Bucket List Agenda:
#TropicalIsland #History
In July 2018, we flew out to Berlin following all the social media buzz about the Tropical Island hanger.
As first impressions go, I found Berlin to be sterile when compared with the likes of Croatia. In hindsight, I wasn’t comparing apples with apples so to speak.
We arrived late on the saturday and immediately checked in to the Grand Hyatt hotel. Having never stayed in a ‘posh’ hotel before, I was suitably impressed to wake up in high end luxury on the morning of my 31st Birthday. Being as young as you feel, I still felt 26. In the morning we had bagels, giant pretzels and set of for the day.
First we visited what remains of the wall. We then found check point charlie. We also saw the Reichstag building and the Brandenburg gate. If you have never been to Berlin before and simply want to see the ‘tourist’ best bits, you can probably do them in 4 hours.
Best bit of advice on behalf of Mark – download the moovit app. After all the walking was done, and I mean done, it was time to get the train to Brand station where the Tropical Island shuttle runs from. We spent 15 minutes in a queue at HBF and we were then faced with the reality of having to leg it up what felt like 3 billion flights of stairs to find a platform amongst what felt like a scene from Labyrinth. All that was missing was Bowie.
So – we arrived in Brand and it was on to the Tropical Island. Jesus. Place is hot. No joke. It’s like some person had a genius idea to heat a tin can and then call it a tropical island, charge €4.50 for the worlds smallest bottle of water and hype it all up whilst sitting back and raking in the cash….oh wait… that is EXACTLY what someone did. Place was amazing, don’t get me wrong. Novel idea. Pretty cool. Bucket list for sure.
On arrival to the island you find out they do not deal in cash. Like Disney – you get a wristband. They give you €250 euro on it unless you request more. Check your spend regularly at one of the many booths around the entrance and don’t go wild. You will sharp notice a spend when the dehydration sets in. We ventured off to the room and we were suitably impressed, although don’t expect air-con.
Wandering around the place, we were suitably impressed by the sheer size of the place to be honest. I knew it was a disused hanger, but still it was pretty big. It is split into ‘areas’. Again very much like Disney ‘themed’ lands but on a smaller scale.
Next bit of advice = visit the spa. We decided to go and have couples massages and use the saunas. It was the highlight of the trip.
The spa itself has a series of saunas, and you will learn sharpish if you didn’t already know that the Germans are in no way shy when it comes to their bodies. We spent the rest of the evening post-massage in the saunas.
Outside of the island is where you will find a lazy river, pool and sun loungers along with a man-made sandy beach used for various outdoor activities. It’s like Butlins – in Germany. It was an awesome place. I can see why so many people seemed to be on family holidays as there was a fair bit you could do and you didn’t have to stay inside the island. Other options were available near by like lodges with a shuttle taking you back and forth.
The island itself was quite pricey but like most places and like we have stated before – once you are in the door – they’ve got you. Just watch your spend and take snacks if you have the bag space.
After spending a night in the Tropical Island, the next day we took an afternoon train (which turned out to be a double decker – amazing) back to Berlin to a different area for our final night. We stayed at the Riu Plaza. It was as expected from a Riu and the only down side was the duvet situation – two single duvets rather than a bigger one to share. Weird. European I imagine but still…strange.
Next up – The ZOO! As standard with any of our trips away we had to visit the zoo as we just simply love a zoo. Berlin Zoo did not disappoint and was easy to walk to from the RIU as it was about 30 mins down the road and round the corner. Well planned if we do say so ourselves. We also managed to find my Thomas Sabo charm as well so that was an added bonus, although pricier than expected. Be prepared that the pandas will most likely be sleeping when you hit up the zoo. They are always sleeping.
Overall, Berlin was amazing. Reflecting back on it now the city has so much history that when you are actually there and present it was all a bit too much in a way. The Tropical Island was obviously a novelty as well don’t get me wrong and we loved every minute. Walking around Berlin you can’t help but feel the tragedy. Obviously there are reminders as you would expect but I have never visited a place with history like it before. Walking around Berlin from the new to the old, you are still hit with the reality of what happened many years ago. It was a very different city break when it came down to it.
This post doesn’t cover everything we covered over the few days we were in Berlin, there is so much more to each ‘area’ and that includes shopping. We chose to see what we could in such a short time, but we would both really recommend the Tropical Island. It was an amazing experience and something you would only do once.
Links
- Tropical Islands – Berlin: https://www.tropical-islands.de/en/sauna-spa/sauna/
- Grand Hyatt Hotel: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/germany/grand-hyatt-berlin/bergh
- Hotel Riu Plaza: https://www.riu.com/en/hotel/germany/berlin/hotel-riu-plaza-berlin/
Things to See – The Free Stuff:
- The Wall: There are pieces of the wall dotted around Berlin. It once ran round the Brandenburg Gate. We ventured to Niederkirchnerstraße which is now know for the Topography of Terror.
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe: A very sobering exerience and one that puts life in perspective.
- The Berlin Bears: Buddy Bears are fibreglass life-size painted bears dotted around the city. Wander for 20minutes and you will definately find more than just one.
- Brandenburg Gate: One of the top tourist spots. Well worth a visit, but make sure that it isn’t cordoned off for the world cup when you do go unlike us!
- Reichstag Building: Another must see. Just for the architecture. Once there, go rund the back and take a walk along the more scenic route of this area – the riverside. The Dome also has a restaurant with a gorgeous view. Ideal for a bloggers breakfast however again, make sure there isn’t something on when you go that means the restaurant is shut to the public – unlike us!
- Checkpoint Charlie: Worth a quick stop just remember your money if you want your passports stamped.
Trip Particulars:
- Flights: Our flights were booked in December for flights in July. They came in at £39 return per person. We flew with EasyJet.
- Tropical Island: Again this was booked in advance. We paid the equivalent of €240 for one night in the internal hotel section of the Hanger. These rooms are situated on the far left inside the dome. They have no air conditioning so be advised to open a window. Current prices at writing this are sitting at €260 for the same room.
- Hotel Riu Plaza: We only paid £75 for 1 night. This was not booked far in advance and was a last minute decision. Had we researched more we would have chosen a different area to explore.
- Train Prices: The trains in Berlin and throughout Europe are extremely reasonable so we have found when you compare it to what you get for your money at home. We paid the equivalent of €21 for the train to Brand (One stop to change) and the same on the way back.
- Spends: If you aren’t going to the Tropical Island then we would always budget for £100per person per day for a shorter trip. This leaves more than enough for souvenirs and for treats (new trainers for example). If you are going to the Tropical Island then I would budget for alot more. Our Sauna and massage experience did not come cheap but check prices prior to travel.
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