The journey across the Baltic went smoothly and we both woke around 7:00. Looking out the window I could see the distant shore of Finland. We headed down to the feeding frenzy of the all you eat breakfast buffet. The ferry passengers were a united nations of accents, lots of other travel groups from Spain and Italy, as well as day trippers from Stockholm. Off the boat and a quick tour around Helsinki with our local guide who was expecting a busload of Germans,...

I'm lying on my back in my room on the Silja Symphony, which is taking us to Helsinki. The engine of this enormous ferry quietly throbs as I watch the sun fade over the forests of Sweden. The green forests spill to the shore and the high pitched red holiday homes appear from the forest as the ferry changes it's heading on the way to Helsinki. The funny thing with holiday travel is that yesterday can seem like last week, so much is happening and time looses it...

Our transfer from Berlin to Copenhagen gave an insight into the more mundane. The bus passed through the ordinary suburban areas that you find in every town. We pulled into a roadside stop on the Autobahn which compared favourably with many similar places we have stopped at on the Hume Highway, on our many journeys to Melbourne. The same fast food and trashy souvenirs where available with one difference that you have to pay to use the toilets. Its nice to know th...

We have moved from our Airbnb in Die Mitte to a hotel in Kurfürstendamm where our tour will begin. The hotel is a busy tourist district and has a very different vibe to our home of the last four days. The tour started with journey around Berlin with a home grown Berliner who has a degree in German literature and history. The first half of the day he took us around Berlin and we visited many of places we had walked past earlier in the week.The guide provided t...

Its hard to reconcile that nearly 30 years ago this city was two cities East and West Berlin. Today we are headed to the epicentre of control in East Berlin the Stasi Museum. We decided to walk to the museum, as it didn't look that far away, but it was in the end. Our journey started at Alexander Platz where the huge Telekom tower can see all Berlin. The tower was intended as both a symbol of communist power and of Berlin. It is easily visible throughout the ...