A short walk to the station, dodging bikes and the pedestrian traffic which all seemed to be going the opposite direction to us. We quickly had our passes validated, travelling first class allowed us to make use of the lounge facilities where we could relax and eat from the complimentary breakfast bar while waiting for our train ( as usual I had us there with oodles of time to spare but I really hate rushing when trying to find our way).
We boarded our direct train to Berlin from platform 10b at 11:01am for our 6 hour trip in very comfortable carriage, no-one else in our section which was great. spend the day napping and watching the great scenery pass us by, can I say it again, this is the way to travel in Europe.
As the day was drawing to a close we arrived in Berlin, we left the train one station too early, a problem easily rectified by catching the next city train from the other side of the same platform, and finally getting off at Berlin’s Station Hauptbahnhof (Central Station).
Within minutes of stepping on german soil we were in cab being whisked to our hotel in Potsdamer Platz district. Our hotel was the very fancy Wyndham Grand Hotel which has built inside an old sandstone factory and was so well done. We checked in and freshened up before heading down to The Post restaurant for our first real meal since leaving home, I had the Rinderfilet (Filet of beef) and mum settled for Zitrus- Maispoulardenbrust (Lemon corn poulard (chicken) breast). This was a memorable meal and the service great but we both hit the wall quickly and it wasnt long before we fell into bed exhausted.
With one full day to make the most of our day in Berlin we up early and walked down to Potsdamer Platz square for a roll and coffee for breakfast all while trying to work out where the main stop was for the red Hop on Hop off bus was.
After wandering around for awhile we eventually located the stop not too far away but not in it’s usual stop due to road works.
We purchased our 24 hour ticket and as it was fairly cool we decided we would do the full circuit first then decide where we would get off for a closer look. With 20 stops around the city such as Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenberg Gate, Jewish Museum and not to mention a section of the Berlin Wall which was a surreal experience.
After our lap around the city we decided to get off at Checkpoint Charlie and have some lunch before continuing on our way. Lunch was the best tomato soup and a pizza at a little Italian place (Sotto Sopra) within sight of Checkpoint Charlie, amazing to think this was such an important place in history and here we were having our lunch.
After lunch Brandenberg Gate was our chosen stop to explore further this amazing city. Unfortunately 
by time the bus got back to this stop there was some sort of demonstration taking place so the bus was forced to re-route in very heavy traffic. Upside was we got to go down some interesting streets that aren’t on the usual route.
We decided to hop off at the famous KaDeWa department store.
About KaDeWa (taken from website)
What apparently started as an adventurous idea by the Berlin merchant Adolf Jandorf in 1905 surpassed all expectations when KaDeWe was opened in March 1907.
Always a firm step ahead of the competition, KaDeWe today, as well as offering a vast variety of products, is also setting new standards in service. 
KaDeWe caters for a wide range of needs with luxurious beauty rooms and lounges, a wedding and gift service, a hotel and home service, tailor, hairdressers, buggy rental and a bureau de change. In its world-famous gourmet department on the sixth floor, Berlin’s premium department store even plays host to exclusive parties high above the roofs of the city.
The same ritual takes place every day at KaDeWe and sometimes on Sundays too when, shortly before 10 am, the original iron gate dating from 1907 is lowered so that customers can embark on an exciting shopping adventure. Each day up to 180,000 customers from around the world are welcomed in cordially by the KaDeWe before being attended to on more than 60,000 sq m of sales space by some 2,000 employees, for each of which customer needs and first class service take pride of priority.We would have loved more time to explore this wonderful interesting store, definitely recommended as a must do for anyone visiting Berlin.
A short taxi ride found back in our fantastic hotel and we changed and headed down for a burger and soup from the hotel restaurant. Again early night and pack up for the next stage, Munich here we come.
Hotel: Wyndam Grand Potsdam Platz
Getting Around Taxis: Reasonably priced and easy to hail, carry hotel business cards to show driver for address
Highlight(s):
- Seeing the actual Berlin Wall
- Visiting KaDeWa Department store
- Soup and Pizza at (Sotto Sopra) near Checkpoint Charlie
Our Adventures - Near and Far 
