Julie and John’s Excellent Adventure – Part 6 – Berlin. BAM

Inside the Reichstag

Back in my favourite city in the world. Our apartment is surprising large and I'm impressed with the improvement in my German when our contact does not speak English and we run through everything auf Deutsch. It's a great location too just 100 or so metres from the metro and a great turkish kebab shop downstairs. Little incident arriving - my map had a U1 and a U2 metro - turns out they are working on the U2 so have created the U12 - confusing but good for us in the end as no changed required from Zoo! Unfortunatley once I figured out where we were going we all went to jump on the first train and the doors started closing after only Paul had got on...........the look on his face as the train took off - poor guy! Lucky he had the sense to jump off at the next station and we collected him on the next train through.

Day 1 I took the group to the Insider Famous Walking Tour - fantastic tour that we sell through work - and left them to it while I went to get my hair done. Such fun having a new hairdresser every time you need an appointment - this one was a good one luckily! Walked back into centre to meet them and discovered an early christmas market at Potsdamer Platz selling hot wine with Amaretto - amazing - we ended up going there several times over the 5 days! We spent the rest of the day at the free Topography of Terror exhibition - it walks you though the lead up to the rule of the Third Reich, their early days, WW2 and then gets quite graphic and full on when explaining - in written documents and photographs - the horror of what the persecuted people faced. It really is beyond comprehension that humans do these things to each other.

Sunset from the Reichstag

Day 2 we went on another Insider Walking Tour - this one walking through the city and delving into the Third Reich regime and significant events at various locations. Extremely interesting and worthwile. We had an appointment to visit the glass panorama dome of the Reichstag parliament building at 3pm and Paul didnt have his passport on him so I did a 50 minute sprint/metro/million stairs (yes i actually RAN a lot of it!!!) to go back and get it only to discover a drivers license would have been sufficient. !*"~&£%)*&£)%*&!" Spectacular views and a beautiful sunset over the Tiergarten soon made up for it




Day 3 the group went out to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp - I still haven't been to one and I don't know if I will, it really intimidates me. I enjoyed the apartment all to myself - the SILENCE - even had a bath, read my book and painted my nails
 

Dad and I at ice hockey

Day 4 mum and I hit the shops in the fruitless search for fashionable snow boots, stopped for some hot wine and then we all ate at our local asian restaurant - after 3 times they knew we needed the English menu, under 50 euros for 5 people entree, main and drinks, berlin is so cheap! - and then hit up the ice hockey - god I love this sport!

And here come the ice bears!

Eisbaren beat Ausberger in an extra time penalty shoot out - pity there was no fights, but the atmosphere was amazing - it was like a rock concert before it started, with music, FIREWORKS inside the stadium, individual player introductions - coming from a giant inflatable polar bear along with dry ice smoke...........mental

We farewell Diane and Paul at 6.45am the next morning and head to the train for our 12 hour journey to Amiens............