Americas big cities

Following my recent succesful trip to Berlin (see reports below) its got me thinking about next year and where to go, thats despite still having a couple of trips already sorted later this year. I do believe its good to plan in advance especially if you can find a good price.

Berlin was a success for two reasons, first its a fantastic city and secondly another solo traveller saw my blog and joined me, it was great to have company (we hadn't met previously). Wonder if others would be interested in my ideas this time, its a good plan for experienced travellers to get together if theyfancy the same holiday.

Anyway been looking at March (possibly easter or before) and edging towards America and the big Cities. Done plenty of American Cities in the past but more recent times been doing touring holidays in the States. Flight prices if you pick the right dates are good at present.

One City I've lookead at is the Big Apple (New York) as its 10 years since i was last there and always said i'd go back one day, its a big ciy and no way can you see everything on one trip.

I've also been considering my favorite the windy city (Chicago) been a fan of blues music i like the clubs but add to that plenty to see and do during the day it always has an attraction for me. Have had a couple of nights there in recent years at the start of a couple of my Just You holidays (Route 66 & Heart & Soul) but thats not the same as you hardly get time to unpack.

Giving it lots of thought i would want to do it initially on a budet so rather than staying in a 5 star times square or magnificent mile hotel i've been costing slightly lower rated hotels but not too far from the attractions. Also reviews are important, definately looking at safe areas and hotels with good reviews. Reason i'd like to do it on a reasonable budget is like everyone else i've only so much to spend on travel and will be still doing others (at least one biggie) later in the year.
Saying all that wouldn't skimp on spending while there, would do everything i wanted, pointless going if you dont.

For sun worshipers it wont be red hot in either city in March, wont be freezing either so that would suit me, not really into sitting on a beach.

Good thing about both cities is they have excellent public transport networks so easy to get around, thats important in big cities.

Done an initial pricing up and a week (7 nights) in either city for flight & hotel can do for under £800 which is an excellent price. Only extras would be transfers but would use public transport if on my own but if could persuade others probably makes sense to share a taxi.

After doing my homework the thought crossed me about putting the cities together and wondered what it would cost so checked it out. Was pleasently surprised and can do it for less than £1200 and thats 6 nights in each city (think i paid that 10 years ago for a similar trip). Only extra is on the internal flight between cities i dont think it included hold luggage but was only around $25. Cross Atlanic it is included.

Going to give these options (and others) lots of thought over the weekend.

Anyone else interested ? be good to hear from you.

City Break - Berlin - (part 3)

Day 5 - Got to the TV tower in good time and got our tickets with only a 40 minute break, managed to find a seat so decided to wait rather than have a walk.

And once up could see why its something everyone wants to do, fantastic views of the city, and could do the full 360degrees definately a must do for people visiting Berlin. Also there is a small bar up the top so had a couple of soft drinks before going back down.

Once down from the tower we decided to do the short walk (5 mins) to the Historic district which is interesting with a lot interesting souvenier shops and cafes. Its also the home to the Nikolaivertel church well worth a look inside, very impressive.
Thats not mentioning the St George slaying the dragon statue overlooking the river.








After a few photos we decided to jump on a bus (no100) and have a walk in the Tiergarten which is a large park in the centre of the city, its basically Berlins Central Park.
Was nice and we grapped a sandwich at a small cafe on the roundabout at the Heroes statue in the centre of the park. Bad choice as we were swarmed by wasps, was quite funny watching others trying to protect their food and drinks.

We then had a walk to the "English Garden" where there was a really nice cafe and we wished we had lunched there to be honest.
More wasps though, seemed everywhere and poor J got stung on her cheek.

We then made our way to the S-bahn to the Europa Centre looking for souveniers but nothing caught the eye so jumped on a U-bahn to Potsdamer platz to visit the Mall of Berlin. Its a really impressive shopping centre with 100's of shops.

Finally back to the hotel to get ready for our last nights festivities, not without stopping off for our daily cocktail.

We decided to try an Italian restaurant not far from the front of our hotel, must say it was excellent and the best meal of the five evenings, in fact think if i listed the meals in order they got better each night. Thats not saying any were bad the food in Berlin although not German was good.

Afterwards it was back to the Irish Pub we had spent saturday night, again a great atmosphere and the had a rock band on that played many classics. Not the best i've heard but good fun all the same.

Day 6 - After a late breakfast it was time to check out but we arranged to leave our luggage at the hotel as didn't need to go to the airport by late afternoon.

We decided to visit the Allied Museum which was a distance from the City centre but was able to do it on the U-bahn with our welcome card.
It was in a really upmarket neighbourhood with some nice houses and about half a mile from the station.
The museum itself is quite small and certainly need no more than an hour there, still its interesting to us Brits so filled in our last morning.











On the way back to the Station we found a lovely cafe, was quite upmarket but well worth the visit for their large selection of cakes (spoilt for choice).

Eventually back to the hotel to collect our bags and jump in a taxi to the airport.

Journey went well, was slightly late setting off but arrived on time, and only had a short wait bfore catching our connecting flights and going our own ways.


