Travel Journal: Berlin (Germany) – Meeting Friends & Playing Poker

Last year, my girlfriend and I drove to Berlin for a weekend. I had won a seat in a poker tournament and this is why we decided to go to Berlin. Normally, I do not like our capital that much and I would not go there for a trip. On the other hand, there are also some friends of mine living in Berlin.

We drove there on Thursday and arrived late at our hotel. We stayed at the Berlin Marriott Hotel and our room was great:

https://www.tripadvisor.de/Hotel_Review-g187323-d276043-Reviews-Berlin_Marriott_Hotel-Berlin.html

After driving to Berlin for a while, we were tired and just walked a little bit. The Sony Center was decorated for Christmas and they even had an ice rink:

https://www.tripadvisor.de/Attraction_Review-g187323-d4781598-Reviews-Sony_Center-Berlin.html

For dinner, we just had a burger at Burgermeister:

https://www.tripadvisor.de/Restaurant_Review-g187323-d23125400-Reviews-Burgermeister_Potsdamer_Platz-Berlin.html

The next day, we did some shopping for Christmas. I did not take many photos and tried to concentrate on poker for later that day. We had a great meal at Viet Bowl next to the casino, before it was time for me to enter the tournament. Like I mentioned, I won the buy in on Instagram. First, here is the food at Viet Bowl:

https://www.tripadvisor.de/Restaurant_Review-g187323-d17441225-Reviews-Viet_Bowl-Berlin.html

Here are some impressions of the Spielbank (casino) in Berlin:

Screenshot 2026-01-14 at 14-05-30 Instagram.png

https://www.tripadvisor.de/Attraction_Review-g187323-d606037-Reviews-Casino_Berlin-Berlin.html

I managed to make it to the second day of the tournament, however, I busted before there was any money to grab. This is not too bad because I had more time to spend with my girlfriend. We also met with an American friend of mine, who is living in Berlin now. We met at our hotel, where I ate a snack and we drank a beer. The lobby and the bar are amazing!

We then decided to walk to a brewery called BRLO. The beer was tasty, however, the service was not too great. The food was delicious though! Here are the impressions from our walk and the brewery: