Yesterday was travel day , from Stuttgart to Berlin - a 5&1/2 hr train trip . We did the smart thing and booked seats on this one . Turned out that was a clever move , as people were sitting in the aisles for the whole trip . You had to dodge them whenever you needed to go to the toilet .
Arriving in Berlin was okay , then we got out of the train into the biggest and most confusing station we've come across on this trip . There were multiple levels and arrows pointing in all directions , some with U some with S . They also had numbered platforms but not individually - there's an S1 and a U1 etc etc etc , so it gets very confusing when you're looking for platform 6 , but it's U not S . We went to the information desk , he gave us directions and a printout of where needed to go , change etc . Over to tickets and got a Berlin Pass which covered all our travel for the next 4 days , then headed for our apartment .
It was 6pm and we had no food , so walked down the street and found a restaurant , where we got a really nice meal for a reasonable price . Next , it was across to an Aldi supermarket to stock up , and make our way home . We walked past a parkland area that was once an airstrip , it now has huge trees and gardens , and is very popular with the locals .
The apartment was a good size , with reasonable facilities , excellent for our 4 days . It was on the top floor of 4 .
Today we headed off to one of the Summer palaces a bit further out of Berlin , it needed to be a train , train and bus to get there , which we accomplished quite easily . But we ended up at another palace to the one planned , which needed another bus leg to get there - cant win em all !! We got off the bus and walked about 400m to Zitadelle Spandau . This is the entry & exit . The palace is surrounded by river water , which also acted as a large moat - not that it was necessary , as it was never attacked apparently .
The high walls leading up from the water are impressive , and the complex has 4 corners - best seen in the map at the end of the blog .
There are many large buildings inside the compound . some used as museums . There are stables as well .
The entry gates are about 10 inches ( 250mm ) thick , and there was a drawbridge once upon a time .
In the museum at the entry are all sorts of artifacts and items on display - this one was interesting , it's a strong box made of iron/steel with an intricate locking system on the lid , as well as 2 hasp & staple type locks on the sides . It was obviously used for taking / transported money or valuables around .
There were many old flintlock rifles on display , here's the mechanism of one .
We had access to one tower , so we had to go up . You come up through a tight spiral staircase before getting to the stairs on the inside of the walls
Then you get to the final staircase to get outside , near the domed brick roof .
Here's the view from the top - all the buildings are in use , ones on the left are used for artists & creative people , the central square is setup primarily for concerts , with a fairly permanent stage & lighting etc . We didn't get to the buildings on the far side though .
Chestnut trees , we have never seen so many chestnut trees anywhere before like this place . They must have survived on them during their fruiting season . These ones are bigger than golf balls , but not quite as large as a tennis ball , and there were thousands of them !!
This is the tower we were up - different patterns & materials indicate how long it took them to build it , and the the material availability at the time .
This is just 3 chestnut trees - 30m tall !!
Down below is a nightclub - we think used on the concert nights - there were some interesting tunnels and arches , and the cobblestone walkways .
You do have to watch where you're walking , as you can trip or roll an ankle fairly easily .
The spiders seemed to like it down here too .
Then we headed back to the bus stop , waiting , waiting , we gave up and walked further up and got the subway back into town , changing another couple of times before reaching our apartment again . Here's a map link :-
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1uBZCB9dew_45qRT-SQzylapRMx3Ad-c&usp=sharing
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