Pre-Christmas Berlin break 19-22 December 2016

A sad day for Berlin...

We were all ready to leave home this morning for 9.30am, but I have to admit it was a bit stressful! I do sometimes ask myself it it's worth all the hassle to go away! I was dreading the flight and the chaos that is Luton airport, especially as there were major works going on.

Anyway, we were on the road and arrived at Luton at 10.45am, fifteen minutes before our arranged parking in the Long Term car park started. It didn't matter, though, as there were 2 hours free so we drove in, found a space and battled our way to the shuttle bus with all our luggage. Again, I wonder why we feel the need to take so much? We'd booked a large suitcase into the hold and at home we'd had to take stuff out of it as it had already gone over the 20kg limit! Luckily Sophie and Mike had managed to get all their clothes into their hand luggage which was great as there is no weight restriction on cabin bags!

Just as we reached the terminal on the shuttle bus, there was a lot of commotion and we realised that Andre Rieu was at the airport, along with his orchestra, I presume, as there were several large coaches holding up all the shuttle buses! Keith actually saw Andre Rieu getting onto one of the coaches, but of course, I missed seeing him! I always think he looks like an older version of Mel Gibson in Braveheart!

Once all the coach drivers had sorted themselves out, we went in search of the information boards and were a bit dismayed to see that our flight was delayed by about 45 minutes. The terminal was a bit chaotic and there were very few places to sit but we found a table near Burger King and sat down to wait. All of a sudden we saw two armed policemen come along with a dog and they asked us if two cases nearby (and left unattended) were ours? Did we know who they belonged to? We said no and they started to look a bit alarmed. There were several armed policemen about and suddenly the luggage owner appeared to claim them, He received a right earful from one of the policemen, and quite rightly as well. He was stupid to leave them and we hadn't even noticed! The dog was in and out and sniffing everything and we learnt he was an explosives dog, so that was very reassuring!

By now, our flight had come up on the information board asking us to go to bag drop, so we rushed off and had our bag seen to by a very friendly easyJet staff member who showed us how to use the automated bag drop machine. There were no quibbles over weight so we felt very relieved!

As soon as we were rid of the case we went through to Security and more hassle. Luckily none of us were searched (we've learnt our lesson there, mark my words!) and we walked through into Departures which was teeming with people. There is a lot of work going on here at the moment and absolutely no seats to speak of, which I found very annoying. We had an early lunch in Frankie & Benny's of pizza, beefburger (Mike) and chicken wings but as the service was so speedy we were soon back out into the melee.

Luckily we managed to find some seats and whiled away the time until we could go to the gate and board. When we arrived the plane wasn't even there and we found out that we were late because of a knock-on effect of problems earlier in the day. The foggy conditions at Luton might even have been to blame. We were informed that there were too many cabin bags to go on the plane and that we could check in bags into the hold for free. We took advantage of this because our bags were just full of clothes, although Sophie did take her little bag of rings out as she said she couldn't replace them. We were given a receipt for the bags and told to leave them by the steps when we boarded.

Our seats were in the very back row and Keith sat in the aisle seat opposite us. When a couple got on with their baby (about six months I would guess) we looked at him in horror as they asked if they could have his aisle seat as it would make it easier for them. He agreed and I said to Sophie that this could be a difficult flight with the baby being so young...

In fact, the baby was a pure delight from start to finish! He smiled, gurgled and was very happy sitting on his parents' laps, playing with a paper bag and a rattle. He was so gorgeous I could have taken him home with me! The flight was great and seemed to be over very quickly, which was a bonus!

The obligatory "on the plane" photo!

We arrived in Berlin at about 5pm and sped through passport control and baggage reclaim. As it was later than normal we'd all agreed on taking a taxi to our hotel, the Wall Street Park Plaza, which was a very short walk from the hotel we normally stay in.

Once outside the airport we joined the queue for the taxis and were allocated the next one in line. He turned out to be a mad driver and the (thankfully) short drive to the hotel was a bit hair-raising! Once our luggage was in the boot, he screeched off at speed and we joined the autobahn. He then proceeded to dodge in and out of the traffic and went far faster than was reasonable. I sat in the back with Sophie and Mike and felt very anxious indeed. At one point he nearly hit a car in front as he was dodging in and out so quickly. I heaved a huge sigh of relief when we turned off the autobahn and his speed was dictated by the heavy traffic.

