Don't Go To Canuckistan; ó Rick Steves Blows: So little time to do so much in Berlin

7/17/16

So little time to do so much in Berlin

Last week's Berlin visit was one of the most fulfilling in recent memory. I revisit the city often; and am always mindful of not doing anything touristy. And that's too bad because Berlin offers loads and loads of attractions for its loads of tourists (I like saying 'loads'). But in my previous mindset I wanted to be in Berlin as if I were living there (because it is a place in which I would love to live) passing the days, not through snapshot poses but, rather, as one takes in the bountiful fun to be had on a normal day in the city.

Obviously it worked otherwise I would've grown bored of the S-Bahn & U-Bahn and stodgy German hospitality by time.

Berlin offers loads and loads of attractions for its loads of tourists...more than hot pretzels and cold beer and sweet ice cream

On this recent trip, though, I did so much more than take in a show and eat gelato. Yes, I went to the opera (Eugene Onegin) and gobbled down hot pretzels and cold beer and sweet ice cream but I also toured the newly opened Spy Museum in Potsdamer Platz; enjoyed a free open-air concert led by Daniel Barenboim on Unter den Linden; traveled down to Potsdam and walked the grounds of the palace, botanical garden and the famous windmill; took in a show of experimental dance & theatre in Prenzlauer Berg by my friend Alexander Carrillo; attended an artists' Sommerfest near Templehof; stayed in a hostel boat on the Spree River; and worked-out at various outdoor gyms in the city (similar to the ones I train at in Barcelona).

Will write more on the specific attractions in post to come. In the meantime, enjoy these snapshots taken with an actual camera that doesn't multitask as a telephone, computer, travel agency or single's bar. The best things in life are simple.