Berlin

Berlin...what an amazing place! It has a really cool mix of old, modern and contemporary buildings and a really cool buzz. One of the most interesting things about our visit was seeing how the city is progressing after the end of communism in east Germany. Because the fall of the Berlin Wall happened relatively recently, we were interested to check out how the city was divided, and whether it has been fully reunited physically, socially, culturally and economically.

It seems like the reunification process is an ongoing project. There is definitely evidence of the recent east / west divide, where the east still has a kind of under-developed feel, such as city pipelines above the ground and quasi communist looking apartment buildings... But there is tonnes of construction taking place, with lots of post-modern architecture and very impressive developments popping up around the city. It looks like the gap is getting smaller, and we reckon another visit to Berlin in 20+ years would be quite a different experience.

We arrived on Friday morning, after a 3.30am start and a mission out to Luton airport. On our first day we walked about and checked out the key

German beer

The Germans know how to serve beer!

sites, such as the Brandenburg gate and the Reichstag, and the central city of Berlin. We also got amongst a bit of history, and visited Check Point Charlie and the Holocaust Memorial and underground museum. That night we visited the gigantic royal palace, Schloss Charlottenburg for a baroque concert within the palace's halls. It was a truly amazing expereince... At first it all seemed slightly cheesy with the musicians and staff all dressed in baroque finery, but the music and atmosphere was great and very entertaining.

We were so taken by the palace and its beautiful grounds that we returned the next day for a picnic lunch and a walk around the gardens. After that we strolled alongside the River Spree, and then visited the East Side gallery to check out the remainder of the Berlin Wall. This was amazing - it's essentially a massive mural covering the remaining 1.3km of the wall, painted in the early 90s by various artists from around the world to commemorate the impact and history of communism in Germany. After that we visited Alexanderplatz, and then went on a hardcase river boat tour. Hehe, in typical T.A fashion, we got a sizeable discount

tombstones

Some of the tombstones that comprise the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

for going on a Deutsch tour :o) After this, and a bit more fun in the sun, we headed to a local pub with a stockmarket bar - all the beers were priced on supply and demand... and got amongst some tasty German brew and currywurst for dinner.

We started the next day with breakfast and a walk through Tiergarten. It was so sunny, and there was lots of naked Germans sunbathing. After that we browsed a wee local market and then meandered through town. We then visited the Jewish museum in a very spunky, post modern building (with lots of symbolism, of course!) and then checked out the Government quarter. Naturally, we finished the day with some tasty German beers and really cool dinner (typical German saussies!) at a local cafe.

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