The end of November and beginning of December were very busy months for me - I had lots of work for uni, coordinated a photography contest in a students' association, assembled all the formalities for my Erasmus, went on two trips... One of them was to Berlin, with my mum.

We wanted to see and experience the famous Berlin Christmas markets, this was the main aim. We had a flight very early in the morning on Friday, we were in Berlin around 9 am and had full three days ahead of us. We stayed in east berlin in a hostel that was stylised in DDR style, which I fould pretty cool.




After leaving our things we headed to the centre. My mum has never been to Berlin before so I suggested a tour of landmarks at first - starting from Alexanderplatz, along the River to the Reichtag and Brandenburger Tor. We looked up a few Christmas markets as we went, but we knew that they are most vibrant at nighttime so we did not pay that much attention to them. We were very unlucky to have awfully cold and windy weather, so we gave up on outdoor sightseeing after that.

 














We set off to see the Museum Island in the late afternoon and explored the Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalierie). Near the cathedral we saw the first lit christmas lights in the form of vivid blue stars hung up on the trees. So lovely, I liked the idea so much.



 






And then we entered the markets. We walked through the one by the Television Tower at first and then on Alexanderplatz. I have felt the most christmassy in my entire life, even though it was only 2nd December. The markets were very crowded, people pushing their way through between tiny wooden stalls with food, beverages or decorations, you had to be careful not to spill anyone mulled wine (which smell was present everywhere in the air). Christmas carols playing in the background made it even better. Christmas ornaments that could be purchaced there were often hand made and insanely pretty, the temptation of buying some was really hard to resist. There were also carousels and similar attractions set up to keep children (and not only) entertained. It all was basically a giant festival.





















 

















On Sunday we had our flight back late in the evening, so around noon we went to visit the Jewish Museum.

I have heard so many recomendations to visit it, and after visiting it I instantly understood why. The experience of walking through the building and understanding all the matters in such... touching and unconventional ways is something I can't really put into words. It honestly made an insane impression on me. Prepare for a lot of pictures.


















We finished our trip with an evening stroll around Tiergarten park and once again, by the Brandenburger Tor.