Berlin by Train; Berlin's Top Ten with Lunch

Take a short walk from the ship to the exclusively chartered train from Warnemünde to Berlin, a journey that lasts approximately 2.5-3 hours. During your transfer to Berlin, your escort will provide you with general information and a refreshment as well as a light evening snack on the way back to Warnemünde. Upon arrival in Berlin, your tour guide will start at the Berlin Wall (1). After being a barrier that divided the city and its people for almost 30 years, the wall was finally opened in 1989. Another photo stop will be made at Checkpoint Charlie (2), possibly the world’s best-known Allied Checkpoint for Allied military. Then, head straight to Bebel Platz (3). It was here, where the Nazis ordered the book burning by National Socialist students who burned hundreds of free authors, publishers, philosophers and scientists. See the underground library that is left empty with the space for 20,000 books that were estimated to have gone up in flames. Next, pass by the Potsdamer Platz (4), formerly a no man's land between East and West where the first gap in the Berlin Wall was made in 1989. A few blocks away from here and close to the site where Hitler’s bunker was hidden, a somber memorial commemorates the Jews who perished in Europe during the Second World War. A photo stop at the Holocaust Memorial (5), opened in 2005, then onto the famous Brandenburg Gate (6) that symbolizes Berlin’s history. Close by, see the Reichstag (7) building which is Germany’s seat of Parliament and today well-known for having the world’s largest glass dome, designed by the famous architect, Sir Norman Foster. Those with a fondness for Prussian history will enjoy the outside visit to the Charlottenburg Palace (8) – a photo stop of the oldest surviving Prussian palace, of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Then, in the former western part of Berlin, we’ll take you along the Kurfuerstendamm (Ku-Damm), West Berlin’s most famous street. Pass by the Emperor William Memorial Church (9) the '‘hollow-tooth’, and pass Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) (10), an architectural and logistical wonder. Enjoy a typical, pub-style German lunch (included) in a local Berlin restaurant before you continue your exploration of Berlin and return by train to the ship.