| Before going to Berlin we had made arrangements to meet up with our ex-Dortmund neighbours who live in Berlin. We were to meet up with Carole and her friend Ann outside the the Konzerthaus. Sue and I arrived early and had a look around the rather posh shops at Friedrichstrasse Passagen. |
| Friedrichstrasse Passagen - all rather upmarket |
| Lunch at an Italian - showing Carole and Ann some photos of our trip to Berlin in 1988 |
| 1988 February trip to Berlin – Richard, Carole and Sue | Checkpoint Charlie |
| Carole took us to Fassbender & Rausch a well known chocolate shop close to the Konzerthaus. I thought this a BIG mistake knowing Sue’s liking for chocolate. Chocolate Berlin Wall Chocolate Brandenburg Gate |
| Diet, what diet? |
| A walk down Unter den Linden – this place looked familiar |
| The Neue Wache – we had been here in 1973 It serves as the "Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship". Oldie photos below |
| The Pergammon Museum Ishtar Gate 6th Century BC | Market Gate of Miletus - It was built in Miletus in the 2nd century AD and destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century |
| Friends had recommended that we go to the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) to see all of its 6 levels |
| Hauptbahnhof - also Lehrter Bahnhof | 1988 The same station all on one level - Richard and Carole |
| Sue on the Kurfurstendamm followed by a visit to KaDeWe (Berlin’s equivalent of Harrods) |
| The protestant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is a memorial to peace and reconciliation. | Weltkugelbrunnen – Breitscheidplatz |
| Pancake lunch at KaDeWe – there are so many food sections we had difficulty choosing which one to eat in |
| En route to Treptower Park This took longer than it should have done. The S Bahn at Hermanstrasse was having a bad day and we ended up going the wrong way around the system – a long story! Even local Berliners were asking us ‘What is happening?’ | Treptower Park - The Soviet War Memorial is a vast war memorial and military cemetery in Berlin’s Treptower Park. It was built to commemorate 5,000 of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who fell in the Battle of Berlin in April–May 1945 |
| Treptower Park |
| Arriving back at our apartment we encountered Berlin’s police force. The operations vehicle was parked outside the apartment |
| After searching the internet I found that there was going to be a demonstration nearby and then a march to Berlin centre. We thought this was going to affect our journey to Carole and Richard’s house in the evening – it didn’t. |
| Carole and Richard’s – a great meal – thank you |
| Checkpoint Charlie – the area around CC has changed a lot, but one or two things have been retained |
| It has also been Disneyfied | CC in the early days |
| Nearby was Trabiworld – tours are available in a Trabi – I even saw a stretched Trabi! |
| Back to Potsdamer Platz – the card structure was part of the Festival of Light |
| Inside the Sony centre |
| Drinks before our meal at Posdamer Platz |
| Festival of Light – This takes place at venues around Berlin. We saw most of the light shows along the Unter den Linden |
| Brandenburg Gate | Alexander von Humboldt Institute |
| Hotel De Rome |
| Hotel De Rome | Humboldt University |
| Our apartment – just before we left We had booked the apartment through Airbnb and it it was very well kitted out. We bought 2 x 7 day runabout transport tickets, each (€30) so could travel everywhere in central Berlin. We did encounter ticket inspectors once so it’s best not to avoid buying a ticket (fine €60 each). We had a great time and can recommend Berlin for a visit. You don’t even have to speak German as most people speak English. |
