In today's episode of the Sunshine Travelers podcast, we're heading to Berlin, Germany, a city that's steeped in history, culture, and unexpected surprises around every corner. We're joined by a frequent traveler, Mara, who's been to Berlin more than 15 times and has actually created her own walking tour of the city. Whether you've got two days like we do... or you're planning a longer adventure, Amra shares the must -see landmarks, local eats, and hidden gems that make Berlin such a compelling destination. So if Berlin is on your travel list, or even if it's not yet, you're going to want to stick around for this one.
We're Scott and Melissa, the Sunshine Travelers. We're all about exploring the world and sharing the journey with you.
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So today we're talking about Berlin, Germany, and I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to this one. It's been almost 40 years since I was last there, and I can guarantee you so much has changed. Well, last time I was there, the Berlin Wall was still up. And I remember being woken up on the train that we took in there many times in the middle of the night by border guards checking our passports. So this trip is going to be very different than the last time that I went there. For me,
me, it's been my very first time exploring Berlin. So I'm excited to see it through completely fresh eyes. you know, haven't heard the stories that you have told. So since we only have two full days in the city, we knew that we needed some help narrowing down what to see and what to do. And so that's why we're bringing someone onto the podcast who knows Berlin inside and out. Tamara from The Traveling Wheels. She's the perfect person to help us figure out how to make the most of our weekend in Berlin, what to see, where to eat. She's got some great recommendations, how to avoid tourist traps, and a few insider tips that we wouldn't have known otherwise.
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Right. So today we are going to talk to Tamara. Tamara has lived in Germany. She's had exchange students from Germany and she has traveled back to Germany and specifically back to Berlin. You said more than probably 15 times in the last 10 years. And so we are super excited, Tamara, for you to just give us all the details that we need to know for our upcoming weekend in Germany. So welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me.
10 years.
Yeah. Thanks for being here. As Melissa said earlier, we've been to Germany. a number of times I've been going since I was a young kid. And I've actually been to Berlin, which we're going to talk about today. But it's been, gosh, almost 40 years ago that I was there. So it's so exciting to talk to you and to learn a little bit about how it's changed. And then also to set us up with some ideas of things that we want to see and places that we want to hit in our 48 hours while we're in Berlin.
Tamara, I would imagine that most people do Berlin as a part of a bigger trip, right? Through Germany or if they're doing river cruises. Or a tour of some sort.
Yeah. I see groups all the time when I'm there and they're the big groups doing all the tour stuff.
all the
Yeah. So we are going to have two full days. But I guess let's start with that. If somebody is planning and they have what, you know, unlimited time or. How many days would you say they need to really plan a trip to Berlin? When I go,
I go, it's usually about two to three days as well, because I'm just going to go to visit my son who lives there from the exchange student. And then every time I go with someone who hasn't been there before, we go see all the sites as well. And so it's always the same site that I go see and I show them. I think two days, three days is plenty for those sites. If you want to go further out, you could spend more days there, of course. And it depends on how in -depth you want to see things. If you want to go see every museum, if you want to go see every little detail, of course, you're going to spend more time there because it will take longer.
Great. Well, that sounds good. So I guess just start with walking us through, like, what are the main sites? And then you also have... throughout all your visits, and it sounds like taking other people, you have developed like a walking tour of sorts. So you can kind of talk about that too, but just kind of walk us through like where you would start and what are the highlights that we need to make sure that we see?
Right. Well, my walking tour that I did start at Brandenburg Gate. So that is, you know, the big iconic one where Reagan said, you know, open the gates, open the wall or whatever.
Gorbachev, tear down this wall.
Yeah, exactly. And so that's Brandenburg Gate. And so that's where my walking tour starts that I have made. The great thing is you can go there in the morning when it's early. There's not very many people. It's great for taking pictures at night. I love going at night too. I go twice because you get a different perspective at night and it's all lit up and it's beautiful. I was just there in December and I never noticed this before, but right off to the side is they have like a thinking room or silent room and you can go through these doors and you can just go sit in there. And we did just to do something different. And it was really interesting, you know, just to take it all in. Because I was with someone who hadn't been there before. And so that was something I hadn't seen before in all the years I've been there. So we start at Brandenburg Gate. And then if you just go a little bit down about three minutes away, you're going to run into what's called the Reichstag building. It's the parliament building. And that's really, really close. And the one thing I would say about that building is you can go inside, but you have to have a reservation ahead of time. free, but you just have to go online. And I just did mine today because I'm going in a month. I did mine today and it was really easy and I already got my reservation. So I was there in December and we couldn't go in because we didn't have a reservation, but it takes you up to the dome outlet where you can see everything and you can see the city. So I did check that out today and unfortunately I've waited too late,
I did check that out today and unfortunately I've waited too late, but I'm going to check back because there were like reservations for this weekend, nothing next week. And then So I'm going to check back just to see. But you're right. Yeah, it's free. And then you tell them if you want to go to the to the dome and if you want to take the free tour. Do you know if you found like a walking tour, if that would be something where they would pre -reserve that maybe? Do you have any idea? They could.
could. I don't know that because I don't look into them, but you could definitely look. And if they say that they offer it, then they have to have a way that they reserve that already. The one thing to note is when you make the reservation, you do have to put in the names of the people who are coming. They're birthed and you have to show up with that identification to get in through security to go into the building.
