I walked along the Tauentzienstraße and Kurfürstendamm and into shops, including the famous KaDeWe (pronounced Ca De Ve), which was the main shopping centre in West Berlin. I found some cool boots (that I didn’t buy as I couldn’t ever see me wearing them at home), and the Gedächtniskirche. The Kurfürstendamm (colloquially Ku’damm) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. This very broad, long boulevard is sometimes considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin, lined as it is with shops, houses, hotels and restaurants. The Kurfürstendamm was the main shopping street in West Berlin when the city was divided. The Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church) is located in Berlin on the Kurfürstendamm in the centre of the Breitscheidplatz. The original church on the site w... read more

Leaving Alexanderplatz, we went past the Berlin Dom (Cathedral), that was under restoration. Unfortunately it was pouring at the time, I didn’t have the time to go back later, but my memory says that it was pretty spectacular in 1988 the last time I was in Berlin. The next stop was the Brandenburg Gate. Last time I was here, I was standing in West Berlin, looking at a wall in front of the gate. It was so good to see the wall gone, and to be able to walk easily from the Western to the Eastern sides. Whilst I was there, I also wandered for a short period through the Tiergarten park across the road from the gate, and looked over to the Reichstag Building (Parliament).... read more

Arriving in Germany was pretty cool – as in cold! There was snow!! The average temp for the day was only 4C / 39F. I spent the day on a hop-on-hop-off bus around Berlin and saw the following sights: Brandenburg Gate Charlottenburg Tauentzienstraße and Kurfürstendamm Checkpoint Charlie East Side Gallery After dark I headed to the markets at: Alexander Platz Potsdamer Platz I did 17,401 steps on my pedometer.... read more

I love window shopping in foreign cities, just to see what’s different between my local shops at home, and the shops where I’m visiting. These beanies (Australian for wooly hats) looked very warm, but very kitchy touristy, and I doubt I would ever see the need to wear one at home in Sydney. I have never seen cranberries in a bag fresh before! (I’ve only seen them dried, as a juice, or as a jelly for meats (like turkey) – I don’t think anyone here grows them…) And our oranges come with the stems removed. I just loved the colours of the wool and the fabrics in this shop, so I bought some fabric for my quilting. I didn’t buy any wool, but I wish I had.... read more

Getting up this morning it was quite cold and damp. I did some wandering until the rain set in. Areas around my hotel (my room was the upper dormer window on the right hand side of the white building, and while the location was great, I won’t stay there again) Central Brugge with typical building architecture More canals including the main canal that goes to the sea Central Markt area The Belfort ... read more