Bus from MARIBOR to BERLIN

Maribor is the second-largest city in Slovenia with about 95,500 inhabitants, it's also the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria and the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor.

Maribor was first mentioned as a market near the castle Castrum Marchburch ("March Castle") in 1204, and received town privileges in 1254. It began to grow rapidly after the victory of Rudolf I of the Habsburg dynasty over King Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. Maribor withstood sieges by Matthias Corvinus in 1480/1481 and by the Ottoman Empire in 1532 and 1683.

Maribor has a humid continental climate, bordering on oceanic climate. Average temperatures hover around zero degrees Celsius during the winter. Summers are generally warm. Average temperatures during the city's warmest month (July) exceed 20 degrees Celsius, which is one of the main reasons for the Maribor wine tradition.

Many historical structures stand in Maribor. Of the remains of city walls surrounding the old downtown, the most prominent are the Judgement Tower, the Water Tower, and the Jewish Tower. Maribor Cathedral was built in the Gothic style in the 13th century. Maribor Synagogue was built in the 14th century, and is the second oldest synagogue of Europe. Today it serves as a centre for cultural activities. Other prominent Medieval buildings are Maribor Castle, Betnava Castle, and the ruins of Upper Maribor Castle on Pyramid Hill. Town Hall was constructed in the Renaissance style, and the Plague Column in the Baroque style.

The city hosts the University of Maribor, established in 1975, and many other schools.

Every June, the two-week Lent Festival (named after the waterfront district called Lent) is held, with hundreds of musical, theatrical and other events. Every year the festival attracts theatre, opera, ballet performers, classical, modern, and jazz musicians and dancers from all over the world, and of course many visitors. There is also mime, magic shows are being held and acrobats perform during the festival.

Maribor is known for wine and culinary specialities of international and Slovene. There are also many popular restaurants with Serbian cuisine. The Vinag Wine Cellar (Vinagova vinska klet), with the area of 20.000 m2 and the length of 2 kilometres, keeps 5,5 millions litres of wine. The house of the oldest grapevine in the world (Hiša stare trte) at Lent grows the world's oldest grapevine, which was in 2004 recorded in Guinness World Records. The grapevine of Žametovka is about 440 years old.

Berlin is the capital, as well as the biggest city in Germany with 3,5 millions citizens. Devided in twelve districts, through Berlin flow rivers Spree and Havel and a lot of smaller streams that can be found at the city territory, in addition to lakes and forests. The city is situated in the mild climate zone between maritime to continental climate. The average temperature in Berlin  amounts to 9,5 °C.

Berlin features 175 museums and has more than 140 theaters, as well as 300 cinemas. There are 4650 restaurants, around 900 pubs and 190 bars and discos, which makes it one of the most captivating tourist destinations worldwide!

The most famous sightseeing attractions in Berlin are the following:

The Brandenburg Gate (das Brandeburger Tor) was built from 1788 to 1791. The classical construction was preserved from time of the German Democratic Republic and was considered a symbol of the Division of Germany.  After the Reunification the Gate gets another meaning and becomes the symbol of the German Unity. At the Brandenburg Gate a famous statue group designed by Johhan Gottfried Schadow decorates its top, the Quadriga.

The Television Tower (Fernsehturm) –situated  in the vicinity of Alexanderplatz, the Television Tower with its height of 368 meters it is the tallest building in Germany. The Tower is visited by more than 1 million tourists every year. When the weather is clear one can enjoy in a spectacular wide view above Berlin and the surrounding area.

Postdam Square (Postdamer Platz) – the modern city center surrounding Postdam Square was rebuilt on a wasteland after the Cold War and the Fall of the Berlin Wall, which made a clear border between East and West Berlin. Today several skyscraper are shapind the skyline above the Postdamer Platz, and  Railway Tower, the Kollhoff Tower and Piano Skyscraper form the entrance gate to the inner city.

The Holocaust Memorial – The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe or the Holocaust Memorial consists of 2711 concrete blocks built (stelae) in honour of the millions of people that were murdered during the time of the National Socialism. Underground of the Memorial’s field of stelae contains  Place of Information (Ort der Information), which documents the persecution and destruction of the European Jews.

The Old Arsenal (Zeughaus) Unter den Linden – it is the oldest building construction at the Boulevard Unter den Linden. The previous Zeughaus was the most extensive armory in the Prussia in the XVIII century, but, during the XX century it was redesigned by the government into the Museum of German History, which presented the collection of the history of Germany.

Central Station (Hauptbanhof) – Berlin Central Station was officially opened in May 2006. From Monday to Sunday, around 80 Shops are opened on different levels of the station. The glass construction and the glass roof represent the distuinguishing feature of the station.

Berlin is one of the most visited centers of national and international city tourism, and with its cuisine and specialities you can experience the perks of Berlin to the utmost.