snakes aren't as bad as you think in Australia.

In the whole nine months we were in Australia we only saw snakes three times. We saw them twice on Kangaroo Island in late September and once in November in Western Australia. 

This is one of the ones we saw on Kangaroo Island - a Black Tiger Snake and she is very venomous: 

And yes, those are my feet on the right, because I am silly and will do anything for a great shot.

So, what do we advise you to do when it comes to avoiding snakes in Australia?

1) Avoid long grass, or anything really where you can't quite see the floor. When it comes to snakes, if they hear you they will slither off and hide, but if they're asleep and you step on them, they will (understandably) defend themselves. Now you're not likely to step on them if you see them. So always go to places where you can see the floor.

2) If you see one back away as far as possible (don't be silly like me and take a photo). Snakes can actually strike a person from a distance of three times their body length. Just keep backing away. 

3) If you are bitten:

•  Stay calm (easier said than done, but panicking speeds up the poison's progress).
• Calmly go to hospital - you actually have plenty of time to go there, so don't worry if it's far away.
• Don't worry about which type of snake bit you, the anti-venom works for everything. 

Chances are you probably won't see a snake in Australia, and unless you're poking it/standing on it /winding it up, you're even less likely to be bitten - so be sensible, but don't loose sleep over it! 

Jellyfish

Don't worry about snakes or spiders in Australia, spend your worries thinking about the jellies!! They can be deadly. 

But really, like the snakes, if you do a couple of things you'll be fine. Firstly, Australians have signs on some of the beaches like this:

Photo Credit: Romain Bochet

Needless to say, if you see a sign like this on the beach, don't go in the water - jellies like the Box Jellyfish can and will kill you. 

Another good safety tip is to have a quick walk up the beach before you go in the water. If there are a lot of dead jellies on the beach, chances are there will be a lot more in the sea. Alive or dead, it doesn't matter - jellies still sting. 

We saw this Portuguese Man O War on the beach in New South Wales: 

Interestingly, (well I think so), Portuguese Man O Wars are not actually jellyfish read more here. But the same principles apply, if you see them dead on the beach, don't go in the water - they are responsible for around 10,000 human stings in Australia every summer. 

Goannas

We'll finish the dangerous Australian animals with, what I think, is the coolest animal you can find in Australia: Goannas. 

Goannas aren't exactly dangerous to humans, though there is some debate over whether their venom is poisonous, or just teaming with bacteria. 

Similarly to snakes, goannas do attack if you attack them first. Like I said, their bite is nasty, and there is always the added risk that they will scratch you with their long claws.

So really, don't attack a goanna, and then they are not dangerous. We only encountered one wild goanna, but she was lovely.

We were House Sitting on the Gold Coast and she tried to come through the cat flap. But then she saw me and stood completely still (and thus became invisible), but I went a bit closer to have a better look at her, and she ran off up a tree:

When we were on Kangaroo Island we met a man who had a goanna in his garden. He said that whilst she was always annoyingly trying to sneak into the chook (chicken) house, she was definitely still an asset to the garden as she kept away the snakes. 

So there you have it, our guide on how to find Australian animals, and how to avoid the dangerous ones. 

Yes, there are indeed some dangerous animals in Australia, but with a bit of knowledge and caution there's no need to be scared. Australia is a massive country and you're not likely to bump into any of these guys (nasty or nice) unless you actively go out looking for them like we did. 

Disclaimer: if any of these 'facts' aren't completely true, we're sorry. It's based on our own experiences in this wonderful country and each person will have a different experience. Have YOU had a different experience? 

What is your favourite Australian animal?

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