Berlin

Thursday, 1 October

Today LorraiAne and I went our separate ways, she on a "Fat Tire" bike tour and me actually doing some hopping on and off.

I started at the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche, a ruined church tower left as a reminder of the war. My next stop was Checkpoint Charlie, where there were some good displays about the checkpoint as well as a Macdonalds with a view and a lot of tourists.

At the Gendarmenmarkt there are three impressive buildings: the concert house and two identical churches facing each other, the German church and the French church. There is also a shop dedicated to Ampelman.

Next stop was Museum Island and the Neues Museum which houses an amazing collection of Egyptian, Roman and other artefacts. The beautiful sculpture of the head of Nefertiti did not disappoint. She was top of my list of things to see in Berlin and she took my breath away. The grounds around the museums are lovely with places to sit and enjoy the gardens and sculptures.

The Brandenburg Gate was another highlight though it was somewhat obscured by fences, portaloos and hoardings in preparation for the celebrations of 25 years since reunification, which will take place in a couple of days.

That was my last bit of hopping off and I stayed aboard until the bus brought me back to Kurfürstendamm, where I had a cuppa and cake before putting my feet up at the hotel. Lorraine came back very pleased with her cycling and having seen a few sights that I missed. This is an interesting city and there is a lot more to be learned about it. However our time has run out and we head off to Skiathos in the morning. We have had a beautiful, sunny day today. So hopefully there is more to come in Greece.

 

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