Just before we reached our hotel we passed the Jewish museum and he suddenly came alive, pointing it out to us and then telling us that Checkpoint Charlie was nearby. Bizarre! Up until then he'd barely spoken (except for a phone call) so that was a bit strange!

We checked into the hotel feeling very thankful we were still alive and went up to our rooms on the first floor. We were delighted to find that our rooms were next to one another (Sophie was sharing a twin room with Mike) and that we also had a little foyer with another door leading to the corridor. It meant we could close this outer door for privacy but still have our own doors open. This was great as we unpacked and put everything away.

Keith went downstairs to the bar while the rest of us freshened up and I had a good look at the room. We had a big bed, a spacious bathroom, a safe, mini bar and plenty of storage space for our clothes. There were Wall Street references everywhere - the carpet was a dollar note - and a quote above the bed about stocks and shares. The other good thing was that we had access to BBC1 and BBC2 and the ITV and Channel 4 stations.

We found Keith in the bar with a beer and I was a bit disconcerted to see the prices. Mike was still getting ready so Sophie and I had a beer and Keith had another small one and the bill was almost 15 euros! A small beer was 4,90 e which I thought was really steep.

Mike joined us for a beer and then we walked over to the Nikolaiviertal but we popped into the Grosser Kurfurst on the way to see if their bar was open. It was ! Typical! There were still a lot of roadworks going on outside the Grosser Kurfurst and it seemed to concern the bridge over the river. We walked along to the main thoroughfare and crossed over, noticing that there was something missing on the other side of the road...we could see the Television Tower already...was it a building?

It was a cold night and we had a look around the cobbled streets first before heading to the George Brau restaurant for dinner. There didn't seem to be that many people about but the brewery restaurant was busy with people eating and drinking. Keith led us to some high stools at first but I found them very uncomfortable so we ended up sitting at the same table as last year!

We were a bit worried that nobody had noticed us at first, but then a very friendly waiter popped up and gave us some English menus. We ordered beers all round, but I went for a darker beer which was delicious.

We are certainly creatures of habit as we went for almost the same meals as last year! Sophie had to have her potato and sausage soup while Keith, Mike and I went for the tomato and meatball soup. The starters were delicious and served with crusty brown rolls. Sophie, Keith and I opted for the pork schnitzel for a main course while Mike chose the hearty goulash served with potato dumplings. There was a constant stream of people in and out of the restaurant but the cold air cooled us down a little as it was a bit warm in the building.

The food was filling but unexceptional and we certainly didn't have room for dessert! As we were all a bit tired we decided to head back to the hotel for an early night. When we got back I went into the loo and suddenly Sophie came running in saying there'd been a terrorist attack at one of the Christmas markets in Berlin.

I was so shocked by what she said - about five or six weeks ago I'd read in the newspaper that the Christmas Markets were a target for terrorists and I'd felt a shiver of fear run through me, but I never believed it would happen in Berlin. I felt sick about what had happened and the news certainly put a dampener on our evening.

I quickly called my parents to reassure them that we were fine but they hadn't seen the news yet as it had only happened about an hour ago. We then had a flood of worried friends trying to get in contact with us on Facebook, which was nice. We learnt that the market by the Kaiser Wilhelm church had been targeted by a hijacked lorry who drove into the market killing twelve people. It was sickening. It felt like we were in a bad dream.

Rather than have an early night we stayed up to watch the news and find out what was going on. At first the police didn't know if it was a real terrorist attack or just a tragic accident but we all felt that there was something sinister going on. Poor Berlin - our hearts go out to the people involved.

A manic household!

Unbelievably, Mike woke me this morning at 9am to ask us to collect him from Brixworth. I felt a bit groggy and tired after another late night but Keith and I both dressed and went to get him. He said he hadn't slept all night and looked very much the worse for wear - that doesn't bode well for our trip tomorrow!

Today we had a lot on - I needed to go back to Morrison's as I wasn't happy with the coat I'd ordered. It certainly wasn't worth £70. We also needed to go and see my parents and borrow their carry-on luggage. After breakfast Keith started the ironing while Sophie and I went out to do our errands. We had a good chat with my parents and we borrowed both their small cases. I also looked at Mum's coats (she has three) and I've borrowed her beautiful camel coat for our trip. Result!

