Exploring beyond Sofia
Menu
  • Bulgaria
    • Ecopaths
    • One place – two seasons
    • Southwest region
      • Blagoevgrad region
      • Kyustendil region
      • Pernik region
      • Sofia region
    • Thracian – Rhodope region
      • Gabrovo region
      • Haskovo region
      • Kardzhali region
      • Lovech region
      • Pazardzhik region
      • Plovdiv region
      • Smolyan region
      • Stara Zagora region
    • Danube region
      • Pleven region
      • Silistra region
      • Vidin region
      • Vratsa region
    • Black Sea region
      • Burgas region
      • Dobrich region
      • Shumen region
      • Varna region
  • Abroad
    • France
      • Lyon
      • Strasbourg
      • Toulouse
    • Germany
    • Hungary
      • Budapest
    • Iceland
    • Italy
      • Florence
      • Genoа
      • Milan
      • Pisa
      • Siena
      • Turin
      • Venice
      • Verona
    • Netherlands
    • Portugal
      • Aveiro
      • Azores
      • Braga
      • Cascais
      • Guimaraes
      • Lisbon
      • Porto
      • Sintra
    • Romania
    • Seychelles
    • Spain
      • Barcelona
      • Valencia
    • United Kingdom
      • Aberdeen
      • Edinburgh
  • Guests
  • About me
    • About me
    • Contacts
    • Collaboration
    • Blog life events
  • Български
Exploring beyond Sofia
  • Bulgaria
    • Ecopaths
    • One place – two seasons
    • Southwest region
      • Blagoevgrad region
      • Kyustendil region
      • Pernik region
      • Sofia region
    • Thracian – Rhodope region
      • Gabrovo region
      • Haskovo region
      • Kardzhali region
      • Lovech region
      • Pazardzhik region
      • Plovdiv region
      • Smolyan region
      • Stara Zagora region
    • Danube region
      • Pleven region
      • Silistra region
      • Vidin region
      • Vratsa region
    • Black Sea region
      • Burgas region
      • Dobrich region
      • Shumen region
      • Varna region
  • Abroad
    • France
      • Lyon
      • Strasbourg
      • Toulouse
    • Germany
    • Hungary
      • Budapest
    • Iceland
    • Italy
      • Florence
      • Genoа
      • Milan
      • Pisa
      • Siena
      • Turin
      • Venice
      • Verona
    • Netherlands
    • Portugal
      • Aveiro
      • Azores
      • Braga
      • Cascais
      • Guimaraes
      • Lisbon
      • Porto
      • Sintra
    • Romania
    • Seychelles
    • Spain
      • Barcelona
      • Valencia
    • United Kingdom
      • Aberdeen
      • Edinburgh
  • Guests
  • About me
    • About me
    • Contacts
    • Collaboration
    • Blog life events
  • Български
Abroad, Germany, Guests

Adventure: Rada Boneva in Berlin

posted by Dario
Oct 17, 2017 1301 7 0
Share

The many faces of Berlin

I’ve always had an imaginary list of dream destinations, and it’s already physically here. However, no matter how much I love small, pretty towns and villages, the megapolises are just there and remind of themselves. London, Paris, Berlin, Milan. Sounds like a looong fashion-week tour full of shops of extravagant designers. But it also means, however, lots and lots of history in each and every corner.

“Going to Berling and not going to a party is like… going to Berlin and not going to a party”, a friend of mine told me before leaving. Well, I didn’t go to a party; isn’t it one trip and the life on wheels (be it airplane’s ones) a real life party? The first reason I chose the capital of Germany for my next holiday was simply the fact that I had not been to this part of the country there. The other reasons came later and uninvited.

We were fascinated by Berlin’s casualness and multicolorness. It seemed like a teenager to me – this modern city is young, colorful, noisy, unorientated, fast-paced. It’s still wandering and struggling to find himself, trying out in the fields of fashion, architecture, art, business…  it seems like it can’’t failry get enough of anything and grab a bit from here and there. On its face, however, there are permanent scary scars for which there is no makeup, mask or graffitti that can hide them. Scars so deep that it starts to hurt you too.

