Day 1:

After a quick hour and a half plane ride over France & Belgium we landed in Berlin on Friday evening at about 6:30pm local time. Quickly snapping into travel mode we bought 5 day travel cards and headed for the bus depot to catch the local bus into the city. Arriving at our apartment 20 minutes later than scheduled we immediately got a sense of the German people's punctuality, as our host was practically hopping from one foot to the other to show us the apartment so that he could speed off to a sausage eating race or beer drinking competition or whatever those crazy Germans do!

So after settling into our 8th level apartment with great views over central Berlin, we headed out for some dinner. Luck was on our side, as we immediately stumbled upon a German Easter market virtually opposite our accommodation, with numerous food stalls, drink stands and entertainment. After smashing the customary currywurst (cooked sausage with curry & tomato sauce on top) and some German-style chilli con carne, and watching some disturbing attempts on a nearby mechanical bull including one large German man who kept thrusting his tight jeans 'area' excessively towards us whenever the bull bucked (we hoped it was coincidental), we had some Gleuwein (mulled & spiced red wine) and then headed home for a solid nights sleep for some serious adventuring ahead!

Day 2:

Knowing that supermarkets were closed tomorrow and Monday, we stocked up on some quality snacks and breakfast items at the nearby organic supermarket. So breakfast was an awesome berry muesli mix full of energy for our big day ahead. We started with a 'free' walking tour around Berlin (you tip as much as you want at the end so its actually never free) which took us to all the main sights in the central part of Berlin where east met west during the days of the Berlin Wall. Sights included the Brandenburg Gate, the car park which now exists above the bunker Hitler killed himself in, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, and several main squares or 'platzs'.

After the walking tour, we stumbled upon another cool market, this one an art market filled with various interesting items and some random junk! After a brief rest on the grass outside the Berlin Cathedral, a massive church semi-blackened during the war giving it a very cool, old effect, we headed to yet another market, this one also almost opposite our apartment, for some lunch. It was a bit of a difficult choice narrowing down from a few quality stalls, but in the end we opted for some awesome, freshly made Turkish food; spinach flat bread wraps and an awesome lamb kofta wrap. This was washed down with a drink from the local kiosk where the guy generously opened them for us as we basked in the amazingness of being able to walk down the street in the middle of the day with an open alcoholic drink! Next was Haagen dass ice cream and we wrapped up the day with another drink in a nearby park enjoying the sun!

Day 3:

Easter Sunday started in a long queue to hire bikes for a day cycling around the city. After an annoying wait, we were on our way east to check out a section of the Berlin Wall still standing and covered in professional graffiti art, known as the 'East Side Gallery'. Next was a nearby flea market, which turned out to be more trash than treasure, so we quickly moved on to our next location; a vegan doner kebab joint (appropriately named 'voner') which served delicious vegan faux meat wraps and epic crispy chips. The size of the wraps was so massive, we had to ask for the second half to be wrapped to go and these later became dinner!

As we jumped back on our bikes to head up north, our tires quite a bit lower on the road after our recent feast, we took ourselves to another funky area, this time for a coffee at the appropriately named 'Godshot' cafe for a strong coffee to keep our legs firing into the afternoon. Next was a visit to the nearby Mauer park for karaoke - a very random event where hundreds of people sit on a hill and watch random people get up and sing karaoke on a sound system. Drink in hand and the sun out again we were very content listening to some classics belted out by some very odd Germans. The day was ended in a fairly melancholic mood with a visit to the museum for the Murdered Jews of Europe, which told stories of victims, gave diary extracts from interned Jews at concentration camps, and just generally gave a thorough idea of the hell that the Jews experienced during that time. After that we were pretty spent and headed home for an early night.

Day 4:

After a mini sleep in, we set off for an early lunch at a great cafe right in the heart of tourist Berlin, but safely shielded from all the loud American tourists by a nearby Starbucks! Next we visited the amazing and free Topography of Terror museum; an extensive exhibition of the various methods used to control and manipulate both victims and Germans during the Nazi regime. It also gave information on all the upper echelon of the Nazi party, including Hitler's right hand men at the head of the SS, Gestapo and Reich Security Office. Three long hours later we stumbled blinking into the sun again, not wanting to read another information board for as long as we live!

For the evening festivities, we jumped on a bus and headed north to the oldest beer garden in Berlin, where Ant had a traditional lager brewed by the beer garden themselves, and Nat got her traditional fix with a massive Wiener Schnitzel. Afterwards we strolled down a nearby street full of cool restaurants and bars, which managed to grab us so much that we ended up sitting in the outside area of one, enjoying a drink and the BEST stuffed ravioli we've ever tasted!

Day 5:

Part of the extra long weekend plan was to take Tuesday off work and fly back late on Tuesday, so we had virtually the whole day to continue our adventuring. After another delicious muesli breakfast, we jumped on another of the many transport options in Berlin, tram, and headed for a quick coffee at our recent haunt, Godshot. After enjoying another great coffee in another day of warm sun, we headed to the Berlin Wall Memorial, to see the only remaining full section of the Berlin Wall with death strip and guard tower still standing.

After disappointingly missing out on another walking tour we had hoped to do; an 'alternative' walking tour showing art, cool bars, suburbs and other hidden places due to basically them and nobody else showing up at the right time, we took ourselves on a bit of a walk around some of these areas, and then finished up the day with a bit of down time in the main central Park before starting the long chain of transport vehicles home to London - bus - plane - train - train - train - train !! But totally worth it for another great short trip away!