From there we drove to Morrison's which was busy and I returned the coat, making sure I got the receipt. I bought a couple of items for the trip and then we returned home to clean the house and pack. By the time I was finished it was 4pm and time to put a colour on my hair so I don't look too badger-like!

All change!

Getting up to take Sophie into work this morning was a bit difficult, but I had to appear decent as we were going into the building to look at the new changes they'd made and then I needed to go and collect a coat I'd ordered.

We were very impressed with how the new play area looked as they've taken down the wall that we put up in 2000 and it looked wonderful. I had a mixture of pride (that we'd started the business) and envy as I knew that there was no way we could have ever afforded all the new equipment.

New inflatable "pillow" with climbing frame behind

Go-cart circuit

Everything looked lovely and brand new and they had installed a great climbing frame for the older kids. Polly said that they needed a member of staff in this area area at all times now and they even have a coffee machine and slush drinks machine on Reception! How times have changed!

It looked very professional and I did feel a pang of envy that they had done so well in such a short space of time. The official opening was yesterday and Mum and Dad had been invited along to see the changes, which pleased them very much.

We had a quick chat with Maureen who showed us the new layout of the kitchen (something she wasn't that happy about) and then we went off to Morrison's to collect the new coat I'd ordered. The supermarket was very busy and after we'd collect my order we bought some wine (our wine rack is seriously depleted) and then went to pick up Mike from Brixworth where he'd been since yesterday.

The fog that was around last night had mostly disappeared and the day turned a bit overcast, although I think the sun was attempting to break through. The rest of the day was pretty quiet and I managed to change the bedding on our bed which will be one less job to do tomorrow!

Going back to pick Sophie up after work was a bit hairy as the fog had made a return. She was off out again tonight - her work's Christmas do at Sophia's in Northampton - and I really wasn't looking forward to the trip back out to get her later in the evening!

Once she had been dropped off in town Keith and I picked up a Chinese takeaway from the van and went home to catch up with some of the recorded programmes that we can only really watch when Sophie is out! She texted me at 11pm to ask us to pick her up from a place called Shoko on Bridge Street and when we went out we were certainly treated to a sight! Most of the young ones were arriving for their nights out at the various bars and clubs on the busy street and we both gawped at the clothes they were wearing...or maybe not wearing!

Back down to London

Thursday 15 December

Today has been a very quiet and uneventful day - the usual Thursday! We took the kids to college and uni and then went and did our shopping in Kettering. The plan had been to call and have a drink at The Royal Oak to celebrate almost the last shopping day of the year (any excuse!) but we decided not to in the end, as we are out tomorrow night and then it's Berlin next week.

It was a good job we went straight home as Sophie called to ask us to pick her up at 1pm, right when I was in the middle of wrapping some presents! We hurriedly changed and went to get her through the murky, grey and horrible afternoon and called into the bank before heading home. I changed some money into euros...our trip is getting very close!

Friday 16 December

Mike went to college for his last day before the Christmas holidays, but Sophie had the day off as she had tickets to see The 1975 at the O2 in London with Daisy and Laura this evening.

We awoke to fog and it didn't really lift all day. We had a relaxed morning and we set off at 1pm to get more diesel and pick up Sophie's friends. Normally they would have stayed overnight near the O2 but Sophie is working tomorrow and with Christmas so near, their budgets were a bit tight! I had offered to drive them and to thank me, Daisy and Laura had bought us a bottle of wine, which was lovely!

We made good time on the journey and arrived at the O2 at 3.30pm. I had arranged another Just Park space, this time at the Holiday Inn Express about 20 minutes walk away. It was £7.50 as opposed to the £25 that the O2 were charging! We dropped the girls off, found our space and walked back. There is a lot of roadworks going on at the moment, on the approach road to the huge venue and I imagined it would be fun getting out later in the evening! There was a small Christmas market going on near the entrance but we managed to resist the lure of the food stalls!

We went and had a look at the cinema first as we had seen that the film "Allied" was showing at 9pm. It was a bit later than we wanted but there was not much else on offer...I didn't fancy the new Star Wars film!

We booked tickets and then had a couple of drinks at All Bar One, right at the entrance to the O2. The noise level inside was tremendous, so loud that we could barely hear the barman so we took our drinks outside and managed to grab a table where it was a bit quieter.