What I’m talking about is Berlin during World War II (1939-1945). Afterwards, Nazy Germany was divided into four occupying zones, being surrounded entirely by the Soviet Union. The western allies – UK, France, USA, form the so-called West Germany (FRG), and the Soviet occupation zone – Eastern (GDR/DDR). Berlin became the capital of the GDR and was separated between the two countries. In fact, the city existed since the 14th century, it was the capital of Brandeburg, the German Empire, Prussia, but walking on today’s streets, as though falling bombs from the sky and the thunder of the ruthless war with thousands of victims still echo.

We arrive late and enjoy the night city lights, and our first job after the regular morning coffee is to get a Berlin Welcome card. For maximum tourists’ comfort the card may be for 48h, 72 h. or more. In our case it was a 4-day pass provided us with unlimited public transport and access to the most interesting landmarks and restaurants with fair discounts. When I’m abroad, honestly, I don’t like planning routes and visits by days, hours, minutes. But this little booklet you get along with the ticket, provides you with well-aranged maps with example routes day by day, and the objects you’d visit are precisely described. I’m not going to hide that we stole some ideas and combined routes without worrying that something may stay out of sight. Of course, time is never enough and many of the must see” sights did not enjoy our presence – but what a better way to spend our next stay here, right?

The most noticeable landmark in the city centre is the TV tower and the Alexandrplatz Square where one of the busiest transport points is located. Here in 1805 Friedrich Wilhelm III accepted with the honors king Alexander I, and later with named the after the Russian monarch. The tower itself was built in 1969, and with its proudly rising 368 m, is one of the tallest buildings in the world and an often visited attraction in here. If you are not afraid of heights, it is absolutely possible to see Berlin from a bird’s eye view – the tower is opened for tourists; you can take the stairs or the elevator up to the top, which lead to the panorama café-bar and the spherical rotating restaurant. The pleasure of the “ordinary” visit would cost you between 17 and 24 euros depending of the time of the day. 360 degrees Berlin in your hands. But keep in mind the long queues!

Nearby are also located the City hall, the GDR museum, numerous cute cafetterias and shopping centres, but as well the world’s largest clock, with historical importance. Its spheres show the time in 148 different parts of the world and rotate according to the time zone.

Not far from the Alexanderplatz Square is the famous Berlin cathedral (Berliner Dom), which, however, is in Neo-renaissance style and with domes. This is the largest church in the city and the center of German protestant society. Its visit happens after purchasing a ticket, the funds of which, however, are intended to maintain the building.

In the next few days we’d come back  in this part of town so often – we’ve booked it for a whole day, and we choose the coldest one. Because right here, where the main street “Unter der Linden” starts, is the famous Museum island. Museums are such a thing in Berlin! This is one of the places with the most museums in the world, and at the moment their total number amounts to 173. Bunkers, historical, mock-ups, wax museum figures, Lego, motorcycles made in GDR, German-Jewish history, currywursts and who knows what else. The Museum island, however, is a real gem in the heart of the German capital – it is a part of the international cultural heritage of UNESCO and includes five exceptionally beautiful, impressive buildings, homes, respectively to:

 

  • Alte Nationalgalerie – The gallery shows us pieces of different artists since 19th century; today 1800 paintings and 1500 sculptures can be seen here.
  • Altes Museum – My affinity for Ancient history, architecture and art does not remain unsatisfied, each of the other museums reveals us parts of the ancient culture’s beauty. The first floor here is dedicated to Greece and the second – to Rome. And the Etruscan collection here is the richest one outside Italy.
  • Bode-Museum or also known as the Museum of Kaizer Friedreich; In the spirit of its first museum curator, Willhelm Bode, and his philosophy for mixing art collections, here can be seen all at once Byzantine coins, Ravenna sculptures right next to pieces from Prussian baroque period and the German renessaince.
  • Neues Museum – Ancient Egypt, Nubia, European heritage from the Stone to Medieval ages and Nordic mythological wall paintings; It’s Neues (new) since it was destroyed during the WWII and reconstructed;
  • Pergamonmuseum – Classical antiuity, Middle East, Islamic art – my personal fave on the Island hides all together beauties from the greek and roman arts, here on a pedestal stand the massive pride-worthy architecture pieces. After you see the hall with the enormous Pergam altar from 180-160 BC, the most significant hellinistic work, an absolute must see is also the Market gate of Millet and then the impressive collection from Babylon, Uruk, Assur. The reconstruction of the Ishtar’s Gate from 6th century BC is the main attraction in the Middle-east collection in Pergamonmuseum.