Summary :-
Berlin is fantastic city, very visitor friendly and wouldn't surprise myself if i return one day. Was also great to have J as a travelling companion, is always good to have someone to eat with on a evening never mind through the day.
Despite not meeting before and only chatting on the JY forum and by email via this blog we found we enjoyed much similar things and I fully enjoyed the holiday.
It was a big advantage we were both experienced and confident tourists of course and we got to see a city that we both wanted to. Its a shame others couldn't join us.

Still got a City break to Madrid booked this year and that is again with Avios but totally solo, then I've my biggie to Cuba with "Just You" to look forward to.

City Break - Berlin (part 2)

Day 3 - Following a good breakfast it was on public transport to the River Spree and get us booked on a boat trip. Lots of options to choose from with river trips ranging from 1 hour to 4 hours.

We opted for the 1 hour trip as it was very hot and sunny and didn't want to be exposed for too long. Think it was about right as we saw most of the sites from the river and any longer may have been overkill.


Well worth  doing though and as we sat on the boat waiting to cast off the crew came around selling a refreshing cocktail made with rasperries and whatever alcohol. Would have been rude to refuse so we indulged covincing ourselves it was one of our 5 per day.




Following the cruise it was lunchtime, only wanted a sarnie and all the places along the river seemed to be restaurants serving full meals. We ended up going into the Railway station (Friedrichstr) which had a big food court. Found a little cafe that sold small bagettes at a very reasonable cost, just what I wanted.

Afterwards we decided to do a bit of a tram route to look at a few neighbourhoods in the east of the city, really enjoyed it some lovely places off the beaten track, lots of little parks. From Friedrichstr we took a no12 tram to Ebeswalder str, then changed to a M10 to Griefswalder/Dazinger and finally a M4 back to Alexanderplatz.

It was our intention to go up the TV tower but it was Saturday Afternoon and it was really busy and would have meant a 2 hour wait. They have a good system where you are given a time within a 10 minute window so can work out when you need to be there so can buy tickets then go do something else. However we made the decision to give it a miss with the intention of getting there early Sunday to beat the crowds.

So we decided to jump on another tram (M5 I think) into the east eventually finding a lovely little cafe, can't tell you where but it was next door to a Woolworths.

Not sure they had seen tourists before but we sat with the locals and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee with apple pie at a total cost under 3euros (starbucks eat your heart out). Seriously would recommend anyone to just jump on the trams its a great way to see parts of the city tourists wouldn't normally, small cafes everywhere so just jump off as you feel.

Sussed a tram route back to U-Bahn back to our hotel but we made a mistake and walked in the wrong direction eventually finding a totally different station so had to change trains a couple of times to get back.

That night we ate at a Persian restaurant close to the back of the hotel, food was excellent think we both enjoyed. Afterwards we decided to try the Irish Pub in the Europa centre, they had a Karaoke going (not that we got up). Turned out a great place with a good atmosphere, had a few drinks and didn't get back to the hotel until about 2am.

Day 4 - The Late night put a stop to the early start to beat the crowds at the TV tower but we tried anyway but still the queues were too much so we jumped back on a train to Checkpoint Charlie.

Photographs weren't allowed inside but was really interesting reading the history and looking at photos, some of the escape stories really fascinated me. Only problem it was a steaming hot day and with no air-con was really uncomfortable in there (nothing to do with the night before alcohol).

After we had finished at CC we decided to jump on the public transport system to go to a area called Hackesher Market for lunch (its actually walkable from Alexanderplatz). We had travelled through the area the previous day on the tram and there were lots of nice looking pavement cafes and restaurants.
We sat outside a Grill restaurant and had a lovely gourmet burger washed down with a pint of the local brew.

Afterwards it was a little early to go back to the hotel and we decided to jump on the S-Bahn (as we hadn't used it) to Warscheuer str as there was a river bridge i wanted to photo. We could also get the U-bahn back to the hotel from there so it served two purposes.







What a surprise as we walked to the bridge, we came across about 300 yards of the Berlin Wall still in place, hadn't done my homework and realised some had been left standing.















Eventually it was back to the hotel and the plan was go to the Irish Pub after our meal as were intrigued that they had a "traditional Irish group" on, apparently made up of Germans and one Scotsman, lol.

On our way not too far from the hotel we came across a Chinese restaurant so decided to eat there, it was excellent so pleased we did.
Trouble is while there we got a big thunder storm with torrential rain, this made us change our plans and in a lull in the rain we went back for a couple of drinks in the hotel before calling it a night.

Part 3 to folow.

City Break - Berlin (part one)

Just back from a City Break in Berlin a place i've wanted to visit for some time. Didn't go on any organised trip, used my Avios points for the flight and also got a decent deal at the 4 star Hotel Berlin, Berlin including Breakfast. Flight (from Leeds/Bradford via Heathrow plus 5 nights cost slightly over £300 and 9,000 avios points).
I wasn't totally alone another traveller "J" that often uses the single traveller companies also had avios points and fancied Berlin booked the same dates to join me on the trip. J actually flew from Glasgow and we met up at heathrow on route.

