That Time I Did a 28-Day European Bus Tour — Part 13 (Dresden and Berlin)

This article will cover Days 24–25 of the tour

To those of you who have been following my adventures, thanks for your patience. Here is a link to Part 12 of my story, in case you haven’t read it:

That Time I Did a 28-Day European Bus Tour — Part 12 (Mauthausen and Prague)

On Day 24, we will be travelling from Prague, across the German border to Dresden, which will be a little under two hours, seeing the highlights of Dresden and then getting back on the bus and travelling for another two hours to Berlin, where we will be staying for two nights, before heading on to Amsterdam for a further two nights (on Day 26) before heading back to London via Belgium and France (on Day 28).

So we are getting towards the end of the journey now. But we are not done yet.

As usual, we got up, went through our morning routine, had breakfast, got on the bus and then left. Once again, I don’t remember much about the journey. But I think we arrived in Dresden around the middle of the day.

Dresden is an 800-year-old city that was basically destroyed in WWII and then rebuilt. We did a walking tour of the city, checked out the sights and then (I don’t quite remember but I think it was in the early afternoon) had some lunch, which was currywurst and chips (fries).

I don’t think I took any pictures while I was there (I must not have had my camera on me) but it was basically German sausage with a curry sauce with a side of fries. It looked something like this:

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

I remember having a choice from 1 to 7, where 1 had no spice and 7 was very spicy, and I think I chose a 3, which felt about right.

Then after lunch, we got back on the bus and travelled to Berlin. I think we arrived in the late afternoon. But before we went to the place we were staying at, we did a tour around the historical sites, which would have included the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and The Brandenburg Gate.

I think this might be a remnant of the Berlin Wall. Photo by author

Photo by author

Photo by author

I think this might be the Berlin Wall today. Photo by author

I don’t remember the chain of events too accurately but I guess after we had finished sightseeing for the day, I believe we went to the hostel, got ready for dinner, went somewhere for dinner and and enjoyed the evening.

Then on Day 25, we got up, had breakfast and then continued to experience Berlin.

The Brandenburg Gate. Photo by author

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Photo by author

It was around this time that we had an election in Australia, so a few of us decided to vote. We headed to the Australian Embassy to do just that. The experience wasn’t overly exciting but it was something that I can say that I’ve done.

I live in Canberra, the capital city of Australia and the embassies in Canberra are nothing like the embassies in Europe. Probably because in European cities, land is scarce and expensive.

I think this may have been where the Australian Embassy was. Photo by author

I think some of us went to McDonalds for lunch. I don’t remember too much else but when we had finished sightseeing we returned to the hostel and relaxed until it was time for dinner.

View of Berlin from what I think was the rooftop of the hostel. Photo by author

Then we went to dinner to a place that sold typical German food, like pork knuckles and German beer.

Dinner. Photo by author

Dinner. Photo by author

I remember doing a pub crawl but I can’t remember if that was on Day 24 or 25. I think it was on Day 25. Either way, it was an enjoyable night but I don’t think it really adds a lot to the story if I go into it.

And then I think we went to bed quite late.

Then on Day 26, we got up, had breakfast and got ready for leave for Amsterdam.

If you enjoyed my story and want to read my other stories click on the link here.

Thanks for reading,

Gary