You can buy an all-entry ticket for the whole Island that is valid for one-time entry in all of the objects in a day. 18 euro regular price and 9 euro for students.

We take a long and nice walk trough the big boulevard “Unter der Linden”, as aside from us remain the buildings of the University of Humboldt, the Russian embassy, the Opera, and infront of us – the famous Brandeburg gate. The arch was built in the early 18th century, and somehow brought me back to the Jubelpark and Arc de Triomphe in Brussels.The quadriga with the goddess Victoria, has previously welcomed the victorious marches of Napoleon, and then Otto von Bismarck. Impressive with its 12 Greek style columns, this is the only one of the 18 gates-entrances left from the fortress wall of Prussia.

No matter how much we immerse ourselves in the modern look of the city, enjoying the miracles of contemporary technology, architecture; snicking into secret freeways in order to get some fresh air of cinema, music and graffitti, lots of graffitti – the “ghosts” of Hitler and his heirs lurk all around. Our generation, born in some other years, with curiosity look at the giant book volumes, asking parents and grandmothers, and with unhidden interest stand infront of what is left of the Berlin Wall, once long 155 km. The so-called East Side Gallery is the longest remaining part of the Wall, starting from the beautiful bridge Oberbaum over the Spree river, and the nearest metro station is Warschauer Strasse. The grey wall, a symbol of the Iron Curtain and the tension of the Cold War, is high over 3 meters, and between 1961 and 1991, has divided Berlin no longer only theoretically but also practically. The conservative, cold stone, on one of its sides – the Western – is a gallery itself – beautiful and symbolic graffiti tell about the Wind of change and draw the spoken and unspoken longings of Berliners. The high wall, the wire, the watchtowers and strengthened guardwatching, however, have not stopped the inhabitants of the city toreunite separated couples, parents and children, friends. Clever Berlinerss have digged tunnels, have hidden people in trunks, in the motor lids, and who knows what else that the chronicles still do not reveal. And so on, until November 9, 1989.

The most passionate and scandalous kiss in political history – Erich Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev.

 We try to get as much closer to the Wall as we can, so to understand it. In a Monday afternoon we get to visit, by chance, the “Pay what you want”: happy-hour in the Berlin Wall Panorama. 18-meters visualisation of Die Mauer (The Wall) by the artist Yadegar Asisi is placed right next to the must see point of Checkpoint Charlie – the pass-trough point between East and West Berlin where we “leave” the American sector.

Not that far away from the Brandeburg Gate is stuated the fairly new (found 12 years ago)  monumnt – the Jewish Memorial deicated to the victims of the Holocaust in Europe. The giant stone blocks, more than 2700 pieces, all different in height and size, are placed in an immense labyrinth which reminds us of an enormous grey graveyard. The Memorial is opened for visitors all time of the day and there’s no entry fee.

Berlin is as grey and stonecold, as it’s colorful and chaotic. So diverse that you can be easily confused; and in any time of the day it’s under a different light. Westeuropean conservatism, medieval dignity, military hardness, many beautiful buildings, diverse inhabitants, classical and avangard arts, technology and non-stop fun and nightlife are merged into one, at first sight, incompatible combo. But one thing is for sure – just like being with a growing up teenager, your time just flies with him. You’re confised but still have a lots of unanswered questions,no matter that youé just had so many answers given. And you know you’ll get to meet again and yet again it will find something to surprise you with.

