Three Things I Love About Berlin

For my 21st birthday, I was surprised with a trip to Berlin. Just a few months later, in December we flew over there for a few days and ever since we returned, I've been itching to go back! Berlin is a really welcoming city,with so much to do and see and today I'm sharing three things I love about the city. Honestly; I could've mentioned so many more if I was able to...1. The AtmosphereDespite being a capital city, there's laid back feel to Berlin. There's around 3.5 million people living in the city, compared to London where there's 8.3 million; so it's pretty quiet in comparison. While the streets seemed busy, I never felt crowded and I noticed so many people actually wait for ampleman (the green man) to cross the road. There's a cosmopolitan feel, the locals are welcoming, helpful and everyone seems happy to be there. You can get phone signal on the U-Bahn (the equivalent to our Metro/London's tube) which runs amazingly to schedule and never seems overcrowded and the streets are spotless and I mean, spotless! You take a walk down a street in London, or even Newcastle and you'll spot chewing gum stains, the odd crisp packet and whatever else; but Berlin is so clean! Now that's no disrespect to the UK at all, but it's something I immediately noticed and was very impressed by. Not to mention their escalators stop running to conserve energy when no one is on them, then start moving when they sense someone approaching... Pretty cool stuff to say the least!2. The HistoryIf someone mentions Germany to you, I'd be very surprised if you didn't think of WWII or even maybe the Berlin Wall. There's so much to see, if you're into history and museums and there's a few I'd like to visit when I go back (hopefully soon). You've got the Brandenburg Gate which you can't miss and it's incredibly impressive to see,  the Holocaust Memorial and the Reichstag to name just a few. Seeing the buildings and landmarks like Checkpoint Charlie was a great trigger for bringing back everything I'd learned in my GCSE History classes. I feel like we barely scratched the surface of everything there is to see and do, so if you like cultural cities with a lot of stories to tell, you have to visit Berlin. 
If you're less into history and more into cars, there's Classic Remise Berlin which is an absolute must. It's very specialist, with a range of vintage cars to your dream Aston Martin, Ferraris etc. It's free to visit and all the cars are in incredible condition. You're welcome to take photos and you can see some in the workshops being restored. It's no surprise it rates #2 on Berlin's attractions on TripAdvisor!3. The Food...(and drink!)Think of Germany, think of sausages; bratwurst maybe in particular? Well, if you visit around December, you'll be spoilt for choice with all the Christmas Markets. I recommend you try it all! Bratwurst and Currywurst are a must, but there's Berliner doughnuts, Stollen, Kreppel (which are like the French Crépes) if that's more your bag. I'd like to try schnitzel next time and I'd recommend giving German beer a go if you like a pint!
Have you visited Berlin? I'd love to know what you thought of the city!
If you're interested in visiting, take a look at my posts about my trip: 1, 2 and 3.
This post was written as an entry to Accor Hotels #3cities competition. It'd be amazing to visit London, Paris and Amsterdam. I've visited London a few times in the past and recently went to Paris after graduating from university, though there's so much more I want to see. Amsterdam has been on my list for a while now too and would be perfect for a spring city break! Keeping my fingers crossed I'm lucky! If you want to enter, you can find out full details here. Good Luck!