We had a very early start on Monday morning and left the children sleeping (or so we thought) in bed. I'd set the alarm for Sophie and told her that my mum would be around at 7am to make sure she was up and to get both children ready for the day. Mikey was lucky enough to have two training days off school, but poor Sophie had to go back and she wasn't amused!
We had a good run down to Luton Airport but the M1 was very busy, even at 4.30am! Just as we neared the car park to leave our car for the three days we were away, my mobile rang. My blood rang cold when I saw it was Sophie... I hadn't been entirely happy about leaving them in the house, despite it being locked up like Fort Knox and all the downstairs lights on. Anyway, Sophie said that Mikey had woken up and wouldn't stop coughing. He'd been fine all weekend so I told her to give him some cough medicine and to try and go back to sleep. She was a bit upset as she was very tired but she told me she was OK. We parked the car and while we were waiting for the shuttle bus, I called again, this time getting Mikey who sounded absolutely fine, except for the bit about him having difficulty breathing! I went straight into panic mode and called my mum who was around to the house within minutes. She phoned me as we were going through security and reassured me that he was perfectly OK so it sounded like a bit of drama-mongering going on and a bit of "let's make mum feel really guilty!"
Anyway, I calmed down a lot (and did shed a tear or two in guilt) and Keith and I headed for Starbucks for a coffee and a pastry. We were flying with easyJet and I'd been dreading the flight, but up until now everything had been really smooth and easy (except I had to take off my walking boots going through security). We'd checked in online two weeks previously and bag drop was heaven compared to the normal scrum at check-in. I heartily recommend it even if you do have hold luggage as it was a complete breeze.
Just as we were about to amble off to check the departure gate I noticed a man standing nearby who looked very familiar...with a sudden jolt, I realised it was our very own England Manager, Fabio Capello! He was just loitering about wearing a very fetching navy blue blazer and talking into his mobile phone! He wandered off and we followed but there was no way I was going to go up and say something and everyone else seemed to be ignoring him as well!
True to form, just as Keith disappeared off to the loo, our departure gate flashed up and I went into panic mode again! I needn't have worried though, as we were among the first to make it to the gate and the Speedy Boarders were on the same bus as us! The flight was brilliant - we had a spare seat next to us and the plane was only half full so it was very pleasant and quiet. easyJet redeemed themselves!
Back in Berlin
For a change this visit, we decided to take a train to the hotel rather than a taxi. The very first time we went to Berlin we'd had the same idea but as we'd never travelled on the trains before we hadn't had a clue what to do and we'd just waited on an empty platform in the hope that something would arrive, which of course it hadn't. Maybe it was a good thing we gave up and hired a taxi as we could have ended up in Poland!
This time we knew exactly what to do, but even so, the scheduled train didn't turn up when it should have and it caught quite a few people out! We trudged back down the loooong ramp back to the station and then back up another one to a different platform. The long walks or flights of stairs are a feature of Berlin stations and I really wish I'd been wearing a pedometer to tell me exactly how many miles and steps we covered over the three days!
Luckily the train arrived and we sank thankfully into a seat for the twenty minute journey to our hotel. I love the transport system in Berlin. The trains are rarely late, are quiet, clean and comfortable and there is hardly ever a long wait. It was a real treat not to have to worry about driving for once.
Our main line train took us to Alexanderplatz and from there we took the U-Bahn to Markishes Museum which is a stop right next to our hotel, the Derag Grosser Kurfurst, named after Frederick William, the Great Elector of Brandenburg. There is a huge statue of him riding a horse attached to the foyer wall of the hotel and is very impressive!
This was our 7th visit to the hotel and we were able to check in straight away, which was great as we could unpack and use the loo, the first thing we seem to do when we get to our room! Is it a human way of marking our territory, I wonder!!!
We were delighted to find that the two bottles of water and two beers in the mini-bar were free and while we were unpacking there was a knock at the door and one of the staff handed me two bottles of a very pleasant "wine" called Peek-a-boo which was made from German sekt (sparkling wine) and cranberry juice, also free!
