Ich bin ein Berliner

Was a little homesick last week but have managed to get over it. Just thought of you all home in the cold weather and said to myself, “self, its beautiful weather, there is no housework to do, you have a book to read, you can go for a walk in the park, or if you can be bothered get on a train and go somewhere.” So here I am over the homesickness.

Thursday I went out to the airport in Stuttgart because I was instructed to do so by he who has to be super organised!! In order for one to get on a plane to go to Berlin, one needs plans, directions and timings – apparently. So I got on the train and went for on a reconnaissance mission out to the airport. While this was a complete waste of time, as one gets out of the train station right into Terminal 1 and onto the plane to Berlin, on the way back I did meet a very nice Turkish girl who was lost and I was able to assist – I have become very traveller friendly since arriving. I travelled on the train into Stuttgart with her and managed to talk her ear off about anything I could manage to dribble out of my mouth on the 25 minute trip – talking to people is something I will never take for granted again.

Friday afternoon as we were about to leave for the airport for our trip to Berlin, someone casually mentioned to Stephen that they would see him on Tuesday. “Tuesday?” he replies, “Yes, Monday is a holiday.” Hmmm, plans are immediately revised and we change our return flight from Berlin to Monday. Beauty, three days in Berlin not two.

We arrive tired but excited and go for a walk. The size of the city is quite overwhelming. It is a residential city with shops and businesses scattered throughout. There are beautiful boulevards throughout the city, similar to Paris. The city doesn’t really have a centre like Melbourne and we soon realise we were going to have to master the public transport system if we were to see all that we had planned. Friday night is fairly sleepless as we are in a room at the front of the Hotel California, no we did not choose this hotel, an agent did, which fronts onto the main shopping street and party strip in Berlin - Kurfurstendamm. Saturday morning I ask for a room change and they kindly oblige. I don’t think it is the first time they have had this request.

We find the on again off again bus (complete with guys drinking beer at 10.00 am) and take our first look at the city. We spend most of the morning and early afternoon just looking, however this little excursion was topped off by a visit to Ka Da We, the department store to top all others. They deal only in designer labels and have two floors devoted to gourmet food. Yes we just had to go there! No designer label floors for us, straight to the food. I don’t know how it happened but we had a lunch of Asian food, cooked in front of us and which was delicious, however we were surrounded by the most magnificent looking gourmet cakes you have ever seen. Obviously Stephen’s taste buds outvoted my waistline.

We had arranged to meet with Lara, a German exchange student who stayed with us last year, and her family at 3pm. After greetings and introductions to dad Walter, mum Angelica and sister Antonia we walked and walked and walked (you were right Carole). They were great hosts and showed us many buildings and monuments, explaining their origins and history. The Festival of Cultures was on and we came across a sea of people – Moomba but with lots more bodies. The city is a contrast of old and new, mainly new as much was razed during the bombing of Berlin. One of the photos shows some new apartments being built in the east with the older style apartments in the background. We ended the evening by having dinner on a boat on the River Spree (I still can’t say that Lara) and a great day was had by all.

Sunday we decide to revisit WW2 so started by going to the Brandenburg Gate and then to the Check Point Charlie museum. The weather was quite hot and as none of the buildings have aircon they can be quite stifling, especially when it is a long weekend and the city is full of tourists. The museum was interesting but a little repetitive and self promoting. We were somewhat confused as to what used to be the east and west of Berlin. We eventually figured out where the wall had gone and Mr I Need To Know Exactly Where Everything Is was happy. We went from there to what is the last remaining piece of the Wall. This location has an exhibition called the Topography of Terror and it is situated on what was the site of the SS (Gestapo) headquarters. Wilhemstrasse was the street where Hitler built the Reich Chancellery and many other buildings where all the 'really bad guys' were situated. All but one of these buildings was completed wiped out during the bombing of Berlin. The former site of the SS headquarters has not yet been rebuilt; it is still a hole in the ground. The exhibition which is at the back of the Wall was fantastic but, as it was outside and in direct sunlight, we struggled to read it all and, as fascinating as it was, had to give up towards the end when reading eyewitness accounts. From there we walked to the Jewish memorial then to the Tiergarten (see above). These gardens are in the middle of the city and go for many kilometres. With the weather the way it was I think every Berliner was in the gardens over the weekend, many with clothes and some without! We finally got on the bus and headed to the hotel exhausted. I even forgot it was Mother’s Day. We slept very well that night.

Monday morning we decided to line up to see the Reichstag, the German parliament building. After a one hour wait in the blazing sun we finally got in. We walked to the top of the dome for a very good view of the city but were somewhat disappointed when we realised there were no English tours of the parliamentary rooms as it was a public holiday??? We then caught the bus to the Bode Museum, Pergamon Museum and the Berlin Dom (yes Shirley they still have daily recitals). By this stage we were knackered and headed back via a street market to the bus and our hotel to pick up our case and head home.

(Keeping all the old relics together!)

A great city and a must on any would be travellers’ list but you do need about 5 days with a rest day included as your feet take a hammering.

A special hello to my Dad who is not too well at the moment. We love you Dad.