Back from Berlin. Forgotten how much we enjoy the place. I actually prefer it to Paris. Possibly in part because it is so organised and that is me but it is just a very interesting, sophisticated city as well. The shops are very impressive. Just as well we only had carry on baggage and were only there for a couple of days with friends. I think I could have done a lot of shopping. Lots of things we don't see in Sydney. I believe the shops are better than in Paris. The restaurants are also great and I could just happily stay for a month to visit the museums and galleries alone.
The hotel was in the Mitte district which is in the old East Berlin part and was right on the river Spree. Very good location. Also had a very good tapas restaurant which we tried one night. The city looks and feels very prosperous. We got to one museum which was the "Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe". It is new since we were last there and as well as an information centre, which contains many very sad bits about the holocaust, there is an outdoor part which consists of 2711 concrete blocks of various sizes (The Field of Stelae). It is open to interpretation as to what it means. A guide told me that to her it seems like an empty city. I thought they looked like tombstones, while one of the friends we went to Berlin with thought they were the barracks from the camps. Anyway was quite eerie. There is also an information centre that has various parts to it but is all very personalised eg diary entries of camp victims, scraps of postcards, letters and last notes. The number of victims for each European country appears on the walls in one room. There is a Room of Families where various Jewish lifestyles are shown using examples of 15 families with photos etc before the War; also a Room of Names (names of all murdered and missing European Jews) and a Room of Sites (showing where the camps all were). Stephen and I thought we have now done enough Holocaust history this holiday.
The friends we went with had not been to Berlin before so we played tour guides a bit. Saw the usual suspects - Reichstag, Tiergarten, Brandenburg Gates and Berlin Wall (bits are still there). Also took them to some of the main boulevards -Unter den Linden and Kurferstendamm. We wandered in and out of the shops including Ka De Wa (like Harrods). The Food Hall at Ka De Wa was very very impressive. I think it leaves the Harrods Food Hall for dead.
There are a lot of new buildings since we were last there (about 12 years) and I would be very happy to go back . Will add it to the never ending list.
Back in Edinburgh for final week of the Fringe. Off to see Ed Byrne tonight - crazy Irish comedian so that should be fun. Also seeing Scottish friend on Tuesday night to farewell him and hand over some wine we will not get to plus some nice wine glasses we were given by Majestic Wines. Not leaving them for the next visitors or people upstairs. Vaguely starting to consider which bits of clothing etc may be left behind and how on earth we are going to fit in 2 bottles of whisky. I'm sure we will work it out by Sunday night.
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