Berlin

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We were dropped by out driver Wilfried in the Zoo Station in Berlin and made our way to the Circus Hostel, close to Alexanderplatz. The hostel just completed a refurb 3 weeks ago and is fantastic with a wonderful bar area and comfortable rooms - all for €17/night.

We woke up early in the morning to go on a walking tour of the city. Setting ot at 10:30, the tour lasted 8 and a half hours (12 km) and included all major sights of the city including the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Wall, New Synagogue and Checkpoint Charlie as well as a number of other lesser-known sights which our excellent tour guide, Victoria pointed out to us. She was very knowledgeable and her enthsiasm for the City spread to everyone in the group.

In the evening we rested our weary legs in the hostel bar, more like a posh wine bar with a few beers and some fellow members of the tour group we had met earlier in the day - socialising is a highlight of the travelling experience after all!

Saturday we arranged our onward travel, again through the Mitfahrzentrale to Dresden. We then kind of re-traced our steps from yesterday´s tour, spending a bit more time at the places which interested us the most. We visited Potsdammer Platz, which wasn´t on yesterday´s tour - nothing special really, just a load of big buildings and then spent an hour at the Topography of Terror, an open air exhibition along a stretch of the Berlin Wall which documents the rise and fall of National Socialism in Germany, the persecution of minority groups and the Nuremburg trials. All very interesting and provocative.

In the evening we re-visited another place for the walking tour, the Oranienburger Strasse Squat. This for me is the epitomy of Berlin. It is a decaying , graffiti-clad building in the former East Berlin which has been taken over by a group of squatters, who have an open door policy so anyone can visit. They have two bars, an art galley and 2 cinemas and shows how Berlinners have made the best out of a bad situation. For me it was an amazing experience, and emphasised my desire to re-visit Berlin in a few years time.

Our third and final day in Berlin was a lazy one. A lazy morning, followed by Chelsea v West Ham in an Irish bar. Out of guilt for being so lazy we then decided to visit the New Synagogue and look inside. We were both highly disappointed at the entry fee, the the fact that although the outside of the building has been restored to its former gloy, the inside hasn´t entirely and now houses a half-hearted Jewish museum and gallery. Although disappointed by this, we didn´t let it sour our enjoyment and sheer love for this city.

Berlin is fantastic and we have both thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a city of stark contrasts. It is probably the worlds biggest building site. It is steeped in history and makes you think about everything. Wunderbar!

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