Then (more) things to do while in Berlin:

 

  1. Visit an authentic tavern serving German craft beer, fries and tasty bretzels; If you want to save time for walks and museum visiting, a wurst from the street and a cup of gluhwein (warm wine with cinnamon and orange) seems like an option;
  2. Get your passport stamped from the 4 occupation zones at Checkpoint Charlie;
  3. Visit one of the Berlin flea markets during weekend days – behind Bode Museum you’d find books and some other antiques not only in German language, the Ostbanhof’s is a collectors’ heaven;
  4. Take a walk around the famous neighbourhood of Kreuzberg, not very far from the city centre. This neighbourhood is youthful and once has been part of West Berlin, it still has a rebel and hippie spirit. Cute buildings, yummy street dishes, cozy bars and quiet alleys!
  5. Take a random 2-floor bus and get a “student-priced” city tour.
    Or just take any of the many interactive city tours – a bus one, segway one, with bikes or a boat, or with…. a trabant.
  6. Take a long walk around the beautiful city garden – the big park of Tiergarten is great for walkers, runners, bikers, and is the second largest park in Germany after  the Munich one. (In case you’ve missed visiting to see Berlin from above from the TV tower, nearby is the Siegessäule /Victory column/, 67 m high. You can climb to the top after 270 steps and only 3 euro entry fee.)
  7. Go and see the cute giraffes and pinguins in the Berlin Zoo.
    Open any day of the year, this is the most popular and rich in animals zoo.If you pay a bit more you can even plan your personal visit of any cage you want. If it rains, you may choose the Aquarium instead.
  8. Drink your afternoon coffee and watch the sunset in the panoramic bar on the TV tower.
  9. Closer to the stars: the renovated glass dome of the Reichstag (the parlament’s building) offers another interesting point of view from above; the emblematic building is ticket-free but you must make a reservation in advance.
  10. Go to a concert/ party!
    The nightlife of the teenage-like city is not something you’d like to miss out. Now and then – nobody ever sleeps in here. Bars, pubs, clubs and live music for every taste and style. Some places are so secret that you’d barely tell something even happens of a certain factory’s underground, for others you’d need a successfully passed face-control. So strict one that people even make YouTube videos with some advice on it.

Text and pictures Rada Boneva.
You can follow Rada and her adventures on her instagram profile and also her personal blog!

Share

Previous

The happiness to be an Italian #Milan

Next

Ecopath "View to the nine mountains"

About me

Travel Blogger

Dario Dionisi



If you want to know something more about me – my soul is a traveler, my origin is Italian and my true essence is a faithful friend. I am always open to new ideas and will be very happy if you want to contact me at dario@beyondsofia.com

Subscribe

Be with me in every adventure!

* indicates required

legenddario

legenddario
To the Rhodopes we go! On this adventure we visit To the Rhodopes we go!

On this adventure we visited Sitovo waterfall - a place far away from the human and industrial hand and completely preserved by the surrounding nature. 

It is located in the Rhodopes, 30 km from Plovdiv, right at the junction between the beautiful Rhodope villages Sitovo and Lilkovo. They can be reached by a unpaved, but relatively flat road. The left road continues to Sitovo, and the right - to Lilkovo. 

Under the bridge at the fork, which turns to Lilkovo, the passing river has formed a cascade of waterfalls. The waterfalls have a maximum drop of about 2 meters and are extremely picturesque as you can see from the pictures.

 #Waterfall #Bulgaria #hike
Skakavitsa is the name of the highest waterfall in Skakavitsa is the name of the highest waterfall in the Rila Mountains. Located in Rila National Park. The waterfall is located on the Skakavitsa River in the Skakavishka Valley at the foot of the eastern slope of Kabul Peak, Northwestern Rila. It is located at 1950 m above sea level, and the height from which the water falls is 70 m.

The hike can be challenging during the winter but the final destination is pure wonderland. Although you can visit the waterfall every season because it is always “working”. Skakavitsa is in fact one of the most majestic and amazing waterfalls in Bulgaria, so don’t miss to visit it.

#Bulgaria #Waterfall #hike
Happiness is having a travel partner and dog like Happiness is having a travel partner and dog like Yuki-Doro!

Can't describe how much I love this little sassy piece of fur. 😄

Anyway about our new destination - Slivodolsko praslkalo. It is located in the Dobrostan part of the Western Rhodopes. The nearest settlement is the village of Yugovo located in the southeast.

The water falls from a height of 49 meters, making the waterfall the highest in the Rhodopes.

This waterfall is absolutely magical so it is worth to do the hike to reach the place even if at some spots it is a little bit difficult but the pleasure and views at the end is worth doing the hike!

