Ahhh Berlin....

We left Amsterdam around 0830 on Sunday morning, which was good because there wasn't many people around. Our train trip was 'ok' but not as good as our last one.
When we arrived in Berlin we thought it was the end of the line so didn't get our bags ready and when the train stopped and no one was moving we realised we had better get off quick or we could end up anywhere. Steve got a bag down and I raced out of the train hoping it didn't leave with him in it. All was ok and we both got off safely. We caught a cab to our Hotel, which is the Hilton...bit flash for us but cheaper than the last one we were in, in Amsterdam.

This screen was on the telly when we went into our hotel room.

Our first afternoon in Berlin we went for a walk but didn't take the camera...why? I don't know!! We walked up the road to 'Checkpoint Charlie' where you had to go through if you wanted to get to East Berlin when the wall was still standing. They have kept part of the checkpoint for tourists and have lined the streets with the story of the checkpoint and wall. We thought we had better go back with the camera later.


The following day we went the other direction to the west down to the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Tower. Berlin is so big and spread out that we walked miles but we must be getting used to it because our feet and legs weren't hurting too much. Everywhere we went there were police and army patroling. Something was going on so we asked one of the police and they said it was a party for the Bundestag, we were sure it was more than that, there were police on the roofs of buildings and the streets were blocked off...but we still haven't found out who was there and who needed so much security, we were thinking maybe Barrack Obama but there wasn't anything in the paper about him the next day.

Brandenburg Gate

Victory Tower

Today we went back to checkpoint charlie and read all about it. Very interesting and quite amazing that people were still being shot in 1989 if they tried to cross over the border without permission, only 20 years ago!!

We went to the museum for charlie and then walked down to find the remains of the wall...alot thinner than I had imagined. They have kept part of the wall as a memorial. They have marked the place where the wall stood with stones laid in the ground all around the city.

Berlin Wall 1961-1989


This part of the wall they are trying to preserve for a memorial but have had to put it behind wire to stop people ruining it