Well finally have the time to stop and document our experiences since arriving in this amazing city. Arrived feeling excited but exhausted. Lovely hotel - Adina apartments at Hackescher Markt. Fantastic area on the East side of town. Markets, trams, trains and lots of bars and restaurants all within walking distance. We decided to explore rather than rest and found some beautiful streets filled with shops and historic sites around every corner. The history of this city is fascinating and how it looks today is testament to the resilience of its people. By 7 were beginning to show the signs of utter exhaustion - giggling at street signs, moving pavements, walking in opposite directions and grateful we did not have to drive heavy machinery:) Decided on early dinner at hotel - waitress must have thought we were off our nuts as John kept falling asleep in the chair and I could not put 2 words together. Bed by 8 and didn't wake till 10.30! Nothing like 14 hours sleep after being in transit for 46 hours!!!!!
Day 2.
Refreshed, we were ready to start ticking off johns list of must sees in Berlin. Please be reminded that since retirement, he has virtually 'worked' full time on the planning of this trip so I was expecting a seamless experience. Sadly there are some things, that no amount of planning can anticipate. I present to you - the Hop on Hop off Bus Tour! Now just to set the scene, John was determined to purchase a Berlin Card as soon as he stepped off the plane in Berlin as it promised wonderful value for money with all the discounts it offered. 25% off loads of attractions. He had done his homework and was confident it was the go. Rocked up to the bus tour - John proudly flashed his Card - only to be told that it was the same price for everyone and in fact the card was a 'dead loss'. Not the words he wanted to hear, but hay, we were in Berlin and about to set off and getting a real feel for the city and its history. Grabbed the earphones so we could not miss a second of the commentary and that's when the real fun began. Perhaps we were still a little jet lagged, but do you think we could fit the ear plug into said
hole? John was convinced that the previous occupant of the seats had sabotaged the hole. We looked around and everybody else seemed to be listening intently to the commentary. Classic buildings, historic relics passed us by, and we were still trying to push the plugs into the hole. A stop - fantastic - this meant people were getting off. We quickly swapped seats and were readied to finally hear about what we were seeing. First thing we noticed was that we had actually been trying to push our headphones into the wrong hole. A light bulb moment really- chuckled to ourselves, relaxed the shoulders, kicked the shoes off and prepared for the commentary. Wrong! Something seriously wrong with the connection in our holes. All we could hear was the ahhing and oohing of those around us as they marvelled at the commentary - all we could hear was every 2nd syllable of every 5th word. We jiggled the chords and john found that if he stood up on the seat, held the cord at right angles to his body and faced north, he occasionally got a better reception:) I was crying with laughter at this stage as we were 3/4 of the way through the tour and know nothing! Finally, I made a move and dived into a new seat. Oh my god - the clarity was like music to my ears. Sadly the next stop was where we were getting off and John has still not heard a thing! The jury is still out as to the value for money we got on that trip - but the experience was priceless:)
We explored Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg gates, Berlin Cathedral and lots of other fantastic sites.
We are both blown away by this city.
Love to all. Xxx