And that makes sense going to a parliament building. So driver's license or you need to carry your passport with you?
license or you need
to carry your passport with you? I would say passport. I'm going to do my passport. You know, it said government issued ID, but I'm going to do my passport. Okay. And I've never been inside either. So I'm doing new things with my son shows everything for this trip. So we're doing new things that I usually don't do. Nice. So I'm excited. I'm really excited.
Yeah, that was the that was one thing that our daughter had told us that when she went to go in there and I kind of thought, well, we're going to be on the weekend. It's not going to be open, but that's not true. We looked it up. Yeah,
I'm going on a Saturday. Yeah. And so, yeah, it's open.
I looked online and it showed that the hours are like 8 a .m. to midnight every day. Well,
I will put the link to that in the show notes so that if you're going to Berlin, you can check that out. Like you said, do that ahead of time. And hopefully, I think the earlier you do it,
the earlier you do it, the better chance you are going to have of getting tickets. I didn't think I was going to be able to get tickets because mine's a month away. And I did see them like the Monday after we leave.
did see them like the Monday after we leave. So a week from now, a week and two days from now, they're available. But there were some available in two days. Yeah.
So you. Talked about the dome. And if I read correctly, is you have these 360 views of Berlin as you're walking up inside of this glass dome. And so, you know, that's something that if you're looking to get those good panoramic views or you want to get kind of a picture from a perspective looking down over the city, I understand it's a great place to do so.
There'll be another place that we'll talk about in a minute. further into the walking tour, but there's another place that does that as well.
Okay, great. So we'll keep our fingers crossed that we can score that. So then we leave there and then where do we head next?
It's the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. So what that is, is, have you seen that before? Probably not because you haven't been there for a while. What it is, is there's, it's outside, there's a bunch of slab concrete rectangles, basically all different sizes. And it just represents the lives of the Jews that were murdered. The one thing to note is if you go downstairs, there's a museum underground. Okay. So, not everybody knows. Because, like, my exchange student took us the first couple times, and he never showed it to us. So, there's a museum underneath. Okay.
Good to know. So, that would be that one. Go ahead. I know that we went to a concentration camp when we were in that area.
know that we went to a concentration camp when we were in that area.
Yeah. It's called Daxenhausen. Yes. I went in December for the first time in Daxenhausen because I've been to the one in Dachau, which is down south, but I did go to that one in December. It's about a half hour drive, I want to say, or you can take a train there and then walk the rest of the way. It's not that far from the train station. Okay.
Right.
So if you want to do something like that, that is, it was good to see. Yeah,
it was, I just remember it being very, making quite an impression at a young age. When I was there. Yeah.
a young
When I'm going, like I told you, in a month, we're going to do the Dachau concentration camp right outside of Munich. So with my son, that's what we're going to do this time. All right.
right.
Sounds good. Yeah, we'll have to see if we can fit that in then,
to see if we can fit that in then,
too. Yeah. And so then after that, there's something called the Unter den Linden Boulevard. It's just like this little shopping area that you can walk through. So you just walk through that to get to what's called the Gindermark. So it's just a little square, which then will lead you to Checkpoint Charlie, which everybody's probably heard of Checkpoint Charlie. The thing about Checkpoint Charlie is they have a lot of people dressed up like soldiers for you to take pictures with them. And then sometimes they want money for having their picture taken. And so you get those type of people there as well. But Checkpoint Charlie is really nice. And honestly, that's where I usually start with my walking tour because I stay at a hotel right next to Checkpoint Charlie. Okay. So you can kind of tailor them.
vehicles and things like that, that they actually use to get people out of the East.
Right. And I was going to say this walking tour, wherever you're staying, you can just figure out where the first thing on the list and then just, you know, tailor it to where you're at. Because like I said, I started Checkpoint Charlie because it's closer to my hotel. It was going to be a question if you had a recommended area to stay,
going to be a question if you had a recommended area to stay, but it sounds like.
I've stayed in several places. And the thing I like about where I stay now is I can walk to places. And I always look for breakfast. Breakfast included is a big thing for me. And so, yeah, I've stayed at this one place, I think, six times now. Okay.
I want to say we're staying at the Hilton this time. And I want to say we're near Checkpoint Charlie. So you're probably pretty close to where I'm staying.
you're probably pretty close to where I'm staying. I'm staying at the Holiday Inn Express. Okay. Okay.