Our first afternoon was spent walking. We took a meandering path to the river Spree, looking at the boats moored up on the banks and admiring the view of the TV Tower in the distance. It was very mild and the leaves were falling like snow all around us. We crossed my personal road of hell, (a very busy six lane main thoroughfare that nearly killed me and my parents last year when the traffic lights were switched off to allow a convoy of dignitaries to sweep through after the Wall celebrations - in the ensuing chaos we crossed the road and a car nearly hit us) and walked along the river where we were amazed to see the tour boats still running. This area, on the banks of the River Spree, is known as the Nikolai Quarter and is my favourite bit of Berlin. Most of the cobbled streets of grand old houses were bombed in the war, but the area has been rebuilt and is full of little shops, restaurants and bars. I have my eye on an apartment there!
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| Boats on the Spree River |
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| A street in the Nikolai Quarter |
There was a lot of building and restoration work going on, something that we noticed all over Berlin. We always go and see what has happened to the old East German government building as on our first trip it was being slowly dismantled. It was a really ugly building and there are plans to build a new palace and forum to take its place.
We said hello to our old friend, the Berliner Dom, and then walked down the Unter den Linden towards the Brandenburg Gate, stopping on the way for a currywurst and beer! Everyone (apologies to vegetarians) who goes to Berlin has to have currywurst - a chopped up German sausage covered in a curry sauce. I'm sure there is a vegetarian alternative available, but Berliners are very much in love with pork and the humble pig features heavily on the menu!
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| Keith enjoying his Berliner Pilsner |
We were able to walk through the Brandenburg Gate for once - in the past it's been roped off as there have been various events taking place and last year, for the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Wall, the whole place was heaving with people.
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| The Reichstag |
Retracing our first visit to the city, we meandered over to the Reichstag to see how long the queue was to get in. We've never been inside as there are always huge lines of people and today was no exception. Shrugging our shoulders and promising that we'd go next time, we looked around for a U-Bahn station and spotted one near the Government buildings. It was a brand new station and served the line U55 which must be the shortest line in the city as it only ran to Berlin's main station a few minutes away. Everything was gleaming steel and you could have eaten straight off the floor, it was so clean!
At the Hauptbahnhoff (where I dreamed of travelling to Moscow) we took a train back to Alexanderplatz and then the underground to the hotel. I'd wanted to have a bit of relaxation time in Berlin and it was lovely to get back to the hotel, have a hot bath and a snooze before dinner!
A TV dinner!
My absolute favourite place in Berlin is the bar of our hotel. My little bench seat is at one end and I love all the mirrors, the gleaming glasses and bottles and watching the barman make cocktails. He is an expert and has certificates on the walls to prove it! Keith went down for a drink before me while I phoned home and then I joined him for a couple of glasses of wine. It was supremely relaxing. The hotel restaurant was closed so after a few drinks we went in search of a place to eat in the Nikolai Quarter which is beautiful at night. There are lots and lots of places to choose from, from intimate little bars with candle-lit tables to cellar restaurants serving hearty meals. Looming above all this is the TV Tower which, if the atmosphere is right (fog and mist), has the appearance of a huge alien spaceship hovering above us. Lured by its lights and presence we made the decision to have dinner there, not bothering that the night sky was a bit misty.
It costs 20 euros to get in and you're whisked to the viewing platform and restaurant in a very speedy lift which makes my ears pop! We waited for a table to become free and then took our place on the revolving part which slowly shows you the sights of the city.
We've eaten at the TV Tower before and had excellent meals, but tonight we were both a bit disappointed. Our main course arrived a bit too swiftly for my liking and mine had, as a little extra, a paperclip nestling between my potato dumplings...I know I should have said something but the waitress was a little scary and I didn't want to be whisked off to a Berlin cell for impertinence...
I have to say something about potato dumplings, which Hitler obviously overlooked as the perfect ammunition in the war...they are solid and sink to the bottom of your stomach like cannonballs where they stay for days on end.
After our meal we walked slowly back to the hotel and to the refuge of bed where, as you can imagine after our long day, we slept like the dead!
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