Berlin


Advertisement
Germany's flag
Europe » Germany » Berlin » Berlin
August 19th 2007
Published: August 22nd 2007
Edit Blog Post

Potsdamer PlatzPotsdamer PlatzPotsdamer Platz

Cinema complex
Then we take Berlin. In doing so, we welcome back Tomtom for our final 2 months in Europe. We also cash up on the sturdy euro. Eastern Europe was everything we had hoped for and more, but negotiating a new obscure currency every 5 minutes was....... Have a look at these:
Croatia - kuna
Bosnia - convertible marc
Albania - leke
Bulgaria - leva
Romania - lei
Hungary - forint
Slovakia - koruna
Czech Republic - Czech crown
Poland - Zloty
But while we were back onto the euro, the financial news in Berlin greeted us with:
"Oz dollar drops 15% since July". That, along with diesel running at 1.1 euro per litre and general cost of living way higher than Eastern Europe meant that we are sneaking ever quicker towards the moment when ATMs stop spitting money back out at us.
What the heck, Berlin is fun anyway. It is one of the more ecclectic cities you'll find anywhere. A rough diamond if ever there was one.
Did we mention the war? You don't need to, Berlin is happy to mention it for you. There are references and access everywhere to Berlin's shady past, including postwar Soviet controlled Berlin. It
BerlinBerlinBerlin

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
would be easy for Germans to stick fingers in ears, don the blinkers and pretend that section of the past never occurred. "Attractions" such as:
- holocaust memorial.
- Hitler's bunker.
- the Wall's eastside gallery.
- Checkpoint Charlie.
- SS HQ.
- Stassi Museum
amongst others, testify to Berliner's willingness to confront its history whilst getting on with the future. Everything is available for independent visits, but there is also a bevy of guides happy to lead groups and add a Berliner's take on their history. AND, there are no attempts to sugar coat the stats.
Berlin also has a mega strong arty counter culture which I liked a lot. However, is being "arty" a pseudonym for untidy? Berlin is less than spruced up, particularly in some of those "arty" enclaves.
Want an inside view of Berlin? Grab a copy of the free "New Berlin" book. The tours advertised in the front are the Grand Poobas of city tours. Priced from zero to reasonable, they are a Berlin must do. They get a Yeatesy 5 thumbs up. (I've gotta find some more thumbs before getting back to Paris).
The absolute highlight of Berlin? The opportunity for a viewing of
BerlinBerlinBerlin

Branderburg Gate
the Simpsons movie in english in a foreign city. As Penny is typing this blog, Yeatesy is hopefully snickering through 85 minutes of animated heaven. Margaret and David stand aside, Yeatesy's review to follow in the Amsterdam Blog.
Auf Wiedersehn.
Yeatesy.

Berlin,
Well we have covered Auschwitz in Poland, the holocaust / Terror museum in Budapest, what could possibly be left to cover in Berlin? This large modern city which has years of war, bombings and soviet occupation has very little 'original' sites left. The bunker that Hitler spent his last weeks in today is merely a car park surrounded by ugly blocks of soviet type units. The SS Gestapo Head Quarters, once the most feared address of Nazi Germany consisting of 2 large buildings is today mere ruins of the basement, shich however houses an impressive exhibition of the Nazis rise to power. So the ugly history may be hidden some what but there is plenty to keep you occupied over the vast area the city covers (east to west). From the Brandenberg gate, the Holocaust memorial and Checkpont Charlie to name a few, and oh of course the cinema complex that plays foreign movies in their original
BerlinBerlinBerlin

Check Point Charlie - east side gallery. some of the art is thoughtful and poignant, some is plain vandalism
language. Yes, Gary gets to see the Simpsons movie while I hide out at the internet cafe (Dunkin Donuts cafe in fact). Today we were to embark on a 'free' walking tour of Berlin. A tour that walks you for 4 hours to the prominent parts of the city. Yes Berliners are great at coming up with novel ideas / exhibits that are free and good value. Unfortunately the skies opened up and it has been pouring so we have had to abandon our walking tour until hopefullly later today when the storm moves on. Berlin is a little more ecclectic than other German cities I have visited. It clearly has an arty / alternate side but this can also be its 'shabby' side. Food / cuisine are good but we are back paying western europe prices again which hurt after Eastern Europe. Inner city transport is good and there are no end of open double decker bus tours, bike and tricycle tours even an 8 seater circular tour bike.
We thought we would get some long overdue grooming done while in Berlin because 'they're bound to speak english and understand what we want'!!! Wrong, very few people / locals
BerlinBerlinBerlin

Another brick in the wall
speak english. The haidresser spoke a little english, well enough to understand the words 'cut' 'colour' and so now I am fashioning a new hairstyle about 8 inches shorter than yesterday, and the colour, Mmmm not sure what you would call it, but its very 'Berlin' and Gary has a new swept forward look. Watch out Amsterdam here come the Colvin / Yeates wearing the latest in Berlin hair styles.
Penny

More images at:

www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com


Additional photos below
Photos: 6, Displayed: 6


Advertisement

BerlinBerlin
Berlin

Reichstag building


Tot: 0.413s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 31; qc: 136; dbt: 0.2727s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.5mb