4 Days In Berlin - Day 1

Date of Travel: 25-28 Jan 2014

Day 1

Continuing from my previous post in Barcelona, we decided to visit Berlin because it was a convenient stop on our journey towards Tromso, Norway. Also in my previous post, I had acquired a knee injury on my left knee. HH was really worried that I could no longer walk for the rest of the trip, and she had searched and emailed a contact to rent a wheelchair for me in Berlin. I have always been impressed by the efficiency and precision of Germans. True enough, when we landed, there were several missed calls from that company, and they had emailed a reply saying that they can promptly deliver a wheelchair to our hotel, for our 4 days here, and collect it back from the hotel before we depart. The cost was €50.00 nett for the entire duration. Not bad at all.

4 Days In Berlin - Intended Itinerary

Date of Travel: 25-28 January 2014

This was a very detailed itinerary planned by HH. However, she did not predict the weather to be -15°C and snowing most of the time. Perhaps it can still be usable on warmer days.

25/1    BCN-BER    1055-1345
28/1    BER-TOS    1135-1935

Sat 25 Jan (Group ticket ABC: Euro16.70 )
- Arrive Berlin Schonefeld 1:45pm
- Walk to S station Berlin Schonefeld Flughafen
- Take S45 11 stops to Berlin Sudkreuz Bhf
- Walk to S Sudkreuz Bhf station
- Take 2 stops to S Anhalter Bahnhof
- Checkin to hotel
- Take bus M41 3 stops to Sony Centre
- Take U2 towards S+U Pankow 2 stops to U Stadtmitte
- Walk to Augustiner Restaurant
  Address: Charlottenstraße 55, 10117 Berlin, Germany
  Phone: +49 30 20454020
  Hours: 10:00 am – 1:00 am
  Recommended: Weiner Schnitzel, pork knuckle, veal sausage (kalbsbratwurst), potato soup (kartoffelsuppe), big pretzel (brez'n) and beer (Edelstoff), potato dumplings(klopse), fried potatoes (bratkartoffeln), roasted pigs legs (hinterhaxe), beef goulash
- Walk to Unter den Linden, take bus 100/TXL towards S+U Zoologischer, 1 stop reach S+U Brandenburg Tor
- Take S25/S1/S2 towards south, 2 stops to S Anhalter Bahnhof. Reach hotel

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 3 & 4

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Day 3

"Oh no! My shoes!" It pays to wear waterproof/Goretex shoes in winter

Having seen lots of buildings around Barcelona, we started the day with something not in my original itinerary at all: To see the beach! Yes it's in the middle of winter and we must be crazy going there in our heavy jackets. After eating at our hotel room again, we took the train to Drassenes station and walked to the Christopher Columbus monument. This area is known as Barceloneta, which seems to be the older part of Barcelona. It was a beautiful, beautiful morning by the water, eventhough the water was cold!

Bicycles for hire, but it was not available for tourists

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 2

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Sagrada Familia - Under construction since year 1882!

Day 2
Today we had a booking to enter the Sagrada Familia's Nativity Tower at 3:00pm. It is highly recommended to make a booking prior to your trip, as the queue to enter the Sagrada alone will snake around the block! Do your bookings here http://visit.sagradafamilia.cat/?lang=en

We started the day with a healthy breakfast in our hotel room, previously bought from the Supermarket the day before, follower by a walk in the park at Parc Guell. To get there, walk to Girona station, catch the 9:06am metro for 2 stops to Trinitat Nova station. Use the same T10 ticket to take bus #116 at 9:20am for 6 stops. There is an entrance fee to enter the building, but we chose to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and view from the top instead. The park itself looks huge, but surprisingly it's again a false illusion, as you can easily walk the park rather quickly. Again, compliments to Gaudi! Have a look at the photos.

4 Days In Barcelona - Day 1

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

Barcelona is now my favourite tourist destination city. It has the perfect balance of sights, shopping, food and a great transport network linking all of them together. The whole city embraces the work of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi and his modernisme ways. And which other city can you find a church under construction since year 1882?

Day 1
We woke up in Rome at 4am to catch the flight to Barcelona, and landed at 10am. From here, grab the RENFE train from the airport to Passeig de Gracia and walk 200m to Hotel Europark. Though it was in the middle of winter, the weather was very pleasant, approximately 15°C, making the walk very pleasant. Hotel Europark was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the 3 of us at only €61.60 per night (excluding the €0.72 city tax per person per night).

Triple Room for €61.60/night without breakfast (Off-peak in Winter). Extra bed slightly too soft

4 Days in Barcelona - Intended Itinerary

Date of Travel: 22-25 Jan 2014

This is my original itinerary for Barcelona. I still think it's a good itinerary, if not for the fact that my knee gave way halfway and we couldn't venture that far anymore. My actual itinerary will come next.

22/1    CIA-BCN    0810-0955
25/1    BCN-BER    1055-1345

Wed 22 Jan (1 x T10)
- 0955 Arrive BCN Airport
- Buy 2 sets of T10 tickets from the entrance of RENFE station
- Take RENFE train to Passeig de Gracia, walk to Hotel Europark to drop bags
- Walk to Casa Mila for photos
- Walk to lunch at La Flauta for fabulous Tapas. Order cabreados eggs, assortment of tapas platter and pam amb tomaquet, and a glass of house wine. Finish off with crema catalana. Total €33 for 2 pax - Walk to Casa Batllo for photos
- Walk to Placa de Catalunya for shopping at El Corte Ingles'
- Dinner at Cafe Alfonso
- Back to hotel for rest