That's good to know. That's, yeah, just kind of give a perspective about location and you can't beat a good German breakfast.
No, I like that it's included. I don't have to go looking. And then for the price point, like just to throw it out there, I think I pay like $130 a night. So for me, that's doable for me, you know, on a single income that I just feel like I know the brand, I know what I'm getting and it works for me. So super reasonable. That sounds good. Yeah. With breakfast. But parking, if you have a car, no matter where you go, you're going to pay for parking. And I think parking was like $35 a day there.
Okay. And what we are hoping to do is spend the weekend in Berlin and then pick up the car on Monday. Afterwards. That's a good idea. Or we head out of town just because.
a good idea.
That can get to be a hassle and be expensive when you have, you know, a car. Yeah,
Yeah, it does. And then and if you can walk everywhere, you don't need it anyway.
Right. And that's actually one of the things that we're doing on this trip is we're going on a walking tour in Italy. That's cool.
cool. Keep getting our steps. And then so how long would you say we haven't really talked about time frames, but so far have we spent like about half a day or. No, so my walking tour will tell you when you're all done,
walking tour will tell you when you're all done, it has 14 different points. If you did not stop anywhere, it's probably close to two hours. Okay, okay. So everything is pretty close, like five minutes here, eight minutes there. It's not like long times in between places, which is helpful. Okay, all right. So because after Trap Point Charlie is the Berlin Wall. So there's a portion where the Berlin Wall is, where it stands. And right next to it is, it's called Topography of Terror. Have you heard of that one? I have not. It's like an outdoor museum type thing.
all right. So
It's like an outdoor museum type thing. And you have the Topography of Terror right here, and the wall is like right here. It is seriously on the other side of the fence. Okay. And so it's an outdoor. It can't be new since after the wall was torn down.
can't be new since after the wall was torn down. I don't know.
And that's true. That's true. The thing, did you also know, if you are looking at the wall anywhere in the city, there are bricks that line the street. If you see those bricks, that's where the wall used to be. Oh, OK. So when you are like, I know there's some by the parliament building. I know there's some by the topography of terror. When you're out looking and if you see those when you're crossing streets and stuff, that's the wall where the wall used to be.
Another interesting fact on that is. I always thought that the wall was built around East Berlin, but that's not true. The wall was actually built around West Berlin. West Berlin. That's right in what was formerly East Germany. Exactly. I just remember we took a train from Frankfurt to Berlin, and several times along the way, you know, we'd have people come in and wake you up in the middle of the night and want to see your passport and stuff like that. They were always looking under the train car to see if someone had tried to sneak a ride or anything like that. So it's going to be very interesting to go there without the wall.
You're used to it. That's the last time you saw it.
And it's interesting because the last time or the only time I've ever been to Berlin, but the time that I was there, we were there on the anniversary of the building of the wall. People were protesting. They were painting the walls. Somebody even threw a firebomb against the wall. And it was just very surreal being there. So looking forward to this new experience there.
Yeah. Well, you know, I used to live in Germany. And I had a neighbor who escaped from the east to the west. And hearing his story is incredible. So he went swimming in the river at night, painted all black. And it's just incredible. So hearing the stories.
Yeah, buildings with holes in them where when people would try to scale the wall or whatever and they'd get shot. It's crazy.
You know, I always hated history growing up. And now I can't get enough of it when I go there. I just feel like Berlin is such a history, enriched history city. You can't but not, you know, want to know more. It's just so crazy what happened. And I think that's one thing,
I think that's one thing, you know, just about traveling, which is especially great, like for that. Right. Because it's it's one thing to read about it in a book, you know, or hear somebody tell you about it or to, you know, see a documentary or whatever. But when you go see it for yourself, we've just had several times where it's like, you know, just like you have these aha moments about things when it's like. like really comes to life and you can really, it really means something. Yeah.
Well, it's like my, I told you my 18 year old has planned our trip that we're going on and he's the one that's choosing all the different that he wants to see at all, you know? And yeah, he's totally enthralled with it and learning about it as well. Like, cause you know, you learn a little bit in school, but yeah. So where's our next stop after we leave?
where's our next stop after we leave?
Well, the next one is Pop's Demmer Plot. It just has restaurants. They have some of the Berlin Wall remains, stuff like that. And it just kind of gets you to the next stop, which is Barenzea Term. That's the TV tower. This is where I told you there's another place that you can go up and you can see the 360 view. This one does cost money. And you do probably need to make ticket reservations ahead of time. I did look up how much it costs just in case someone wanted to go. And it looks like if you just want to go to the observatory, it's 25 .50, 25 euros, 50 cents. If you want to do the observatory and then they have a virtual reality thing that they do up there as well, then that one is 36 .50. So that's definitely getting speed.
Imagine it's kind of like the CN Tower in Toronto.