#bulgaria #hike #dog
We are continuing with the exploration of the Bulg We are continuing with the exploration of the Bulgarian waterfalls. This time we are finding ourselves in the Rhodope mountains. 

There we went to the beautiful village of Manastir. Near the village is situated the waterfall "Holy Spirit". Its height is about 15 meters and is the highest in the period April - June. The waterfall is located on the river Manastirska and is about 1.5 km walk from the center of the village of Manastir. It was declared as natural landmark in 1965, and the area of 0.5 ha around it is protected.

Curious fact:
The village of Manastir is the highest altitude village on the Balkan Peninsula - 1500 meters above sea level.

#Waterfall #Bulgaria #hike
Our last gem waterfall in Belasitsa mountain will Our last gem waterfall in Belasitsa mountain will be the Sramejlivetza waterfall or directly translated in english the Shy waterfall.

The waterfall is located on the river Kameshnitsa between the villages Samuilovo and Kamena. It is locked by a rock in the shape of the letter "P", which surrounds the entire gorge, starting from the waterfall. It is 21 meters high, making it the highest waterfall in the Belasitsa mountain.

It is quite impressive and its totally worth it to go over all the obstacles that the trail has.

#waterfall #bulgaria #hike
Exploring the Mangaro waterfall another nature gem Exploring the Mangaro waterfall another nature gem of Belasitsa mountain.

#Bulgaria #waterfall #hike
Let’s open the season of the waterfalls! Finall Let’s open the season of the waterfalls!

Finally, the warm spring days have arrived and was time to start exploring the awakening waterfalls in Bulgaria. For my first stop I choose the village of Skrat – a place in the very corner of Southwest Bulgaria.

The first waterfall is called waterfall Dubitsata - an easily accessible spot. The hike is around 40-50 min depending of your speed of walking.

It is a wonderful place to explore and to dive into the Belasitsa mountain’s nature.

The face of our mountain expert Yuki-Doro is the living proof of this experience!

#Waterfall #Bulgaria #hike
Click bait post! Just joking, or maybe not? Last Click bait post! Just joking, or maybe not?

Last week we had the chance to visit once again one my most favourite Eco paths in Bulgaria – View to nine mountains.

I always say that only because you visited a place once that doesn’t mean automatically that this spot is not worth visiting again. On the contrary, it is much more worth it to do that. In that way you can see how the place has developed, changed or just refresh your old memories here or even create new ones!

An adventure is always an adventure no matter whether the place is new or old, it is just up to you and how you will live it!

#bulgaria #hike #dog
The Radetzky was an Austro-Hungarian passenger ste The Radetzky was an Austro-Hungarian passenger steamship built in 1851 in the shipyard in Óbuda, Hungary, and used for regular services on the Danube, mainly between Orşova, Austria-Hungary and Galaţi, Romania. Named after Bohemian nobleman and Austrian general Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, it is most notable as part of the history of Bulgaria as the ship which revolutionary and poet Hristo Botev and his band bloodlessly hijacked and used to reach Kozloduy, Bulgaria.

On 29 May 1876, after the ship left the port of Bechet, the Bulgarian revolutionaries, who had boarded it from different ports disguised as gardeners, forced the captain Dagobert Engländer to change course and transport the group to the Bulgarian port of Kozloduy, from where they would attempt to organize an anti-Ottoman uprising as a follow-up to the already crushed April Uprising of the same year.

Nowadays the steamship Radetzky is a national relic of Bulgaria. A village in Sliven Province bears its name, Radetski, and national writer Ivan Vazov wrote a poem based on the events of May 1876, which is today a popular patriotic song called Still White Danube Undulates.

#Bulgaria #history #museum
God's Bridge also known as Jabokrek, is a natural God's Bridge also known as Jabokrek, is a natural rock bridge in the Chirensko-Lilyashki karst region about 15 km north of Vratsa. It is about 20 meters high, 25 meters wide, and along its main axis the "tunnel" formed by the Lilyachka River is about 100 meters long. During the dry months of the year, the river under the bridge dries up and there are several ponds full of frogs. Hence the other name under which this rock phenomenon is known.

