We hurriedly showered, dressed and packed our cabin bags before checking out and walking the short distance to the airport. It was a dreary, damp and foggy morning and it was great to finally arrive at Departures and make our way straight through Security.
It was here I fell foul of the system, which left me gritting my teeth with annoyance... Sophie had given me a clear plastic bag for all our toiletries (all of them under the required 100ml) but when I took the bag out to put it through the scanner separately, the security officer said it was far too big and I had too much stuff. He made me buy two small clear bags for £1 (good job I had a coin on me!) and then said I couldn't take two bags through as you were only allowed one per person! Sophie had already gone through so I had to jettison our conditioner, toothpaste and deodorant and stuff our other toiletries into one small bag. Does it really matter? In future I will just buy the things I need in the departure lounge or take a hold bag. What a bloomin faff!
By now I was desperate for a coffee so we went to Starbucks where the staff were having their own frustrating start to the day. A couple in front of me spoke no English and were very rude, making the staff behind the counter roll their eyes in annoyance! We had a good-natured chat and the woman told me that she has to go through security every day and that morning she was searched! I didn't realise that! It's bad enough doing it every once in a while, let alone every single day!
We sat and had a light breakfast and then made our way to Boots where I replaced our purloined toiletries. I had no intention of bringing any of them back with me!
All too soon, it was time to go to the Departure gate and wait for boarding. We'd booked our seats and there was no frantic scrambling to get onto the plane like there normally is with easyJet. It was all very civilised and calm!
The flight to Berlin was short and efficient. No sooner were we up than it was time to descend but we both managed to have a cup of coffee and hot chocolate and I treated myself to a muffin as all I'd had at the aiport was a dry oat biscuit. We landed at Berlin Schonefeld in bright sunshine but it was far colder than Luton!
Sophie had never caught the train from the aiport before and had been astounded when I said we wouldn't need a taxi as the public transport was so efficient and the station was merely a ten minute walk away. We made our way to a ticket kiosk and bought two standard day fares for just under 15 euros...a lot cheaper than a 40 euro taxi ride!
Luckily, as we went up onto the platform a train was standing waiting for us and it wasn't long before we arrived at Alexanderplatz station and caught the U2 line to Potsdamer Platz. From here we had a fifteen minute walk to our hotel, a Holiday Inn Express, just minutes away from the Tempodrom where Ben Howard was appearing that night.
It was brilliant to be able to check in straight away and get unpacked. Our room was on the fourth floor and had views over the city. It was on the small side but was perfect for what we needed with twin beds, a lovely bathroom (with a big shower) and a small area for hanging up our clothes.
We unpacked, freshened up and made our way to an S-Bahn station we'd noticed on the walk to the hotel called Anhalter Bahnhof. This connected to the station at Potsdamer Platz where we retraced our steps to take the U2 line to the station nearest the hotel we usually stay at. We wanted to see what progress had been made on the building works going on last year in the summer when we were woken every morning by the sound of cranes and banging!
The building, an apartment block, was finished and looking lovely and new...
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| November 2014 |
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| July 2013 |
On the way I took photos of my favourite view -
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| I always feel like I've come home when I see this view... |
And some views of the streets in the Nikolaiviertal...
There were Christmas decorations everywhere and we came around the corner to see a small open-air cinema where a couple were watching an old black and white film. Around them were chairs and tables with blankets and the gorgeous smell of Gluhwein.
We decided to have lunch at Reinhard's as Sophie was craving their delicious sausage and potato soup. Luckily it was on the lunch menu and we were soon seated and perusing the dishes on offer. We each chose a beer - Sophie went for the Berliner Pilsner, while I went for my favourite, the dark Kostritzer. I'm sure the waiter recognised us from the Bar Otello next door where Keith and I spent an enjoyable couple of evenings back in 2012. He was very friendly and polite and took our order of soup followed by Currywurst for Sophie and a Berlin-style meatball for me.
There were lots of groups of people eating and a lovely, very festive atmosphere. Next to our table were rows of glorious Poinsettias and the restaurant was cosy and warm. I could easily have stayed all day!
The food was wonderful and Sophie was certainly not disappointed with her soup which was thick and hearty. I promised her I would try and make it at home. Our main courses were equally good and we enjoyed another beer each before paying the bill and making our way over to the Berliner Dom.
On the way we admired some fantastic old photos displayed on the wall surrounding the new Humboldt forum, which has taken the place of the old East German government building. Work has really started in earnest on the new venue so it'll be great to see it when it's finally finished. The first time Keith and I visited back in 2006, they were dismantling the old East German building and it really made an impression on me then.
We wandered over to look at the Berliner Dom, another favourite building, and had a hot chocolate and some macaroons in a cafe overlooking the river. Last year when we came here they were busy selling ice-creams but today it was chocolates and hot drinks!
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| The Marienkirche church in the shadow of the TV Tower. |
We were delighted to find a huge Christmas market in the wide open space leading up to Alexanderplatz. The U-Bahn building works were hidden behind fences and the whole area was given over to little wooden chalets selling Christmas decorations, winter clothing and stall upon stall offering food of every variety. Around the large ornate fountain was an ice-rink where children were skating, watched by their parents drinking gluhwein and warming themselves by the open fire. It was wonderful!
We wanted to wander around, but Sophie was desperate for the loo (the beer!) so we said we'd come back tomorrow. However, we passed some toilets where a very stern looking man was guarding the Ladies! Before we could use them we had to pay 50 cents!
Thus relieved we carried on around the market and Sophie treated herself to a beautiful ring made out of shell. As we were still full from lunch we managed to avoid eating any food but promised ourselves we would return tomorrow and sample some of the treats on offer.
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| One of the many chalets selling the hot mulled wine...so delicious! |
By now we were a wee bit tired so we made our way back to the hotel and had a well-earned nap before getting ready to see Ben Howard at 8pm. Sophie was convinced that the venue wasn't going to be busy so we both had a bit of a shock when we went around the corner and saw hundreds of people queuing to get into the Tempodrom! We joined one the queues and it dawned on me that we hadn't a clue what to do! Were we even in the right queue?
As we neared the entrance one of the staff was asking whether people had sitting or standing tickets. All we had was a confirmation email but we had reserved seats so we were directed to another window where I produced some ID and was given two new tickets with our seat numbers on them.
We wanted a drink and asked for two bottles of water. The caps were removed and then we were given two plastic red disks that we later found out were deposits for the bottles. It was a very quick learning curve for us!
We found our seats in Block 6 and discovered we had a great view of the stage. At 8pm exactly, the lights went down and Ben Howard's support act, Jack Garratt, came on and performed some great music for about half an hour. Sophie told me there would be "at least" three support acts, but as the time went on, and nobody appeared I began to doubt her. If she was right then Ben wouldn't appear until about 11pm!
Luckily, there was just the one support act and Ben Howard came on shortly after 9pm. He performed all his songs from the new album "I Forget Where We Were" plus three others, one of which he dedicated to his mum who was on tour with him. What a lovely touch! He kept on coming back for encores and had a lot of banter with the audience which was great!
We both enjoyed the show tremendously and we never heard any other English voices, which I did find surprising. I was convinced there would be other Brits there (and there probably were!) but we didn't see any!
After the show, Sophie bought a tee-shirt and a poster and we made the short journey back to the hotel where we collapsed thankfully into bed!
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