I don't know about that, but I would say Seattle Space Needle. It kind of resembles that. And then after that, you're going to come to the Berlin Cathedral. It's so beautiful. I was just there at Christmas time, and it was just beautiful. It's one of the nicer ones I've seen from the outside and then the inside. That's one thing about Germany. Most of their churches are always open. And you can go inside and walk around. I've been inside and they've had services going. You can walk in. Very little have I seen the churches watch. So definitely go inside and look at them. They're beautiful. Okay.
And that's a good point. So we'll be there Saturday and then Sunday. Is it like we would just need to like, I mean, I know, I guess you said.
Just go open. Just go try to open the door. And if it opens, you're more than welcome to walk in. They're used to it. Especially in Berlin, it's a big city. They're used to it. All right. Good to know. Yeah, we love visiting. Probably not in the morning.
not in the morning. Probably best to... They might have mass,
might have mass, you know, and go in while they're having mass. But three minutes away from the cathedral is what they call the Museum Island. Museum Island has five different museums in one place. And the great thing about that is if you like museums, they're all right there. They have one ticket for all of them for all day. But if you're not going to be there all day and you don't want to go to all five of them, I wouldn't buy a day ticket. I would just buy one individual ticket if that's what you want. I think the day ticket was 24 euros for the day. But if you are a student, it's only 12 euros for the day. And that's for all five museums.
So what kind of museums are there? Well,
I looked it up because I'm going to not lie to you. I'm not a museum girl. Okay. So I looked them up. They have all different kinds. There is one that's closed right now. One of the bigger museums is closed because I looked it up today. And yeah, I will not lie. I have not been to the museums. Okay.
There are art museums.
There are art museums. Here, let me see what it says on my thing. It says home to five world -class museums, including the Pergamon, which is the one that's closed, and Noyes Museum.
We'll check that out. Like we are not huge like all day museum people either. Yeah. When you have so much other stuff to see. Right. And that's me. That's me. Yeah. I have so many other things I'd like to see.
have so many other things I'd like to see. I like to see, you know, the palaces or the castles and things like that and the churches. And those are the type of things I'm always interested in seeing. And those are the things I kind of. lean towards so that's just me everybody has a different personal preference i will be honest i've seen a lot more museums than scott has if i go somewhere with him we'll do other stuff if he goes he's working and then i'll be okay i want to go to this museum yeah yeah yeah yeah i think it's a little different yeah and so
will be honest i've seen a lot more museums than scott has if i go somewhere with him we'll do other stuff if he goes he's working and then i'll be okay i want to go to this museum yeah yeah yeah yeah
i think it's a little different yeah and so The other thing I would say, there are things that are not on the walking tour. There are Charlottenburg Schloss, so the castle or palace. They call it Charlottenburg Palace. That one's really cool to go see. You can pay to go inside that as well. And then there's another one, another palace. I don't remember the name of it. So there are some things you can go to. Another thing I want to do that I haven't done yet is you can take a bike and go along the Wall Trail, the Berlin Wall Trail. It's like 100 kilometers long. It would take probably two, three days. But you can go part way and then take a train back or something. I might do that this next time because you can just see different parts like watchtowers from the old east side. more parts of the wall that have like the vibrant colors. They say when you see all the pictures with the vibrant colors, it's probably from this trail. So I kind of want to go do that a little bit. I was looking into it for my next trip. And like I said, I'm trying to do some things I haven't done before, along with some of the other stuff for my son to see. But I want to kind of do that a little bit. Oh, neat.
Yeah, that sounds neat if the weather's nice. And so there's places that you can either, you can ride bikes or rent bikes. Rent bikes.
Usually there's bike shops or they just have them on the street that you can just rent them off the street. Like you see anything.
you see anything. You know,
know, like we see here, like all the scooters and stuff like that. They have the same with bikes. Okay.
And then going back to the palaces and the castles you talked about, are those in like in Berlin or they're a little bit outside?
No, they're in Berlin. Charlottenburg Palace is in Berlin. It's just not like in the portion where we're walking. So you would probably have to take some public transportation over there. And along with that comes on my walking tour. I also have restaurant suggestions. Some of them are the locals' favorites. Some of them are things that I have been to before. So by Charlottenburg Schloss or Palace, sorry, I know the German words. They have what's called Schnitzelie. Great schnitzel restaurant. So I'll be going there. Okay. So that one is really yummy. Of course, a big thing when you're there is curry verse. That's a big thing. Doner kebabs. Is that your favorite? It's my son's favorite too. I don't like it, but my son loves it. I like donor kebabs. Have you had a donor kebab before?
Our daughter really likes donor.
