Business trip: Berlin, Germany 1/3

Helsinki, 4 degrees




Nobody had forgotten anything here. In Berlin, you had to wrestle with the past, you had to build on the ruins, inside them.

Now, in the beginning of March, I visited Berlin because of ITB Berlin - the World's Leading Travel Trade Show. 175 000 visitors during the five-day show – that is what ITB Berlin is all about! During March 4-8, 2015 a stunning amount of 10 096 exhibitors from 186 countries, of which more than two-thirds were from outside Germany, were represented in 26 display halls which were fully booked. Overall, some 115 000 trade visitors traveled to Berlin, and I was one of them. It was my first time in Berlin so it was very exciting!

Nyt maaliskuun alussa kävin Berliinissä koska ITB Berlin -matkailumessut olivat siellä. ITB Berlin on maailman suurin matkailumessutapahtuma, joka tänä vuonna kokosi 175 000 kävijää viiden päivän aikana. 186 maata olivat edustettuina messuilla, ja Suomi oli tietysti yksi niistä. 

This is the first blog post out of three about my visit to Berlin. In this blog post, I want to introduce the some of the sights I saw during my stay in the city: Friedrichstrasse shopping street, Unter den Linden, Zeughaus, Berliner Fernsehturm, Brandenburger Tor and Checkpoint Charlie. On Friedrichstrasse, I saw two things that caught my attention: Zara's lovely dragonfly dress and Finnish Iittala's glassware and china shop. You can take the girl out of Helsinki, but Helsinki always remains within the girl. My hotel NH Berlin Mitte was located in the district Mitte, which was easy to reach by underground. Even though Berlin has a large underground system, this girl was lost more than once due to its complexity (sometimes one needed to change undergrounds by coming up to ground level before finding another station and going underground again). Berlin definitely taught me that we should never forget our roots as history was present in the city everywhere you went. I will definitely work on that when I talk about Helsinki. I guess we take many things for granted here, but from now on I promise myself to remember how Helsinki became the beautiful capital of Finland.

Tämä on ensimmäinen kolmesta blogkirjoituksesta, jonka haluan kirjoittaa Berliinin vierailustani. Tässä blogikirjoituksessa haluan viedä teidät kaupunkikävelylle Friedrichstrasselle, Unter den Lindenille, Zeughausille, Berliner Fernsehrturmille, Branderburger Torille ja Checkpoint Charlielle. Friedrichstrassella kaksi paikkaa sai huomioni: Zara, koska liikkeen ikkunassa oli ihana sudenkorentomekko, ja Iittalan liike. Kai se niin on, että tytön voi siirtää Helsingistä pois, mutta Helsinki siirtyy aina tämän tytön mukana, mihin ikinä hän sitten liikkuisikaan. Hotellini NH Berlin Mitte sijaitsi Mitten kaupunginosassa, joten sieltä oli helppoa liikkua metrolla. Vaikka Berliinillä on laaja metrojärjestelmä, tämä tyttönen eksyi monta kertaa (koska joskus piti vaihtaessa metrolinjaa palata maantasolle ennen kun pääsi toisen linjan pysäkiltä palaamaan maan alle). Berliini kuitenkin opetti minulle, että meidän ei tulisi koskaan unohtaa menneisyytemme. Historia oli kaupungissa läsnä koko ajan. Tästä lähtien pyrin siis entistä paremmin tuomaan esille miten Helsingistä tuli Suomen pääkaupunki.


Have you been to Berlin, Germany? What impressions did the city give you?

Oletko itse käynyt Berliinissä? Mitä ajatuksia kaupunki herätti sinussa?


What's your opinion?

  1. I saw the dragonfly dress, so lovely! This is a very beautiful post, and also beautiful what you said about Helsinki, to think how it turned to be what Helsinki is, I really liked it! And yes, everywhere you go in Germany the past is there - and I also think it's a good thing, to remember and pay respect to the ones who gave their lives so that many more didn't die... it''s the best I can say, cause it's such a subject... the Fair must have been amazing! I loved your hat! You look beautiful and happy in front of the Brandeburger Tor! I have lived near Berlin for many years, so I normally go to Berlin once a year for decades. It's a city that is linked to me in many ways, so I simply loved reading your post now! Cause this year I haven't gone there yet! Thank you so much for sharing the nice pictures!
    DenisesPlanet,com

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    1. I agree about the dress! I'm glad that you liked the post Denise, it means a lot to me :)

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  2. It is amazing that you are able to travel to so many incredible places. Your pictures are just gorgeous - and so are you! I love that pink hat.
    the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com

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    1. That is the tourism industry for you :) Actually, I think that I don't travel that much. I have some colleagues that are traveling about 200 days of the year so...
      Thank you for your kind compliment! I love all hats <3

      xxx
      E

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  3. Wow! so beautiful <3 , I love You're blog , nice photo's :-) Kissing
    I Follow U maybe You follow me back?

    http://nataliazarzycka.blogspot.com/

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  4. so, did you buy the dress? :P it looks really pretty with those classic heels. and your adventures in Berlin sound like a really good time indeed. I love discovering new cities and towns but have never been to Germany although a couple of years ago we did consider going there. so maybe one day we will. ps. thanks for visiting my blog, Elisabeth. I know my blogging is as inconsistent as possible but I seriously appreciate all the feedback I get.

    Maiken - Part of me

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    1. Not yet, not yet. I didn't have time for shopping in Berlin, and I haven't been to Zara here in Helsinki yet. But if I find it, then sure!

      xxx
      E

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@elisabeth.rundlof