We spent a pleasant couple of hours sipping our drinks and watching the arena fill up with mainly teenage girls, some of whom were very excited indeed! I sent a text to Sophie and discovered that, as I feared, Laura had taken them all into central London to get a book out of the library. She had left a copy of a book she needed at her student flat and had forgotten to take it home with her. She thought there was a copy at her uni library so the three girls had made a fruitless trip into the city to get it, only the library didn't have the copy any more...Sophie was furious because it cost her £10 for the underground fare, an expense she can't really justify at the moment. I had told her to let Daisy and Laura go and she could have stayed with us, but I suppose she felt she didn't have a choice.

After our drink, Keith and I went to Garfunkel's for a bite to eat - fish and chips for him, steak and ale pie for me followed by desserts of apple crumble and trifle - and then we had a walk by the river for half an hour to get some fresh air and see London all lit up.

There weren't many other people walking along this stretch of the river but we carried on and walked right behind the O2. The building we'd seen being erected the last time we were here turned out to be a new hotel - the Inter-Continental. It looked beautiful. Although we could see people about next to the arena and the hotel, there was a high fence separating the riverside walk from this area and I started to feel a bit nervous as the path was very quiet. I didn't know if we could get back to the O2 by carrying on the way we were going so we decided to turn back. As soon as we did this we saw a whole host of people, including a petite lady out on her own for a walk!

We had an hour to kill before the film started and luckily we found a comfortable sofa to relax on. The adverts and trailers started at 9pm and the theatre was very quiet with not many people watching at all. I think everyone was at the Star Wars showing! We both enjoyed the film but Keith and I thought that Brad Pitt's performance was a bit flat. However, it was very enjoyable and well worth seeing.

The film didn't end until about 11.20pm by which time the girls had seen their concert. We arranged to meet at Starbucks at the entrance and then had a very fast walk back to the car as my parking time ran out at midnight! The traffic was indeed as bad as I feared and I was really glad that we'd parked further away. We managed to join the main road we needed very quickly and were soon on the M11 and then the M25. I think I may have been done for speeding as a camera flashed me (and probably other cars as well) on one of the gantries. It was showing a 50mph limit and I was doing just over 60 so that will be an unpleasant shock when we return from Berlin next week...

The rest of the journey was dominated by thick fog and I certainly couldn't go very fast at all. It was 2am by the time we got home and bed was a very welcome prospect!

An early start!

It was a real shock to be woken by Sophie this morning as I was in the middle of a dream (about driving completely blind...what does that mean?) and I felt really tired. I made myself get up and get straight into the shower, though, and we were leaving the house at 7.50am...bleugh!

As usual when I give Sophie a lift, I was early, so had a relaxing coffee in Costa. I bought some mini muffins and shortbread to take into the office with me and arrived just before Frank, who came bearing mince pies.

Gill made a very welcome re-appearance but sadly had to rush off again as her father was not well. I really felt for her as she looked so worried. We had a busy-ish day with clients coming in groups of three or four, but by 3pm we were finished and before going back to my car I collected some parcels I'd ordered online. Working in town does have some benefits!

I picked up Sophie on the way home and it was lovely to sit and relax over a game of cards in the evening with a wee dram or two!

Christmas lunch

Although we had a late night last night we had to be up fairly early to take Sophie to uni for 10am. The weather today has been horrible - grey and misty with heavy rain in the morning. Yuk!

At lunchtime I went out for the Citizens Advice Bureau Christmas lunch at Overstone Manor. I did wonder at the wisdom of going as, out of the people that I work with, only Priya was a definite! I arrived at 1pm and went into the bar, noticing a man who had followed me in looking around as well. I asked him whether he was at the same lunch and he said he was, but didn't know anyone either! He was a Borough Councillor and offered to buy me a drink, which was very nice, but not something I'd expected!

We had a quick chat and then he saw a group of people he knew so he went off to see them and thankfully, I saw Penny and Tina who work in the office and they kindly asked me to sit at the same table as them. As they are paid staff and managers I was flattered that they'd asked me, but very glad all the same!

It was a good lunch and I got to know the woman sitting opposite me, as well as a man sitting next to me, both of whom were advisors. Priya came in and we had a chat but there was no longer any room on the table for her, so she went to sit with another woman that she knew.

