Achtung, Baby!

Well, at last a post about Berlin. Everyone said how great this city was and how much they liked it... and I was dubious at first. I just couldn't get a feel for it. It is such a different vibe from Amsterdam... in fact I am trying to pin a single word on each city I have visited...

London - Tradition

Paris - Chic

Amsterdam - Quaint

Berlin - Stately

Zurich - Precision

I didn't really pay much attention to booking my hotel. But I am in a great location in what would have been central East Berlin (behind the former wall).

I am not sure how much renovating occurred post reunification, but I feel that Stalin most definitely did the better land-grab in the 40's with the east. The wide avenues and stately buildings all seem to have existed on this side of the wall. Were they very run down by the 90's, I wonder? There are certainly so many cranes and scaffoldings that the framing of many of my photos will seem a little odd - just to avoid these eye sores where I can.

I understand too why this would be the home of punk, of rebellion, of an underground of alternatives. So much seems to be cordoned off - almost a legacy to the wall. While wandering around, I was constantly forced to backtrack, circumvent, detour, deviate. So much straight and narrow is bound to elicit a whirlpool of ideas.

All this circumspection is by way of not being able to upload photos while in Berlin. My laptop just went a bit crazy. Once I left it worked again fine - most bizarre! So I am now able to add some photos of Berlin to the Blog Gallery.

I was lucky to catch one of the many Christmas Markets before they closed down. This one I happened upon on my way to the Subway station. It was one of the best markets I've ever been to. I could have bought something on every, and I mean every, single stall. Amazing quality products, which certainly made me regret the carry-on luggage choice. I compromised with a hat - probably not the wisest of choices, as it is a felt bowler style, and one more thing I need to carry in transit now!

Otherwise, I did not do much in this city - mostly walked around and looked at things that were closed for the holiday season - lots of fresh icy air, and maybe strolling/walking around 6km a day (which may not sound much, but is 5.5km more than my normal day at home...). I was close to Museum Island with its amazingly grandiose and monumental buildings.

And enjoyed the stroll from there down to the Brandenburg Gate, which was looking particularly festive. And before you think it took me all day to get there - remember it is dark by 4pm here at the moment... (although I did hang around and then come back to take this night shot!)

I must confess I became a bit wall-obsessed while in Berlin. There are only a few places left with some of the wall still standing - and the wide perimeters and no-man's-land that surrounded it is either built over or left as parkland. I walked a few blocks from the hotel to the Wall Memorial - an interesting street by a cemetery and church - the wall originally going through the former. The church was demolished in the 80s, ironically being situated on the communist side of the wall.

I've included in the photos a view of part of the memorial looking from east to west Berlinm and a section still standing in the area.

Understandably, the residents could not demolish it quickly enough in the excitement of the reunification. I am glad someone thought to preserve some of the wall - check out the photo of artwork on the wall reassembled slightly to one side of its original location.

Berlin is also one of the greenest of European cities, with a large number of (large) parks. Well rugged up, I walked from one side to the other of the central one - the Tiergarten. It's starkness kind of suited my mood. And while the UK and northern Europe was suffering from floods and terrible storms, we had blue skies and fluffy white clouds, as seen above the Victory Column!

As I had a day ticket on the subway, I interspersed my trekking (and warmed up) with rides between some of the more famous sites. The one of the bombed fragments of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is near the zoological gardens (which I walked around when crossing the Tiergarten). And in Potsdamer Place - which originally had the wall go through it - we see East Berlin skylines against West Berlin skylines.

There are a few iconic things about Berlin. Firstly, there are the photobooths (originals from the 1970s). Did I not look so pathetic, I would have spent 2 euros on a set of black and white photos. A very worthy trip reminder for those wanting reminding... Then there are the Trabants. I think the place I photographed does joy rides in them - not that their owners behind the iron curtain ever got any joy from them. The standard joke was when you filled the tank, you doubled the car's value!

There are also the currywurst and bratwurst sausage places, and the mulled wine stalls - I tried both - to keep up my strength of course on my way to Checkpoint Charlie, where there is another part of the standing wall.

I managed to add another stamp to my passport here - I now have a page with Rapa Nui, Machu Picchu, and Checkpoint Charlie stamps on it! (By the way the original checkpoint is in a museum - the one on the street is a replica opened in 2000!). And I did I enjoy the irony that the first thing you see when entering the "free world" is a McDonalds!

I photographed the famous "leaving the american zone" sign - it's in the Blog Gallery - and somehow, I think this famous sign says a lot about America's priorities in West Berlin - you'll notice that the German translation (remember we ARE in Germany) is almost an afterthought at the bottom...

On Christmas Eve everything closed early. Which was a pity, as I had planned to visit the Charlottenburg Palace. Well, I went anyway (at least the trains were running and warm) and gazed at it through the gates. Wandered around the grounds a little, then caught a few more trains to look at more of Berlin from the comfort and warmth of a carriage.

Christmas Day - I spent 9 hours on trains travelling from the north east to the south west of Germany. And then Boxing Day in Konstanz was not much better. It rained, was cold, and everything was closed. Gosh, look at the crowds in the main Market Square in the Blog Gallery...

I think I saw more ducks than people around the lake...

I was so bored, I made the arty photo that links you to the Blog Gallery... it's not half bad actually (cross-processed filter added).

My German is non-existent, except for thank you and goodbye- oh and eine glüwein... I am quite taken with this spiced wine, which they serve steaming hot and fragrant and with a Speculaa - one of my favourite spiced biscuits. It seems bizarre to dunk a biscuit in wine, but it actually complements the flavour quite nicely.

I am rather behind on my posts... about to leave Zurich for Lugano, and quite rapidly running out of steam. I keep telling myself to keep it brief, but even picking a handful of photos seems to elicit lengthy amounts of prose.

My apologies for both quantity and quality - until next time... Aveline. xxx