Imagine yourself in...Berlin.

Why Berlin, you ask? Wasn't I just in Asia?

Since I didn’t send out a full newsletter while I was in Asia, I’m making up for it with a Super King Size edition now.

Why isn't this one all about Vietnam and Cambodia? Well, first of all, even after culling 800 photos, I still have over 1000 Mekong (and Narita) photos, and I’m just not ready to name and show my favorites yet. But the second reason is that, oddly enough, the subject of Berlin came up wile I was in Vietnam. It's a city I've visited several times, so I thought it was high time to feature Berlin in the City Spotlight.

Berlin is one of the world’s great capitals—not only the seat of government, but a culture capital par excellence. The city offers the opportunity to enjoy high-quality musical performances alongside Germany’s fascinating, complex history and a trove of important art treasures. Yet Berlin faces firmly toward the future, with a thriving contemporary art and performance scene. Given the depth of destruction at the end of WWII, and the deprivations of the postwar period in the East, Berlin had almost no choice but to forge ahead purposefully through the second half of the 20th century.

Some of my favorite Berlin cultural highlights:

The Reichstag: Berlin's parliament building was virtually destroyed at the end of World War II but has been carefully restored, leaving celebratory graffiti from Russian soldiers intact. The crowning glory of any Reichstag tour (Mon Voyage will book your visit many months ahead!) is a walk inside Norman Foster's soaring, symbolic glass dome, above.

The DDR Museum: A thoughtfully-presented and sometimes humorous look at life in communist East Berlin. It’s even more interesting after a visit to the Reichstag or the remains of the Berlin Wall. For an even deeper dive into life under the repressive East German regime, head to the Stasi Museum or Checkpoint Charlie. To reflect on the period when the Berlin Wall gave way to more freedoms, as well as many other historical moments, stroll to the Brandenburg Gate.

Speaking of Berlin life in particular, the Berlinische Galerie features works by artists associated with the city in the modern era (20th and 21st c.), from photography to sculpture to architecture and beyond.

You can also find museums devoted to David Hasselhof, The Ramones, and enfant terrible fashion photographer Helmut Newton.

The Pergamon: Important collections of classical antiquities, ancient Near East antiquities, and Islamic art are housed here at the flagship institution of Berlin's Museum Island. Its undisputed treasures are the breathtaking Pergamon Altar and Nebuchadnezzar's fanciful Ishtar Gate.

Museuminsel (Museum Island) is home to several of Berlin's heavy museum hitters. In addition to the Pergamon, the Alte Nationalgalerie is here and features an excellent collection of 19th century painting and sculpture.

The ballerina at the top is relaxing in one of Berlin's loveliest public squares, the Gendarmenmarkt. It's a terrific place to stand and take in your elegant and historic surroundings before venturing over to Museum Island.

Staatsoper Unter den Linden: This is but one of several major opera houses in Berlin! Home to some of the continent's finest ballet and opera productions, the Staatsoper was recently renovated to its historic glory. In addition, opera aficionados will also want to attend ballet or opera performances at Deutsche Opera Berlin and Der Komische Oper, where you can take in cabaret-type shows and musicals as well as opera and operetta.

Music lovers should also not miss the Philharmonie, the controversial-looking but splendid-sounding home to the renowned Berlin Philharmonic; free lunchtime recitals are sometimes held in the foyer.

The country palace of Sanssouci, with its elegant garden and French art collection, makes a fine day trip out of the city as well. 

Though you may first think of beer, sausage, and strudel, Berlin is an international city filled with fine cuisines from the world over. The neighborhood around Savignyplatz, for example, offers a pleasing menu of options, from the very traditional German fare at Dickie Wirtin to French bistro fare to very fine Vietnamese and Thai cuisine.

No matter where your feet carry you in Berlin, keep an eye out for the engraved brass "stumbling stones" that memorialize Holocaust victims on the sidewalks in front of their last freely chosen residence or workplace. These tiny but potent remembrances note the date the victim was deported as well as the camp name; the date and location of their death at the hands of the Third Reich are also listed. Of course, you can also wander among the simple stone blocks of the Shoah Monument, known more formally as the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Some feel it is moving in its grand scale and stark simplicity, while others feel it is lacking and can never be truly adequate. Visit it and reflect on these points of view yourself.

I hope you have enjoyed this small taste of all that Berlin has to offer. Are you intrigued by the idea of a visit to Berlin? It was not on my Small Group Trips survey (which is technically closed but I'll give you one more crack at it HERE). But during my recent trip to Cambodia, and in a few other recent conversations, it seems that a fair number of clients have a strong interest in a Mon Voyage City Break to Berlin in 2025, so it’s definitely on the radar at this point. What do you think? Is this a city you’d like to explore? 

That's the end of Part One of this newsletter! If you'd like to see what trips we are now booking and plotting for late 2024 and into 2025, including a new addition, click below for Part Two.