Day 1 - Early start to get to the airport but thats not a bad thing driving to Leeds/Bradford as not the best roads during the rush hour. Flight to London was slightly delayed but not a issue, arrived just before J but eventually met up with enough time to knock the froth off a beer before boarding our flight to Berlin. We set off about 30 mins late but a decent tail wind saw us actually arrive on time, only just time to have a glass of wine and bite to eat on the plane.
Tegel airport is tiny, through security and you are tripping over the baggage carousel, decided to drop my Euros when changing over wallets causing panic, lol (usually do it before boarding the flight, lesson learned there).
Could have used public transport to get to the hotel but it involved changes which is messy with luggage  so decided on taxi, was only 25euros (including tip) so 12.5 each.
We arrived at the hotel and was both happy with our rooms, it was a big hotel and we seemed to have everything needed, if anything the free wi-fi was a little slow. First impressions was it was in a quiet area but we found enough resturants and bars in the area and was only a 5 minute walk to a U-Bahn station.
After unpacking and freshening up it was late afternoon so we had a walk to the Europa Centre (shopping Mall) as we knew there was a tourist inforation and we wanted to buy "Berlin Welcome Cards". We opted for the 5 day card which is fantastic value, gets you a minimum of 25% off any attraction you visit plus all transport in the city (U-Bahn, S-Bahn, Trams & Buses) is free. The card covered zones A & B (all the city including airports) and only cost 34euros, if you wanted to visit Potsdam you needed zone C and was only another 5euros but it wasn't in our plans.
The Europa Centre had some nice shops although not what we were there for and we also noticed a Irish Pub.

We walked back to the hotel a different route exploring the area, stopped off for drink in a nice little square with 4 or 5 cafes.
Was starting to feel slightly hungry so after walking a little further found a small Italian restaurant, we both opted for a soup followed by a mains. Was happy with my Tomato soup but J wasn't over impressed with the Minestrone (seemed to be a few veggies dropped in a tomato soup). The mains were fine, they usually are when hungry.

Afterwards it was back to the hotel for a couple of drinks before calling it a day and hitting the cot.

The weather while in Berlin was very hot and humid, way above their average for this time of year, many buildings including the hotel bar were actually uncomfortable because the don't have the air con systems to cope with freak weather.

Day 2 - Up nice and refreshed after a good sleep i arrived at breakfast to find it really busy that made you realise how big the hotel was, people everywhere. We got seated and must say the buffet breakfast was good with lots of choice with both hot and cold food.

Our first day we decided to do the hop on hop off bus tour, our welcome card getting us discount. Think its a great idea to do this when visiting a place for the first time, helps you get your bearings a find all the main sites.

First place we got off was Potsdam Plaza, for a couple of photos, then it was past Checkpoint Charlie (but didn't get off), next we did get off at Alexandraplatz again for a few photos. Of course that was where Matt Damon got on the tram in the Bourne Identity.





Next stop was the Brandenburg Gate again we jumped off, buses are really regular and had good english commentry (think there was 18 languages to choose from).

As we travelled around it became apparent Berlin is a very big city with lots to see and do.
Eventually after almost completing to circuit it was mid afternoon and we decided to jump off in a quiet suberb when we saw a cafe.

Both ordered Pizzas and sat outside, soon abandoned that when we were swarmed by insects so relocated inside, lol.

Had a bit of time left in the day so decided to jump on a U-Bahn train to see the Olympic stadium, was looking at the map and counting the stations down (2 to go) when J mentioned that everybdy was getting off, i looked up and saw another lady opposite so just figured it was because the stadium was at the end of the line so quiet.
Well that was until the train stopped in a tunnel and the engine shutdown, thinking the lady opposite was local and knew what was happening asked her, turned out she was Polish and also trying to get to the Stadium. Then the driver walked by the window and fortunately saw us and got on to explain we should have got off at the last stop as only every other train goes to the stadium.
He said don't panic just wait 10 mins and it will return in the other direction and to get off at the first stop and swap platforms which we eventually did.
As expected from the outside the Olympic Stadium looked old and dated but once inside was totally impressed, was massive and really modern. Was a little cafe so had a drink because the heat was really overpowering.



Eventually back to the hotel to get showered and changed to go out, decided to eat at a small restaurant near the hotel, when we arrived it was packed outside so we went inside but again no air con and was too hot so decided to go for a drink at a sports bar close by until they had a outside table available.
Got sat outside at the sports bar and the waiter came for our order "two beers please", "sorry sir we dont serve alcohol", oh dear turned out to be a shisha sports bar, now thats a first for me, lol.
Anyway we moved on and ended up in a Greek cocktail bar close to the U-Bahn station, really nice friendly staff and the cocktails were only 4euro so this became our local. Well every day on way back to hotel late afternoon we stopped off for a drink before going to get ready for the evening.
Eventually got a table at the restaurant and the waitress was really stressed and snappy with a few customers, think it was result of the heat an been really busy, we were eating late so it was calming down a bit and eventually she started to smile. Lets just say they don't cut back on portion size, enjoyed the meal.


 Part two to follow (days 3 & 4)