Me too. I probably will eat it three or four times while I'm gone. You know, that's the first thing I eat and the last thing I eat when I'm in Germany. So my friend will pick me up from the airport and she'll already have one in her car for me. And boy, we go straight there. One of the two. Yeah, I love Doner Kebabs. So I have a great one on there. Same with the Curryverse. It's Curryverse 36 is the name of it. And then there's some that when you're on the route of the walk -in tour, there's some restaurants that you could stop at and all the addresses are on there and stuff like that. We heard a really cool tip the other day from a foodie,
heard a really cool tip the other day from a foodie, so someone who really does food travel. And they said when they're looking at the reviews, they look to see if there's local language reviews. Because if there's no reviews in the local language, then it's a tourist spot.
Yeah. I've heard too that if you see something that doesn't look good, like it's probably the best food. Like the little hole in the walls or the little guys on the street, they're probably the better food. yeah so it's more local well great i will definitely have to always like to like take all the suggestions because obviously if you have a few days you're not gonna be able to eat it yeah you're not gonna be able to do everything take all the suggestions and put them in like save them into like my google maps or something like that and then that way it's fine it's like oh she recommended this you know or yeah mark this so that way you at least have a little bit of a guide yeah my big thing when i go to germany is the bakeries so
great i will definitely have to always like to like take all the suggestions because obviously if you have a few days you're not gonna be able to eat it yeah you're not gonna be able to do everything take all the suggestions and put them in like save them into like my google maps or something like that and then that way it's fine it's like oh she recommended this you know or yeah mark this so that way you at least have a little bit of a guide yeah
my big thing when i go to germany is the bakeries so I just have to get up bakeries every day. Yeah.
Yeah, I know. When we would go visit our friends, they lived in a village outside of Frankfurt, and they used to have the butcher there and had a bakery in the little town. Yeah. They don't have that anymore. They just go to Aldi. Yeah, they do go to Aldi a lot.
they do go to Aldi a lot. But I do also know people who still go to the butcher, because they can get certain things there that they can't get at Aldi. I love Aldi, by the way.
way. Yes, well, we do too. Yeah.
We're about to get one on the island where we live.
Oh, nice. Excited for that. So, yeah. But it's very different. At their Aldi, they have a pretzel dispenser.
Mm -hmm. A bread dispenser,
right? A bread dispenser.
right?
A bread dispenser. It's a whole bread dispenser. It's not just the bread. It's the pastries. It's the pretzels. It's the everything. You just go and we definitely don't have that.
When we took our kids, our son, that's all he wanted was the pretzels. Like every meal had a pretzel. Yeah.
Yeah. With it somehow or another.
With it somehow or another.
So this doesn't have to do with the food, but something I just thought of. One thing to keep in mind in Germany, always carry euros with you. Because if you want to use the restroom, you pay for them in Germany. And it's usually a euro to use it. Unless you're at a restaurant or you're buying gas somewhere, then they'll give you like this. It's called a bond. It's like a receipt or when we go to the malls and stuff and they validate, it's like a validation thing that then you can use the restrooms for free. But most part, you're paying a euro to use the restroom.
Yeah, that's a really good point, especially when you're in a city. Germany was actually the first country. that I went to internationally and I went with Scott. And I remember when we went out somewhere with the exchange family and go into a restroom and she's like, you know, handing me some little change because I did what we were used to. And you just thought about that in years. But when you said that, if you're not used to it,
not used to it, if you're not used to it, it takes you by surprise. And always having the correct change is hard. It used to be 50 cents. Now it's a euro. But that's a really good tip that people know.
a really good tip that people know. If you don't know,
a really
you don't
you're kind of at a loss at first. So,
yeah. Awesome. Well, is there anywhere else on the walking tour or did we hit everything? I think we pretty much hit everything. And it's on the Instagram that people can download it and then see for themselves what's there. There's some tips on each one. Tells you exactly how many minutes take. Take from one place to the next place.
Well, that's what I was just about to say is, so for the listeners who are listening to this, where can they find your walking tour?
So my walking tour is on my Instagram page. My Instagram is the Traveling Wheels. And there's a Linktree link. And if you click on that, then the very first one is the Berlin Walking Tour. And you can just download it.
just download it. Great. Well, I'm going to link to that. in the show notes so that it's easy for people to find. We're going to go out there and get that and have that and save all the places that you have recommended. And we're excited about going, but then, you know, talk to somebody about it and then you can almost start visualizing, you know, even though I haven't been these places and getting excited for having this experience.
Yeah, I would say no matter what guide you use or. you know, things that you look up, do your research, do what is interesting to you because everybody has different interests. If there's something that doesn't interest you, skip it and go on to the next one because everything's so pretty, so close together, you can just skip something and move on. But like I said, I don't like the museum, so I just skip it and I go to the next thing.
So on your walking tour, do you have all the Instagram photo points listed in there?
