Blogs from Berlin, Germany, Europe

25th November 2020 Berlin David Bowie spent one of the most fruitful periods of his career 1976-1979 living in Berlin with fellow musician Iggy Pop. During this time, he kept himself separated from drugs and alcohol in a city divided. Bowie knew a different Berlin than that which exists today. We started our tour with Martin at Potsdamer Platz for many years the location of a ghost station. When the Berlin Wall was built on August 13, 1961, it divided the city as well as the transportation system but two subway lines and one commuter rail line with departure and destination stations in West Berlin continued to run through the eastern sector. The trains would slow down, but they did not stop at these deserted stations in East Berlin. Blocked off and patrolled by GDR armed ... read more

The day started with a beautiful 27 degrees forecast and it didn’t disappoint. Jumped on the bus to get to the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and Bundestag. The Holocaust Memorial is incredibly moving. I walked through it slowly as you would a labyrinth, reflecting on this story and it moved me in a way that I didn’t expect. It is a huge undulating space and was ironically originally owned by the German Reich and was destroyed in WW2. It was officially opened in 2005 as a Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. I then headed to the Berlin Central Station to sort a couple of things for tomorrow’s travels to Warsaw. It is massive inside with its own shopping centre. As it is both an international and local station it has both above and ... read more

Today.... an airport...a new country and city. Travelling through European countries is like driving through the regional Victoria, Australia. An hour or so here or there and you have crossed the border into a new country. And today is Wroclaw to Berlin. Flying this leg before the train journeys through Eastern Europe and Croatia begin. The rest of the Aussie family met for breakfast but I had a departure too early to fit that in. And for this travelling coeliac I needed a high protein breakfast as I have learnt that even with appropriate language gluten free cards you can be glutened easily and breakfast is the hardest with all the breads and pastries. So an early breakfast at the hotel with more options......... fruit, yoghurt and boiled eggs 🥚. A safe option for a travelling ... read more

This holiday was a bit different from my usual travels ....I like big country landscapes but when an offer of a home exchange to Dresden popped up the trip morphed into a "why not visit Berlin and Prague moment , followed by why not take trains and where else can we go , why not Amsterdam " and so it became a cities tour . For the first part my son Chris and his wife Anabel along with 6 year old Maya would travel with me . Half way through they would return to the UK from Prague and Jenny would then join me there for more Dresden and Amsterdam. Maya, for a 6 year old , is a great walker but some of the sites in Berlin are spread out so a Hop on/off bus ... read more

Today is HOT and HUMID and we slept in to avoid the heat. But not for long as we went out so Peggy could have a last look at Nefertiti and the Neue National Gallery Museum’s Egyptian collection. While she was communing with the Egyptians, John rented a bike and went off to find a hat he could wear in the sun that was cool as in breezy. Both accomplished their respective objectives and met up to go to the Reichstag for lunch atop the dome. When we finally got in and up we were amazed at the combination of historic with modern. The dome over the parliamentary chambers is arranged with mirrors looking down so you can see the representatives in action. And there is a fine restaurant, Kafer Berlin, on the roof with views ... read more