BERLIN AND POTSDAM

This was one hell of a four day visit and we were pooped little travellers by the time we got home. There were two aspects of Berlin that we tasted - the historical architecture and the Third Reich. I was surprised by two things. Firstly - the significant rebuilding which had taken place after the massive damage caused by both the Allied bombing raids and the Russian battle for Berlin. Secondly - the impact of the Hitler years and the subsequent Russian impact with the East/West divide.

Our friends Tim and Ruth had given us some valuable pointers for the visit, and our Welcome Card which they recommended was a real bonus. We validated our three day passes on the train from Schonefeld airport into the city and managed to get off at the nearest station to our Hotel, although we had to walk some 800 metres along the Kurfurstendam. Although we were early arrivals we were able to get to our room and sit down to work out a plan of attack.After a nice meal of Sushi we trundled off into the City proper and identified the starting point for the Walking Tours, and then took a Tourist bus trip around the major tourist attractions. Then we went hunting for an electric jug as the one we had taken with us for our morning cuppas had unfortunately sprung a hole after contact in the suitcase with our bottle opener!!We visited the most enormous store on the KuDam and after traipsing through a maze of departments eventually found our quarry and thought thankfully of the early morning reviver. On the wander around the area we also managed to book seats for a concert by the Berlin Palace Orchestra at the Charlottenburg Palace Orangery for the following night.

Next day we took ourselves along to the meeting place for the Insiders Tours where we booked the 4 hour Famous Walk. Our guide was a Scotsman,Kenny, who was absolutley tremendous. His knowledge of Berlin (and history) was comprehensive and his ability to communicate that knowledge quite amazing. We walked through the old East Berlin and visited the Island of Museums, Check Point Charlie, the Book Burning site, the Reichstag,Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial,Hitler's bunker,the remains of the Berlin Wall and Gestapo Headquarters. All the time we were given a detailed history of each area. At the end of the tour, Kenny asked if we would like to hear about the events leading up to the demolition of the Berlin Wall. Needless to say we all thought that would be great and listened enthralled as he told us of the East German confusion at a Press Conference which led to a young German hearing on the radio that East Germans were to be allowed into West Germany jumping up onto the wall. When people realised that he had not been shot at (which would have been the normal reaction) they soon started to rejoice at their new found freedom and hacked into the wall!!

As we were close to the Reichstag, we walked back there and queued for best part of an hour to go into the building and up into the cupola which sits atop the building.
It was well worth the wait as the view from the top level was dramatic and the beer we had in the restaurant a real reviver!!

An early dinner at a superb Thai restaurant and then off to our concert. Of course we got off the bus about four stops too early and eventually had to grab a cab to get to the Orangery in time for the start of what was a most enjoyable feast of Handel/Bach/Corelli and Mozart. Even managed to get the right bus back to the Hotel.