I don't. I should probably work on that the next time I'm there, which is in a month. We laugh about that because, you know,
about that because, you know, in Egypt, you know, we saw people and they almost had like their list on their phone of like all the different. It's like, soak it up. You're in a pre -biblical land right now. Well,
Well, I think it goes through the same thing. What's interesting to me might not be interesting to you. you know what beautiful to me you could go what was she thinking so it's just it's perspective yes and don't miss the experience no don't yeah it's so great there like berlin is an awesome city melissa did i tell you that i saw somebody that we know with the picture in front of that phone booth in london yeah so there's this one phone booth in london and there was a line of people waiting to have a picture made and we're like
and don't
don't miss the experience no don't yeah it's so great there like berlin is an awesome city melissa
did i tell you that i saw somebody that we know with the picture in front of that phone booth in london yeah so there's this one phone booth in london and there was a line of people waiting to have a picture made and we're like There's phone booths all over London. Are you waiting in a line? So when I saw the picture, I get it now. Big Ben in Parliament was right behind that phone booth.
I was waiting for an hour. Yeah. There's so many things to do. Yeah. Yeah. Missing that. So as far as tickets, you said really ahead of time, we need to look at the Parliament building. Yes, for sure I were. Anything else like the museums? I guess you could probably just go up and get the tickets.
The museum, the TV tower, the parliament building, those all have tickets. If you want to go in them, up them, you know, whatever they are, then you'll want to do them ahead of time if possible.
Okay, great. And then any restaurant recommendations that you had that where you would need to get a reservation? I get the reservation at that Schnitzelai.
get the reservation at that Schnitzelai. So that place takes reservations. There's another one if you like steak. It's a really great steak place. I think it's called Beef Steak. Yeah, Beef Club. Beef Club. And that one takes reservations. And so, but any of your little ones like the bratwurst or doner kebabs, those are just walk -ins. And they usually have like just one or two tables. A lot of people just stand to eat or they walk and eat with it, with those type of things. So yeah, those two I do reservations for. But you can also just walk in and if they have space, they'll give it to you. The thing to note about Germany with reservations and going to a restaurant that takes reservations, when they take reservations, it's for the whole night. Like when we go in America, it's like they reserve it for an hour and a half or something. But the other, they could be there all night just drinking, you know, and talking. So when it's reserved, it's reserved for the whole night.
And then the other thing that I think we need to say about Germany. And specific too, is if you want to go shopping, don't plan to do that on Sunday. Is that true?
true? That is correct. Okay. I believe so. I'm going to be there on Sunday this year. I don't think I'm usually there on Sundays. I'm usually gone by then, but I am there on Sunday this year. Okay.
That's just what we have found. Well,
definitely the grocery stores are closed. And I think a lot of the actual shopping, I think some of it has changed a little bit where some things are open. And I know I was there at Christmas time. And I think because of the Christmas market, some things were staying open longer or more often than what they were used to or what they used to be. But yeah, I would plan on not shopping on Sunday just in case. Okay. All right. That sounds great. Yes.
All right.
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Well, we like to end all of our interview episodes with three questions that we like to ask all of our guests. So this is really, this is just really fun for us. Where is your favorite place that you have ever visited? Well,
it's a tie because I love Switzerland and I love Iceland. So far, those are two of my favorite. And I actually get to go back to both of those in a couple of weeks because my son shows to go there for his graduation trip. Great. Yeah, but we're going to go do different things than what I've done there, which makes it cool for me. Okay. Anywhere in particular in Switzerland? That I've been? Yeah, I stayed in Lauterbrunnen. So a lot of people stay in Interlaken. And Lauterbrunnen is a place to stay. It's a tiny little city. And then I took the train out to Grindelwald, which has like the first walk. It has like the little cars that you can take down the mountain. And the first walk, the cliff walk is what it's called. The cliff walk, it goes out along the side of a mountain. And so you're just kind of dangling off the mountain. So it scares some people. But it was totally foggy when I was there, unfortunately. So I really didn't get to see much. But it happens.
happens. It happens a trap. It's so beautiful.
beautiful. Like, so beautiful. I'm doing the Glacier Express this time. I'm very excited. Very, very excited.
And then where in Iceland are you headed to?
So we're going to go to, I have a hard time saying Reykjavik. And we're going to stay there for three days. And we're just taking big bus tours this time. Last time I was there, we took a car around the whole island. This time we're taking a bus tour that's 12 hours long one direction. And then the next day, 14 hours long the next direction. And I just figured it's so much easier. I don't have to drive. And I can sleep in between if I want. They're long days. But I can get...
We would highly recommend that you do the walking food tour. Yeah,
Yeah, I haven't done that. Wake Up Recombeck. That's their website. If you go to that and to book that, it was fantastic. No, I haven't done that.
done that. I haven't even been in the city center. Like last time we just got out and then we came in right before our flight. So I'm really excited to spend, we're spending a day there this time.
Yeah. So that would be a great thing to do. It was like mid -morning. She took us to five different places and we did the fermented shark and things we wouldn't have ever tried. Afterwards, she sent us a great email with all her other recommendations and recipes and stuff like that. So wake up or commit if you have time.
