Berlin

28th December - Departing a little after lunch time and arriving late afternoon in Berlin.. we only had time to really settle in and grab a cocktail or two at the Palm Beach Bar close by. Although this was definetly long enough to establish that it was FAR colder in Berlin and that they had had a significant amount of snow fall!.. not yet preparing us for the weather the following day though!

29th December - I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO COLD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!! Today the temperature was -4 degrees celcius as a maximum temp! (which i was later told, actually was -6!!!), gale winds heading up the side streets from the main ones while stepping cautiously on the ice... but while snow was still falling I had a little contentment..!
This did not however make for the best sightseeing tour of the city, nevertheless we did head to the German History Museum first up to grasp a little more of what the people of Germany have been through in (far too) recent history. We also wandered past a memorial building which was to remember all those that have fallen in war times. There was one simple dark statue in the centre of a plain grey bricked room that was inaccessible to public past the black bars at the front. However a cut out circle in the roof enable sunshine (if there was any) to light up this statue, and in snow, like it was now settle around it, creating a natural spotlight highlighting the significance of it's meaning and really making it look beautiful.

30th December - To save our extremities from being frostbitten, we headed on a sightseeing tour by bus to learn a little more about this city that offers so much! and were also spoilt by the blue skies above. On the route, we learnt much about the history of Berlin and visited several key points in the city including the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and saw evidence of the dustruction that war inflicts by the half destroyed buildings (although I found it hard to believe that this city, which has endured such heavy bombing still had things standing!.. much of which is now existing in the city, has however been re-built and is a show of the strength of the people).

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to divide the city into 2 main sectors and limit the amount of people flowing from the less prosperous East (largely Soviets) to the more prosperous West (consisting largely of British, American and French). It stood at a little over 3.5 metres in height, was solid concrete with barbed wire skirting the top. The confirmed numbers of those that died along the 155km border was almost 200 people, however it is believed that it is much higher. Along the wall there were major points were people were able to cross, now referred to as Checkpoint Charlie and housing museums displaying photographs and the history of the city and the Wall.

I was also a little suprised to see that Berlin has its own version of the Champs Elysees.. a long street with shops of all sorts, including all those big name labels and department stores! and amazing looking Chrismas markets in a massive square with many domed white tents lit up by fairy lights.. however to save missing the last bus heading through we opted not to jump out for a sticky beek but head back to the warmth of the hostel... progressing to the pub!

In Alexanderplatz, (former East Berlin Square) a huge TV tower standing 365m tall dominates the skyline. One theory of this building (built in 1961) was that it was built to show strength and power (of the East), however upon completion the result was not so great. As the sun shone on this tower and the light was reflected on the tower a huge emblem (cross shape) representing the opposing side would shine from the top of the tower for all to see across a great distance.

Almost time to head to Copenhagen and I guess while still not in Denmark yet.. a quick thing from our train ride that was uber-cool was the fact that our entire train followed the tracks right onto a massive boat and off we sailed for about 45 mins over the oceans and to the land of Denmark!.. where a quick opportunity for some duty free shopping was offered.. and I came back with a trusty 1lt bottle of Absolute Vodka for our New Years party!!

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