For our final day in Berlin, we decided to do something familiar and something new. After having such a pleasant time on our previous visit to Holzmarkt 25, we decided it was well worth another visit.

For something new, we thought we’d make the most of the lovely sunny weather, by going for walk along the Landwehr Canal through Kreuzberg.

Heading back to Holzmarkt 25

As I mentioned, we really enjoyed pottering around on our first visit to Holzmarkt 25, so we thought it’d be nice to return there for another wander and a bit of lunch.

Getting there was a largely similar route to how I got there the first time. Though this time I continued along Karl-Marx-Allee for longer than previously. This meant using the super-wide parking protected cycle lane, which is really pleasant to ride along.

At Strausberger Platz, I passed some construction work on the cycle path, then turned right onto Lichtenberger Straße, which has lanes with some light protection. I then reached Holzmarktstraße, where I turned left and arrived at Holzmarkt 25.

As usual, the others took public transport to get there, so I met them outside Holzmarkt 25 and we headed in. With the sun shining down, we grabbed some toasted sandwiches from the bakery and ate our lunch, facing the river.

This was such a lovely spot to stop and take a break, watching the world go by on the river. Having enjoyed so much, we moved on to pasties and coffee before moving onto our next destination.

Riding over to Kreuzberg

Once we were done at Holzmarkt 25, we decided to make our way over to Kreuzberg for a wander. Once again, I got on a Nextbike while the others took public transport.

Crossing the river, I continued along Engeldamm, through Mariannenplatz and onto Mariannenstraße. At this stage, it was designated a cycle street and seemed quite quiet in terms of traffic, so it was alright to cycle on. Towards the end, there was a diverted cycle lane as well.

At Kottbusser Tor, I went for a wander around the area. Taking in some of the cycling infrastructure in the area, which varied from painted cycle lanes, to wand-protected lanes and footway-level cycle paths.

While riding round, I got to see some of the local street art, which definitely adds to the area’s character. I also saw plenty cycle parking in the area, with some pretty interesting bikes parked up.

Map

Wandering along the Landwehr Canal

Once I met up with the others, we set off on a walk along the Landwehr Canal, a 10.7 km long canal, that runs parallel to the River Spree. Opening in 1850, the canal runs east to west, connecting to the Spree at either end.

Walking along the canal, there’s plenty to see, in terms of interesting buildings and spots to stop at, such as the popular Admiralbrücke bridge. I particularly liked the interesting looking apartment blocks overlooking the canal with their balconies.

There’s some really pleasant green spaces along the canal, with plenty of people making the most of the sunshine and relaxing in the late afternoon. There were also boats zipping along the canal, which looked like lots of fun.

Walking along the Landwehr Canal was such a great way to spend out last afternoon. It was another example of the many fantastic green spaces that the residents of Berlin have access to.

Heading back to our Airbnb home

Coming to the end of our walk, it was time to head back to our Airbnb home to collect our stuff. Hopping onto a Nextbike for the final time, I cycled on a familiar route along Prinzenstraße and Heinrich-Heine-Straße, reaching Mühlendammbrücke bridge.

From there, it was a short ride down Alexanderstraße and a few turns before reaching my destination on Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße.

Map

Heading home

So after our weeks in Helsinki and Berlin, it was time to make our way to Berlin Brandenburg Airport, to catch out flight back to Manchester. After having such fantastic times in both cities, we were really very sad to be leaving.

So that’s the last of the Berlin 23 posts. I’ve really enjoyed revisiting what we did on this trip, looking at all the photos and videos I took, taking in the places we went and the cycling I did.

In both cities, I was pleasantly surprised by easy it was to get about by bike. While neither is up to the standard of a typical Dutch city, they’re both significantly better than anywhere in the UK, including London.

Now that I’ve finished our Berlin trip, I’ll be moving on to our 2024 trips to Paris and The Netherlands, so be sure to come back soon!

More Berlin 23 posts

• Back again in Berlin
• Top of Berliner Fernsehturm, Berlin’s TV Tower
• A rainy Sunday in Mauerpark
• Riding around Mitte and Tiergarten
• Stasi Museum
• Holzmarkt 25
• Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße
• Fat Tire Tour of Berlin
• A long wait for a kebab and a ride on an old runway at Tempelhofer Feld
• DDR Museum
• Back at Tempelhofer Feld
• Back at Holzmarkt 25 and a wander along the Landwehr Canal