UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Beauty
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

BERLIN FINDS: Boat Tour & Museum Island

July 30, 2022

After LEGO DISCOVERY CENTRE and a quick sugar bump from GIMME GELATO, we rushed to Museum Insel to try to catch a boat tour. It’s one of the things that I regretted not doing during our posting in Berlin from 2013 to 2016 so it was in our Berlin 2022 wishlist!

We wanted to do the Museum Insel 1hr tour which costed €18.90 for each adult. It goes by the following:

  • Reichstag
  • Government district
  • House of World Cultures
  • Bellevue Palace
  • Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom)
  • Museum Island
  • Humboldt Forum (Berlin Palace)

They have many different kinds of tours, some lasting up to 5.5 hrs! Personally I thought it was long enough & packed with so much interesting information already.

PARKING

We parked by the Berliner Dom. See where these cars are below? Thankfully because it was a weekday, there was parking! Just be sure to prepay for your parking & make sure it’s an actual parking space so your car doesn’t get locked.

Then we legged it from MUSEUM INSEL to the the Stern und Kreisschiffahrt station near Museum Insel & finally got a fabulous view of the iconic Berliner Fernsehturm.

If you aren’t going by car, here are some tips for getting around Berlin by public transport. Recently they had the 9 euro ticket per month to encourage people to start using public transport again as we recover from the pandemic, but I don’t know for how long they can do this. Prices of tickets change with time and everything that’s going on in the world.

TICKET BOOTH

There was a long line for tickets and into the boat when we arrived at the Stern und Kreisschiffahrt Nikolaiviertel station. So DiploBaby, Tess & I lined up for the boat while TD and Alex lined up for tickets. There was a bit of an issue because they wanted to give us unclaimed tickets to close out their sales for the day so we were one of the last ones to board. I wasn’t able to take a good photo of the ticket station itself because of the crowd so here’s a good one from Google Maps taken by Jürgen Hödl for those of you who want to go there in the future.

image via Jürgen Hödl on Google Maps

Personally I would recommend buying your tickets online so you don’t need to line up at the ticket stall, but we weren’t sure we could make the last tour of the day so for us it was better to physically buy tickets. We are happy we made it!

THE BOAT

You can choose between staying on top of the boat – which we did – or underneath – which our friends did because A wasn’t able to put on any sunblock. The difference is that underneath is shaded, there are tables & you can easily order drinks. The only problem is your photos will have some reflections from the glass windows, unless you open the window.

AUDIO GUIDES

We were able to grab nice seats in front, but we weren’t able to get the audio guide that translates into English from the servers downstairs. One of us should have lined up for the audio guide & the other reserved chairs up top.

The tour is in German or Deutsch so if you don’t speak that, you can get one of these audio guides wherein you can choose the language.

We were so lucky that our seatmates – a Catholic Group who were there for a Christian concert – were so generous & gave us 2 of theirs.

These audio guides are essential to truly appreciate the boat tour because it tells us about the history & importance of the beautiful buildings that we saw during the tour.

PHOTOBLOG

Berlin is such a beautiful city – a wonderful mix between new & old. I even find the street art beautiful. I hope that you enjoy the photos I took of the important & historic buildings around the Museum Island. I wont give to much of the interesting information away because I really think a boat tour is a must experience when you visit Berlin. There are many all over the different stops in the River Spree.

More on the Berliner Dom or Berlin Cathedral at the end of this post.

The Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus in the Government District is so striking and modern!

The Futurium has sides that look & transform in the light like scales. It houses interactive exhibits on important environmental issues for our future, like climate, housing, food & technology.

The 3XN Cube Berlin is such a striking & beautiful building. I loved photographing it! It claims to be “Europe’s smartest multi-tenant office – in a sculpture.”

The Moltkebrücke is named after Helmuth von Moltke, the chief of the Prussian General Staff from 1857 to 1888.

The German Chancellery is the agency serving the executive office of the chancellor of Germany, the head of the federal government, currently Olaf Scholz. The Chancellery’s primary function is to assist the chancellor in coordinating the activities of the federal government. source

The House of World Cultures, looks like an open shell and was nicknamed the “die Schwangere Auster“ or “the pregnant oyster.” I distinctly remember attending a party there with a Brazilian diplofriend and having a blast.

At a certain point the boat makes a U-turn & you see the same buildings from another angle, which I thought was really cool. We also learned more about them on the audio guide. So the following pics are the same buildings from the opposite angle. Please enjoy!

The Bode Museum is a gorgeous riverside museum that is on a junction. One of the 5 museums in Museum Insel or Museum Island.

The Alte Nationalgalerie or National Gallery is behind these columns.

Going back to the station we go under the Friedrichs Bridge again.

Here we see the modern side of the Berlin Palace or Humbolt Forum. The Humboldt Promenade is a nice place to relax by the River Spree.

Taking phots as we patiently wait for the rest of the people to disembark from the boat.

There’s the closed Stern und Kreisschiffahrt ticket booth.

This is the underside of where we sat. Here they have tables for easily enjoy your drink but of course most of the people opted to sit up top to maximize the summer sunshine. Be sure to put on high SPF sunblock when doing the boat tour.

We saw there were many other types of boat tours in the Spree so it’s all about which stop you want to take, how long, which parts of the Spree and the experience itself. For example we saw some that had nice tables and chairs on top. I think next time I will look for this type so we can enjoy a drink while we are at it.

This is the reconstructed side of the Berlin Palace or Humbolt Forum. I remember when this was still under construction we had a WIB tour of the Humbolt Box where you can donate money for the reconstruction. It was a very expensive endeavor.

BERLINER DOM

Also known as the Berlin Cathedral, this impressive 1800s cathedral has an organ with 7,000 pipes, royal tombs & a tall dome for city views. I have been on a tour of this magnificent structure with the Willkommen in Berlin ladies & highly recommend it. The dome is quite a climb so be prepared but it’s so worth it. You can book your tickets here.

The scale of this place is just mind boggling!

PERGAMON MUSEUM

For me the Pergamon Museum is a Berlin favorite for a reason. It’s truly a masterpiece. The Great Altar of Pergamon from around 170 BC, Ishtar Gate & Market Gate of Miletus are unforgettable highlights for me.

I wish we had time to take DiploBaby into the museums, but maybe when he is a little older to appreciate it. We are just so happy our family got to spend time and make memories with our good friends Tess and Alex.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it encourages you to visit Berlin, one of the most underrated & the most affordable of EU capitals.

TO SEE THE REST OF OUR TRIP PLEASE
READ: OUR BERLIN 2022 VISIT ITINERARY

Stern und Kreisschiffahrt Boat Tour

+49305363600
tours • online booking
Open daily 10:30am–4:30pm
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 1a, 10178 Berlin, Germany

MUSEUM INSEL

Small island in the Spree River, home to a unique ensemble of 5 renowned museums.
Museum Island, Berlin, Germany

Leave a Comment · berlin to do, Germany

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

TRAVEL DIARIES: Fischer’s Fritz Zürich

Summer hack: Portable Neck Fan

Summer hack: Leguano Barefoot Wet/Dry Shoes

Excellent Chinese Food at Le Tsé Fung in La Réserve

AirPod Anti-lost Accessories Philippines

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.