I enjoyed a crispy prawn cocktail to start, followed by steak and chips, all of which were lovely. As we had only been allowed two courses, I was quite prepared to forego a dessert but as there were some spare I ended up with a very sticky and gooey chocolate brownie! As well as the meal we all had a go at a Christmas quiz which certainly broke the ice! I was astonished to see the time was 3.30pm when we finished and I rushed home to collect Keith before going to pick up Sophie from uni.

A very relaxing evening followed as I didn't have to cook (or eat) and could lounge about on the sofa and watch 30 Degrees in February!

Out of my comfort zone...

I spent a very pleasant morning catching up with 30 Degrees in February before Keith and I went to the local garage to fill up with diesel and get my filthy car washed before our trip down to London this afternoon, for the kids to see an American rapper called Post Malone at Electric Brixton.

We all had lunch and left home at 1.30pm, giving us, I hoped, more than enough time to get to Brixton and find our parking space. The journey on the M1 was fine and although the roads in London were busy, we made good time. We crossed Vauxhall Bridge and saw the imposing edifice of the MI5 and MI6 headquarters - it was a bit like being in a James Bond movie! We also managed a trip around Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner where the road was very busy!

I had the updated Gladys in the car with me and she proved invaluable when I missed a turning. She directed me through a maze of narrow residential streets until I picked up the correct route again! When we reached the outer fringes of Brixton our good luck ran out as there were roadworks and the street we needed to turn right on had been closed. This meant that when we eventually reached the end of the road, we had to turn left and find somewhere to turn around, not an easy task in the busy rush hour traffic!

I really used to like driving in London but today I found it difficult, mainly due to the amount of restrictions and rules, such as cameras on traffic lights and the amount of cross-hatched no entry areas that have to be left clear, or you could get a fine. I'd already made sure I'd paid the congestion charge of £11.50 even though we were only driving for about an hour within the specified time!

Our car parking space, booked through Just Park, was the best bit of our day and I'm so glad I booked it. It was on the driveway of a residential house about a ten minute walk from Electric Brixton and the main high street and was perfect for us. At just £8.00 for a slot from 3pm until midnight, it couldn't have been any better and I have no idea where I'd have parked otherwise.

We walked back into Brixton and decided to have a drink at a nearby pub, because although the doors to the venue weren't open until 7pm, there were a load of people already queuing and Sophie and Mike didn't fancy standing out for two hours! We found The Beehive pub on the main street which was thronged with people shopping and on their way home from work. I've never seen the streets so busy!

The pub was very different to what we were all used to but there was a good atmosphere and as it was a Wetherspoon's, the drinks and food prices were very reasonable. We managed to find an empty table at the back and enjoyed a couple of drinks before we called in to McDonald's so the kids could have a bite to eat before the gig.

By now the queue had grown enormously so we waved goodbye to our offspring and walked back to the pub to have dinner and wait. It was slightly busier than earlier and the noise level had increased a bit but we still managed to find a table and look at the menu. I fancied crispy chicken strips and these came with some chunky chips and a barbecue dip. I'd have liked a salad with it, but forget to order it as a side dish!

By 8pm Keith and I had finished eating and the rest of the evening stretched out before us... I wished we'd bought our playing cards along! There was a kind of entertainment in people watching and there was a tense moment when an argument erupted between two elderly men who should have known better over a comment one of them made, but on the whole the ambience was very friendly.

At 10pm we took a slow walk up to Electric Brixton but as there was no sign of anyone coming out we decided to take Sophie's coat and my bag back to the car before having a slow walk back. When we returned again, one of the security guards told us that the gig wouldn't finish until 11pm as Post Malone hadn't gone on stage until 10pm! It meant we had nearly an hour to wait and I'm just thankful it wasn't a freezing cold night! We sat in a nearby bush shelter and prayed they would be out quickly so we could go home!

I couldn't get used to the frenetic pace and sheer busyness of this area of London. Even at 11pm the streets were full of cars and people and I just knew there was no way I could live somewhere like that, after being used to living in the quiet of the countryside for so long.

Luckily the kids came out just after 11pm and showed me a sweatshirt they'd bought for £50. It looked like an old dishrag! Ho hum! It was their money! We walked back to the car and set off on our journey home which was pretty straightforward except for when I took a wrong turning off Hyde Park corner and we ended up in a very posh residential area! Gladys set me right though and we were joining the M1 at midnight, much earlier than I had anticipated!

We eventually reached home at 1am and we sat with a drink before going to bed. Bliss to be home!