Berliinin matkakertomus
Day One: 16.2.2025
Our flight from Oulu to Helsinki was originally scheduled for 9:40 am. However, the previous evening we received a text message informing us that the flight had been canceled due to a Finnair strike. Fortunately, a follow-up message quickly arrived, rescheduling our flight to 11:15 am. That’s some extra sleep, yay!
The check-in and security checks went smoothly, despite it being my first time flying. That being said, our seats were scattered during the reschedule and I couldn’t sit with my companions. Thankfully the passengers next to me were quiet and didn’t smell bad. Plus, there was an adorable toddler in the row ahead, making my first flight even better.
We had one stopover at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, where our next flight was scheduled for 5:35 pm, giving us about 5 hours of free time. We ate at Burger King and explored the airport, which was fancy compared to Oulu’s. I used the free time to do some schoolwork and watch YouTube.
Upon arriving in Berlin and collecting our luggage, we took a train to Ostkreuz Station, about 2 km away from our hotel. We walked from the station to the hotel, while admiring the city.
I was surprised by the amount of graffiti and trash on the streets, which was much more than in Finland.
At the hotel, we dropped our stuff in our rooms and then went to eat at a nearby kebab place. The food was good, the staff was friendly, and it was cheaper than in Finland. A nice way to end the day!
Day two:
We didn’t have plans for day two, so everyone slept for as long as they wanted. At ten o’clock in the morning everyone had woken up and five of us went to get breakfast at a local grocery store, since our hotel rooms didn’t include breakfast. Like the kebab place, the store was also cheaper here than in Finland, and I bought some sort of a hazelnut doughnut thing, some bread, butter, a yoghurt and three energy drinks.
It cost a bit under 11€, which was not bad at all. At twelve everyone had eaten, we decided to walk through the city to the Berlin wall. On the way we made some detours at a secondhand shop, a shopping mall and the Mercedes Benz arena.
After seeing everything we wanted to, we started walking back to our hotel a different route, so that we would get to see more of the city. In total we walked in between seven to eight kilometers, so it felt nice to get to the hotel. At the hotel I did schoolwork and watched YouTube, before going to sleep.
Day three
Today we woke up early and went to buy Welcome to Berlin cards, which would give us free access to public transportation and to museums on Museum Island. It also included discounts at almost 200 of their partners’ stores. After getting the tickets we went straight to Museum Island, but for some reason the police had closed off some bridges, roads and metro stations around there. Thankfully though, people were still allowed to go to the island via a different route and visited three of the museums there. We decided to go eat after, and I ate three very delicious doughnuts from Dunkin’.
After eating, we went to Berliner Dom which I was most excited about, and not without reason. My expectations were definitely met when I saw and stepped inside the cathedral. It was beautiful and is definitely worth a visit if you ever come to Berlin.
We also climbed to the top of the cathedral where an amazing view of central Berlin awaited us. Definitely worth the 250 steps up and down. After seeing both of these places and a lot of other cool buildings in the city, we headed back to the hotel, satisfied with this day. Back at the hotel I did the same things as yesterday, I rested and did schoolwork.
Day four
On the fourth day in Berlin, a Wednesday, we visited some more museums on the museum island.
They were pretty cool, but it started to get boring seeing the same sculptures and clay vases again and again. The Dome Museum building itself was amazing, especially on the inside.
But the day was pretty much the same as yesterday. We ate and walked a lot, after which, we went to rest at the hotel. It was still fun to stroll around the city and see the people and buildings of Berlin. I feel like the people are a bit taller and dress differently compared to Finland.
Day five
On Thursday we visited Berlin Story Bunker, which is a museum about the first and second world wars and Hitler, built into a bunker of those times. It was definitely a more interesting topic than the ones we had visited before, and two hours went by swiftly.
After we were done with the museum, we ate pizza and then walked to The Mall of Berlin. It was very big, and I got a haircut there.
Because of BVG’s strike we couldn’t use the metro system we used yesterday, so we had to use the S-Bahn. It means the trains that go on top of the ground. On our way back, we met an older gentleman who had been an exchange student in Finland. He recognized us speaking Finnish and he also knew it surprisingly well.
Day six:
On day six we wanted to go shopping for souvenirs and personal mementos. After checking the shops close to the hotel, we hadn’t found anything worth buying, so we decided to go to the East side Mall, which we had visited on day two. I bought a pair of jeans and some souvenirs to take home. Other than shopping we didn’t do much, but the mall was over two and a half kilometers away from the hotel, so after walking there and back, plus some extra steps from everywhere else, we were exhausted and just chilled at the hotel.
Day seven
This day was the last day. It was pretty much the same as day one but in reverse, but this time the flights were less packed and both times I got a whole row to myself. That meant I got to sit in the window seat, yay! We also recycled all of the empty cans we had accumulated during the trip and ate at the same kebab place as day one.
Summary
This one-week trip to Berlin was so much fun! We visited many museums and malls, and got to see so much of the city, because we walked a lot from one place to another. The city was massive compared to the cities in Finland. I learned a lot about the people, history, culture and architecture there. And despite this being my first trip on this scale, everything went smoothly. I got to experience traveling in an airplane, metro and a train, as well as staying in a hotel for the very first time in my life. After going on this incredible trip to Berlin and realizing how much fun traveling is, I can say that this won’t be the last trip I will make. Where should I go next?
