Atlanta to Berlin

Atlanta to Berlin

Day 1/2: Atlanta to Paris via London

Our first few days would be used to get from Atlanta to Berlin to begin our vacation. We arrived at Heathrow Airport and took the first train to Kings Cross/St Pancras station in London. Fortunately, we had about 3 hours to burn so we grabbed a bite to eat and walked around the St Pancras station.

This is a beautifully restored building. It is in the first scene of the travel show by Michael Portillo “Great Continental Railway Journeys”. Approximately, 1 hour before the Eurostar train was to leave, we checked in for our trip to Paris. We arrived in Paris around 8 PM and met up with our daughter that was working as an Au-pair there.

Day 3: Paris to Berlin via Frankfurt

We would be returning to Paris on the way home. So we used our Eurail passes and took an early train to Frankfurt to visit the Christmas Market. When I lived in Frankfurt, it was one of the things I did every year. The market is a great place to meet locals and enjoy great food and drinks. We walked from the Westend station down the Zeil to the market at the Rathaus around the corner from Hauptwache. We enjoyed some bratwurst, potato cakes and the beauty that is old Frankfurt.

Alt Sachsenhausen

Stomachs full and ready for more walking, we visited Alt Sachsenhausen. This area is full of restaurants and pubs and was a regular hangout for me when I was there. Many of the great pubs were gone. Sadly, the original Irish Pub was destroyed by a fire in 1994. The owner opened a new pub around the corner called O’Dwyers Irish Pub. Unfortunately, it was closed when we were there. However, I knew that the Anglo Saxon would be open, and it would be ready to serve a pint of Guinness for a thirsty traveler.

We walked around a little more and headed to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof for our train to Berlin. We arrived mid-evening in Berlin and checked into the Meininger Hotel at the Hauptbahnhof. It was a decent hostel with a family room for 4 people.

Day 4: Berlin

The hotel had a great continental breakfast buffet. Since we pack light and laundry can be an issue, we planned on doing 1 quick load of laundry. Unfortunately, the washer and dryer were small and forced us to do two loads. We ended up only heading out of the hotel at about noon to see Berlin on foot. We spent 6+ hours walking to old East Berlin, Brandenburg Gate, and Checkpoint Charlie.

Although we debated staying another night in Berlin then heading to Warsaw the next day. The trip to Warsaw would have used a good portion of our daytime hours, we decided to take a train that night to Warsaw.