The place is quite phenomenal and it’s very interesting to explore. Here you can easily hike for an hour and enjoy the nature that offers not only this but a long side river with small waterfalls, amazing panoramic views and also a bit of history thanks to the vicinity of Borovanska Mogila where remains of a fortress from Roman times are found.

#Bulgaria #nature #hike
Dive in the animal kingdom of Budapest. Being hug Dive in the animal kingdom of Budapest.

Being huge fan of animals, it was a must for me to visit the zoo of Budapest after hearing so much positive feedback.

Saying that, the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden is one of the oldest in the world with its almost 150 years of history. Having more than 2000 species it makes this place one of the best maintained zoos in Europe.

During my visit here, I was surprised how well divided the the zoo is, every continent had its personalized building where you can enjoy the rich variety of animals and plants.

But probably the best part of this whole experience was the chance to be with some of the cage-free animals, without cages or restriction, just to build that special human - animal bond.

#Budapest #zoo #botanicalgarden
The street habitants of Budapest. As a big fan of The street habitants of Budapest.

As a big fan of every type of art I couldn’t resist but make my research to find the best murals and graffities in the Hungarian capital.

Must say -  I wasn’t disappointed! Budapest is famous with the big spaces and buildings that give chance to talented artist to create and make the urban atmosphere more fun and colourful.

Most of them can be found in the centre of the city in the so-called Jewish neighbourhood, also known as the creative spot of Budapest.

#Budapest #art #graffities
The little cultural art universe of Budapest. The The little cultural art universe of Budapest.

The Museum of Fine Arts is a magnificent example of how well preserved and maintained can one art space be. It is made up of international art (other than Hungarian), including all periods of European art, and comprises of more than 100,000 pieces. 

The Museum's collection is made up of six departments: Egyptian, Antique, Old sculpture gallery, Old master paintings gallery, Modern collection, Graphics collection.

Visitors can enjoy the enormous variety of pieces of art from different decades making this museum one of the best spots to visit in Budapest.

#Budapest #museum #art
Hungarian’s most iconic building ✨ I am sure Hungarian’s most iconic building ✨

I am sure that when someone hears about Hungary one of the first thing that pops in their mind is the building of the Parliament and for a reason. It is one of the most beautiful administrative buildings in the world! 🤩

Building this impressive edifice took 17 years, from 1885 to 1902, based on the design by the architect Imre Steindl. Richly decorated, both inside and out, was inspired by the Houses of Parliament in London, thus it was designed in Neo-Gothic style, although it also bears Renaissance and Baroque stylistic flourishes. The third largest parliament in the world, it was built on the 1000th anniversary of the foundation of the state of Hungary. 🤓

Nowadays you can visit the building with a special tour that will show you the most significant places inside and explain you details about the evolution and roles that this place took part in, in the past and now. 👀

#Budapest #building #architecture
Budapest – The little Paris 👀 Many people de Budapest – The little Paris 👀

Many people describe the Hungarian capital as the little Paris but the question is – is it really? 🤔

The answer is yes, in a very strange way. While exploring Budapest I could see the resembling style and symbol of East Europe but at the same time I could feel the Western influence in the buildings, atmosphere and in the overall view. 🧐

The city is a unique mix of both Europes, showing an interesting and intriguing side of the cultural treasure that our continent has. But probably one of the most important events that marked this place is when Budapest became officially a city in 1873, when the three neighbouring cities of Pest, Buda and Óbuda united.  The unification was extremely important and lead to a rapid development of the city that we can see nowadays. 🤓

#Budapest #Hungary #capital
Load more pictures Follow me
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

You Might Also Like

Abroad, Lisbon, Portugal
Jan 21, 2020

Lisbon Museums

The adventure of being a Portuguese #Lisbon 2 Portugal may be one of the smallest countries in the world, but it...

Read More
1 0
Abroad, Bologna, Italy
Aug 1, 2017

The happiness to be an Italian #Bologna

The happiness to be an Italian #Bologna  The old red “youth”Two TowersPiazza Maggiore and fountain of...

Read More
0 0

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Copyrights © 2020 Exploring beyond Sofia. All Rights Reserved
Back top
 

Loading Comments...