We will. On the first day we get there, we'll have time because that's what our goal is just to be in the city there. So I'll have to mention that to my son because he's a foodie. Yeah,
and it takes you to the famous hot dog stand there in Reykjavik. A hot dog with the bacon wrapped around it.
hot dog with the bacon wrapped around it. There's a hot dog with the bacon.
Yeah, this is the one. It's a little cart. It's been there for over 40 years or 60 years.
years. Almost really.
I'll have to go find it.
have to go find it. I'll have to go find it. Yeah.
So our next question that we have for you is what's left at the top of your bucket list? What's the next thing on your bucket list?
My bucket list. I usually try to keep five things on my bucket list. And when I do something like Iceland used to be on my bucket list and I cross it off and I add something else. And so some of the things on my bucket list is Norway. I really want to go to Norway. I want to go to Bali. I want to go to Australia, Antarctica. And I can't remember my gift thing, but those are some of the places I'd really want to go to. They sound phenomenal.
sound phenomenal.
I think I'm going to get Norway in 26. I don't know what else I'll hit in 26, but I think I'll get Norway in 26. If you want to hit Antarctica in 26.
hit Antarctica in 26. I forgot that. There are still some spots available. Yeah. Going fast.
fast.
Yeah. So if you haven't.
My problem is I'm by myself. That's the problem. Then it costs my money by myself.
You got to go find that. Like I always say, you know, at the end of our podcast is you never know who's going to be your next favorite travel companion. So you got to go find the travel companion and just bring them with you.
Exactly. And we've already paired them up, paired them up, roommates. But if we have another single, we will let you know. Let me know.
Let me know. Let me know. Because I, yeah, that's on my list. So tell us about where you are going next because you have some really exciting,
tell us about where you are going next because you have some really exciting, of course, you've talked about with your son. Yeah, that one's coming up at the end of May.
coming up at the end of May. So Memorial Day weekend is when we leave. But my biggest thing that I'm looking forward to is the end of August, I'll be leaving for six weeks and going on four different cruise ships. So I'll be spending six weeks out at sea. With a day flying here and there. But I'm going to start with a back -to -back out of Florida. And then I'll be flying out to Seattle to do Alaska. Then I'll fly home for one day. And then I fly back out to L .A. And I'm going to do a trans -Pacific where I do L .A. to Tokyo. So, and I'm very, very excited about Tokyo. I've never been to Asia.
Nice. And you'll spend some time in Tokyo.
And you'll spend
Yes. On the back end then, I assume. Tokyo Disney as well.
Disney as well. Oh, yeah. On our list. Yeah, I'm really excited because I've never been over there. I'm amazed at your discipline to keep only five things on your bucket list.
amazed at your discipline to keep only five things on your bucket list.
Well, I feel it's more doable that way.
To move on from a bucket, we don't have a bucket list anymore. We have a, you know, 50 gallon barrel list.
Yeah. And I do things in between that's not on the list. Like Tokyo wasn't on my list, but I'm so excited for it. It just is an opportunity that fell into my lap kind of, you know, on this cruise. And I'm like, I'm all in, you know. We always really talk about about a bucket list,
always really talk about about a bucket list, right? Because then you have those places in the back of your mountain. And the opportunity comes up. We actually just recently went to Iceland. It's been on the list. We did it as a stopover on the way back from London, you know, for. Right. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And that's kind of how I'm getting to New York is we're going to, we have a 15 hour layover. So we're going to go and spend the day in New York. Kind of the same. Yeah.
Well, we can't wait to follow along. So again, you're at the Traveling Wheels. Yeah. And that's where you can find her Tamara's walking tour. And we can't wait to follow along on those travels over there on Instagram. Thanks for having me.
Yeah, thank you for coming on and sharing your knowledge of Berlin with us.
Yeah, I love Berlin. That's all I can say is I love it there.
Well, thank you. That was such a great conversation with Tamara. I feel like we've got a solid plan now for how we're going to spend our 48 hours in Berlin and maybe even a few backup ideas that she mentioned. If we find ourselves with some extra time knowing us, we'd never find ourselves that way. But we'll make sure to download her walking guide to have with us as a reference.
For sure. So I loved how she broke it down into the walking tour and also where she said, OK, you don't have to start like it's like you have to start at this one place, start that's convenient to your hotel. And we will have a couple of days to do that. And then that way that will leave us some room to just kind of see what we want to do or what we want to spend more time doing. So I really think that makes such a difference when you explore a city on foot and then you can really take in the history and the architecture along the way. So her tip about starting at the Brandenburg Gate. early in the morning and then also seeing that again in the evening. And also the fact that Berlin seems to be like at least those sites pretty compact so that that's doable compared to somewhere like London where it could be very spread out. So doing that morning and evening is definitely on our list so that we can just feel that in two different times of the day.
