gardens of the world
Gushes of wind smashed in our faces. Trees rustled and clothes flapped. “I wonder if they’ll shut it temporarily.” “Shut what?” She asked. “The cable car. Their website said it can be closed in bad weather.” “It’s not that bad.”
Berlin is massive. The journey from one side to another on public transportation takes a while. Clouds were dark, and wind still howled when we stopped off the final bus along with another couple. They walked in front of us, and I soon knew we had the same destination. Google Maps gave incorrect directions and led us astray twice. We passed by a large gate, and I wondered what that place was. It was the cable car station. We were inside one a few minutes later.
It slowly moved and lifted us upwards. My stomach dropped when I looked down. Our cable car tilted, pressured by strong winds. The views were beautiful. Lush green trees, a small lake, a red bridge, and sheep on the graze. The cable car continued to rise higher until it brought us to the middle stop.
We stepped out on the hill and found an unusual landmark. A 35-meter-tall tower with a novel design. We headed upstairs, and wind howled through its steel steps with holes in between. The views from the top were breathtakingly beautiful. We spent several minutes and took photos from different angles. Berlin looked vast and beautiful. The Alexanderplatz tower was still visible. Unlike in other parts of the city, it was quite far in distance.
Our walk towards Chinese Garden was fruitless and ended at a closed gate. We walked back nearly a mile, walked a long chain of stairs, and stepped into a cable car again to continue the journey downwards. After we exited the cable car, we had to scan our tickets to gain entry to the gardens. My wife went in, but my tickets failed to scan. I tried several times, but all it gave back was red. A group of visitors arrived, and they scanned their tickets on a bigger gate which opened sideways. The lady stepped inside, and I took the opportunity to do the same. That wasn’t like me, which made me smile.
The beautiful gardens were spread across a big terrain. I was already hungry but continued towards the Chinese gardens. We took more pictures along the way and talked endlessly. The cable cars floated above our heads and were captured in the background of several pictures. Chinese garden was worth the walk, with beautiful landmarks and a large pond with ducks. Then we headed towards Christian Garden, English Garden, and more until our feet hurt and our stomachs growled. We still wanted more. The Japanese and Korean gardens were in one direction and Muslim gardens in another. When it comes to gardens, how could I say no to Japanese style?
Both of those gardens were incredible. We walked through their small paths and slow waterfalls. When I look back, we should’ve sat down and soaked in their beauty. But hunger overpowered everything. It actually hurt. On the outside, I noticed a small stall with Pommes on the menu. We waited in line, ordered Pommes, then waited again to collect them and walked over towards benches in the distance. We sat and devoured them with mayonnaise. A middle-aged couple played football with their 6-year-old. A little girl of maybe two ran around with her dad in a different direction. Families had brought their picnic materials. They sat with leisure, ate food, and played games. The park was massive, and there were enough people to make it full of life. But not too many to call it crowded.
The bus took us to S-Marzahn. We walked upstairs to East Side Mall and followed the bridge into the station. Then S41 from Ostkreuz brought us to Jemeitches restaurant. Half chicken Mandy and full Chicken Madfoon. It was better than expected. Chicken melted in my mouth, and rice made it even better. Only a few couples were in, and that made the experience even better. We tried hard but couldn’t finish our food. It would become lunch the day after.
We arrived back home after beautiful memories and dozens of pictures with cinematic lush green backdrops. Gardens of the World was better than I had anticipated. I’d definitely do it again.