Berlin

We had a very good long weekend in Berlin which also happened to include Rachel running a personal best time (even with challenges) in the marathon on Sunday...


I'd not been to Berlin before - and came away impressed by the city which has such a fascinating recent history (as opposed to many of the cities we visit with centuries old main points of interest), as well as by the transportation system (I'd love it if the Transport for London would also visit... just to see how things could be...), the very kind people, and the graffiti.

It is amazing to think that less than 20 years ago the city was still separated - and now it is difficult (or at least it was to us) to see what apparently used to be stark differences between east and west...and it was really interesting to hear the perspective of someone our age who grew up in the eastern part of Berlin when we were out at dinner with a friend.

We left London on a (very early) Saturday morning flight, and returned Tuesday (also very early) to only miss one day in the office...and it was great to have the extra day to look around. We also found a few fantastic 'locals' dining options - one being the most popular curry wurst takeaway which was just under a train trestle, and another (in the photo below) where the menu was 1/2 a chicken and the sides available were potato salad and cole slaw (we ordered the whole menu...)... it was not a non meat eaters ideal city... but Rachel did find a fantastic spaezel at an Austrian restaurant where the playwright Bertolt Brecht lived (a restaurant we would never have found had we not been with residents of the city)

I also had read about, but had not seen until this next photo, the 'mobile wurst'... we had unfortunately just eaten... but I like the fact that having not seen any of these guys around here there were two in a face off duel for business:

When we were exploring a now trendy shopping area we found a great little place for a quick breakfast of coffee & waffles down a small side street - and just outside of it in front of the building next door found a reminder of another chapter of the recent history of the city which is a bit more sombre:
The Holocaust Memorial just south of the Brandenburg gate in the center of the city is really striking and interesting as well... I took several photos of it (one here):
- but they just do not do it justice - it is better to see a whole collection of them at this link

I'd definitely like to go back to spend some more time (it is a sprawling city that we only saw a fraction of) - and with a few more words and phrases in our vocabulary so that each interaction did not have to start with "Entschuldigen, sprechen sie Englisch?"