Yeah, I think she said she had like 16 things. I have to look at the walking tour, but 16 things. And if you just did them from start to finish, it was like two hours.
So, yeah, and then being able to stop and do the different things. You know,
know, after listening to these tips, what do you think is the most exciting thing that's now on your list of places to see or things to do while we're there?
I'm really interested to see, like just to see the Brandenburg Gate, to see Checkpoint Charlie. I would like to, you know, if we can end up figuring out how to get into the Parliament building, but like if not. Again, she said she spent a whole bunch of times and it's not a big deal. So being able, I think, just to see those things that we learned about in school and, well, I would say learned about in school, but then also like they were actually taking place, right? When we were in high school, these things were happening as well when the wall came down. And so just to kind of see that in real life where these things happened.
You know, I don't know what ever happened to it, but at one point in time, a good friend of ours gave us a piece of the wall. Do you remember that?
I do. I would suspect that probably Will has it.
Well, in addition to the different places, she also gave us some list of places to go and eat.
Yeah. So I'm excited to get her guide. And what I like to do is go and mark those places in Google Maps, because for us, and we've mentioned this a lot of times before, we're not big. OK, we want to. try to eat at this restaurant at this time, but if we maybe have some of those things marked. But we might want to look into the places where she said make a reservation. You know, we might want to just kind of have that as a plan. So we're going to do that this week.
I laughed when she said, make sure to wear your stretchy pants.
Well, I mean, I'll be talking about the Donner kebabs, the schnitzel, the bakeries, and we love the pretzels and the bread, you know, enjoying the beer and then also the... We call it the Shandy or they call it the Rattler. The Rattlers. That's right. So, I mean, good grief. That makes you really hungry. So one thing that she did say, she gave a tip about making sure to carry some euros with you.
thing that she did say, she gave a tip about making sure to carry some euros with you. So if you've got to go to the restroom, you're going to have to pay. Now, one thing that I would add on that is somehow or another, you're going to have to go from paper money to coins because a lot of times these restrooms are an unattended gate that you go through. And so you got to drop the coin in there and go through the turnstile. So I'm interested to see what that's like, if it's still like that. And then also that's something we probably need to figure out pretty quickly once we arrive.
Actually, I think I probably have some euros and a little plastic baggie. I usually keep a few of those things and it's like the change, right? Because those are things that it's like, okay, we usually, you know, have it and bring it back. So maybe, but if not, we'll get some out of the ATM and then we'll get a pretzel or something like that and get some change. So in addition to Berlin, Tamara is a frequent cruiser as well. She has a lot of content on her Instagram and her TikTok about cruising. So you can find her online at the Traveling Wheels. So do us a favor and go and follow her on Instagram and make sure that you grab her Berlin guide that she said that was in the link there if you ever are visiting Germany. And then let her know that her friends from the Sunshine Travelers sent you. Before we wrap up.
we wrap up. We do have some exciting news that we want to share with you. We have just announced our next group trip. So you want to tell a little bit about that?
Spectacular. We've actually been talking about this amongst ourselves ever since we were on safari, wanting to take a group of you with us to Kenya. So we are inviting you to join us for a seven -day safari adventure in Kenya. Many of you know, or if you don't know, we experienced this trip ourselves back in October of last year and immediately... we were already like, how do we share this? How do we bring people along? If you listen to those episodes, you'll know that last time we brought along Scott's aunts. And it was just fantastic to be able to share that and like have those shared moments around, well, not only in the safari vehicle and with our guides, but around the table each night. And so this unforgettable journey that we are inviting you on is happening in June of 2026. And so the waiting list is officially open. Space will be limited because this is a private safari. experience taking you to three of Kenya's incredible parks in search of the big five. So be the first to receive the trip details by joining the waitlist at sunshinetravelers .com slash safari group trip. Because if we fill it up from that, then there won't be any more spots. So join that. So you'll have to be the first to be able to, you know, get on the list. So come explore safari in Kenya with us. It was absolutely the most amazing thing that we have ever done.
And then while we're on that, let me just say there is still opportunity if you want to join us on the Antarctica trip in February of 2026. There's a couple of more spots. Last time we checked, the ship is filling up quickly and there weren't very many rooms left. And also the price has gone up from the time that we offered this. But if you'll act now and let us know, I think we can still get you in at those listener prices that we had. and get you going on that. So that's at sunshinetravelers .com slash Antarctica. Okay, so that wraps it up for this episode. Don't forget to follow along on our own Berlin adventure. We'll be posting photos, stories, and maybe even a few walking tour moments of our own over on social media. And that's at Sunshine Travelers Podcast. And as always, thank you for listening. And remember, the world is full of sunshine and surprises. Make 2025 the year that you... explore beyond the familiar. That's a wrap on this episode. We hope it gave you some inspiration for your next adventure.
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