Mel and David arrived in the big smoke from Sydney, early Monday morning on our doorstep in London (and yes, we were still asleep... Had no idea Heathrow and London traffic could be so efficient on a Monday morning!). They came ready to take on Europe and also loaded with Aussie goodness!
Mel and David toured London till Thursday night when the four of us set off to catch an evening flight to Berlin.
Mel and David at Somerset House
Mel and I at the Millennium Bridge with St Pauls Cathedral in the backgroundI have been to Berlin before, about 7 years ago now, so nothing was very familiar. Though it was still the safe, clean and efficient place one would expect of Germany. We booked an apartment for a few nights in Mitte, the very central and very chic suburb of Berlin.
The apartment building with the TV Tower to the left
Geoff and Mel waiting at the foyer of the apartment block
Chic and lively MitteInside, the apartment looked straight out of an IKEA catalogue. But it very cosy and comfortable and so close to everything.
It was on the 20-something floor with views across the city and also to the TV Tower (which looks like a big golf ball on a tee).
As we arrived late, we grabbed some currywurst (sausages in tomato sauce and curry) for dinner and had an early night. The next morning we found a tiny Italian coffee bar which served up some nice breakfast and lattes.
We then took to the streets to find the free 3-hour walking tour highly recommended by many friends back in London. I made a bit of a mistake with directions to the meeting spot, so we ended up instead in what looked like an previously abandoned building site with rusty tin sculptures and loads of graffiti everywhere.
This would be the first, of many encounters with the street art culture of Berlin. My German friend Martin, who lived in Berlin for quite awhile, told me about Berlin's creative scene. He mentioned that Berlin was inexpensive to live, and there was a big creative scene which has attracted loads of designers. The architecture of Berlin can often be dark and utilitarian, so I wondered if graffiti was a creative response to the stark visual landscape of public spaces.
We spent the rest of our first full day in Berlin wondering the streets.
This included doing a bit of shopping and passing the car department store! Yes, Germany is one of the best makers of cars and one can shop for a car like department store shopping. It made me miss my VW Golf lots!
We then found our way to the famous Jewish Museum. A controversial piece of architecture by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. The architecture of the building was truly arresting.
Interior of Jewish Museum
The Garden of ExileBut the museum has often been critised for its lacking narrative between architecture and museum content. We could see why after spending hours in the museum and not getting anywhere near the stories of the Holocaust- what we believed should have been prominent for education and awareness to its international audience.
By the time we got there, we had already skipped about half the museum, and were tiring from walking and the heat. Berlin had definitely entered its summer for 2009.
We exited the museum a little overwhelmed, and caught a cab to one of Martin's pub/cafe/restaurant recommendations. The taxi pulled up at a neat little corner pub called Botzow-Privat.
Martin says that Botzow-Privat is a "typical East Berlin" pub and it had loads of character and very friendly staff. The massive schnitzels revived our tiredness.
The perfect place and way to end the day.
On Saturday we found our way to the walking tour location and had an awesome time with Adam, our American guide who is living and loving Berlin. He was a wonderful storyteller and took us through the Jewish Memorial site, a massive field of undulating grey cement blocks, so big it takes up an entire block. Most visitors to Berlin cannot miss it- this was the idea of the memorial, we learnt.
On the other side, a sandy carpark marks the exact site of Hitler's bunker, where he also committed suicide. We took a snapshot to remind ourselves where we were standing.
We then toured some communist propaganda paintings.
And the remains of the Berlin Wall, almost all gone now throughout the city.
After a few more sites, like Checkpoint Charlie.
We completed the tour at the Berliner Dom.
Geoff and David were keen to lie in the sun and read, so Mel and I took a train to another part of town to visit the flea markets. It was lovely strolling in the sun, browsing antiques and 2nd-hand stuff. We spent ages in this button stall (as fashion designers do) and picked up a few cool things.
For dinner on our last night in Berlin, we chose off Martin's list of wonderful places to eat. We chose Alpenstueck and again took a taxi arriving at a white-washed corner restaurant in the middle of residential Berlin. It was a pristine white restaurant, with checked linen and a wall of stacked logs. We got seated in a cosy booth, but it became not so cosy after a small Bucks night required our attention. Well, in particular mine (Mel was so lucky she wasn't sitting on this side!). The Buck was getting married soon and wanted as many red lips and signatures on his white tee, so I obliged.
After lipstick-on-the-tee they were off and we enjoyed our final Berlin meal of schnitzels (again).
We flew out of Berlin early Sunday morning and arrived back in London at around lunch. After something to eat from our local Marks and Spencer, David, Mel and I headed to the markets in East London, including the famous Spitalfields Markets. The weather was so stunning for London we couldn't stay inside all day! It was like going from one creative city to another. The markets are definitely where all the action is in London on a Sunday.
We shopped loads and soaked up the atmosphere till about 7pm. It was time to head home for dinner with Geoff (even though David was already eating at the markets) and collapse after a wonderful long weekend.
