10/07 - Istanbul to Berlin - wake up call at 5:15 for cab at 6:00 for flight at 8:30. All went smoothly. Light breakfast at airport, then again on flight. Arrived 10:15. Interesting immigration processing - at the end of the gangway as you get off the plane. No entry to terminal until cleared. Processing slow, only 3 inspectors and each working very slowly. Baggage pickup also right there so no walking to a baggage terminal elsewhere. Then straight out to taxis, buses etc. Not a bad system actually. Cab to the apartment by 11:30, where Uta was waiting to show us the ropes. Speaks English very well, used to be an English teacher and lived in UK for 10 years. Very meticulous. Then her husband Andreas showed up and they finally left about 2 hours after we got here. Had a reconnoitre around the local neighbourhood and then to the main street for shops etc. We are very well located. I had a further look around to find local SIM options while Marta unpacked and had a snooze. Evening meal was pork knuckle etc at a pub across the road. Meals we so big we could not finish them. Then to a supermarket for supplies, checked emails at Starbucks and back home. TV here is great and has many channels but all in German. However we watched a courtroom drama - amazing how much you can understand the movie from expressions and intonations [that's how my mother must have fealt as she watched TV in Australia, not being able to speak English] - before crashing about 9:30 [still light of course]

Photos: Berlin - apartment block entrance, lounge and main bedroom of our apartment and our first Personal Hygene Appliance. Note sunlight - photos taken about 8:15pm.

11/07 - Berlin - day sunny early but drizzle and cool by 9:00. Back to simple breakfast, then downstairs to buy a SIM card E9.95 and on to Starbucks for coffee and internet. SIM card was a bit of a hassle as it required activation by phone but between us [Marta, operator with little English and me] we finally got it working. We are situated a block from Freidrichstrasse, part of Berlin's premier shopping district, together with Unter Den Linden about 3 blocks down so went for a walk to see what was there. Two hours later the sun was out again but Marta not too interested in the shops, too high end and expensive. Ended up at the Lafayette Shopping Mall, a mini KaDeVe for shopping and food, for a bowl of fish soup and glass of wine for lunch. They also have crab soup and lobster soup and big fat oysters so will probably be back once or twice before we go as it's so close. Marta picked up 2kgs of strawberries [in season and on sale everywhere on the streets] and some brawn and frankfurts for dinner then back home to relax for the rest of the afternoon. Have identified where hop-on hop-off tours go so, provided weather is OK, that's what we will do tomorrow. E22 pp covers a 3-hours round trip for 2 days. Had the Brawn in the evening with potatoes and cauliflower, vinegar and mustard - good to get back to simple stuff for a change. To bet at 9:30, still light.

Photos: Berlin Day 2 - Pork Knuckles on first night in town and 2kgs of strawberries on day 2.

12/07 Berlin - sunny but cool [15?] but drizzle started as we left the apartment at 9:30. By 10:30 it had rained heavily but was back to sun so we boarded a hop-on/off tour bus. Down it came again and the roof had to be closed. We were downtown in central Berlin around 12:30 so got off in front of KaDeVe store. Same as ever. We selected a simple grilled lobster tail for me and a plate of grilled scallops [12] for Marta, plus a glass of Cloudy Bay Sav Blanc. Truly excellent lunch!! That took nearly two hours all up and we got back to the apartment around 3:00. Time for a quick snooze, some reading and late snack of frankfurts, potatoes and cauliflower - plus a slice of German black bread for a tasting the three kinds of herring I had bought earlier at KaDeVe. Marta called her cousin Irene in Hamburg and arranged for us to visit her next Thursday so we need to get to the station tomorrow to find when trains run and if we need to book. Then to bed around 9:30 again, although Marta stayed up later as she had slept longer in the afternoon. The owners had been back earlier too and left their car keys in the mailbox for us so we are now mobile if we want to use it. Forgot to mention... we also have the very latest in Berlin toilet-ware - the "Personal Hygene Appliance" - to make sure users are as clean as can be after the experience. Will need to read the manual before attempting to use it though... lots of buttons for doing mysterious things. :-)

Photos: Berlin Day 3 - cloudy start to the day, rain while touring, KaDeVe lunch and just a fraction of the enormouse buffet on level 7.

13/07 - Berlin - overcast, raining most of the day, 12-18, miserable - waited for bus after coffee to go to main station to find out about tickets to Hamburg but no bus arrived. Turned out there were major roadworks just started up the road and all buses had to detour. By the time we found one we had already walked to the Bandenberg Gate. Train station is huge. Booked return tickets for next Thursday. E246 [that was the special price, non-cancellable, otherwise E300+] for the return trip - ouch!! However Cousin Irene appears to be in a bad way with her cancer so no option as Marta needs to see her this trip, just in case. Decided to train it back home so we could see how long it would take for when we do the trip next week. What a disaster! The roadworks affected the uBahn too so shuttle buses were in effect for the main train-swap location, the main Freidrichstrasse stop. Signs above footways no longer agreed with signs that had been painted on the footpaths and no shuttles were to be seen anywhere. Slogged away on foot again for much of the distance. [We seem to be doing a lot of walking this trip.] Invited to dinner tonight by Andreas and Maja, the young couple from Berlin who housed swapped with us last Nov. Andreas picked us up and showed us more of the ropes with uBahns on our way over. Their apartment is at the top of 5 flights of stairs, about 120 in all, quite a slog. Maja was feeding their 3yo Anna when we arrived, plates were out and she offered us some soup ["...if you like to try"]. We all had a bowl. Very nice thick vegetable soup/stew. Andreas asked if we wanted more but we declined. And that was it!! No more food. Lots of interesting chat... but the soup was it as far as food was concerned. And a bottle of nice red wine they opened just for us as she couldn't drink as she was pregnant and he doesn't drink. In the absence of food we finished the wine off over 3-4 hours. We could have had more soup and would have if we'd known nothing else was to follow. :-( No wonder he is so lean. Her too except for her pregnancy. They had also arranged for us to visit Maja's parents in the Spreewald, about an hour away by train, for a tour around that area and into Poland. Manfred, her father, would drive us. We will be heading up Sunday morning and back Tuesday. [They had also stayed at our Neutral Bay unit with Andreas & Maja.] Our time in Berlin is already being eaten away. Then back to uBahn for the 2-stage train trip back home at 11:30.

Photos: The conflicting steps to nowhere from the station and Andreas, Maja & Anna at their apartment.

14/07 - Berlin - raining, cold, all morning and most afternoon. Spent most of the day indoors, just out for a coffee and some groceries in the morning and checking out Freidrichstrasse station in preparation for tomorrow. This European summer looks just like the Australian summer we just had, wet and with temps typically ranging from low to high teens.

15/07 - Berlin-Spreewald - overcast but dry, 15. U-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse station then S-Bahn to Vetschau in the Spreewald at 9:40. The journey took an hour for the 120 kms. Urban Berlin lasted only 10-15 mins, then countryside and villages the rest of the way. Train fast and almost silent. Manfred picked us up at the station and drove us about 10 kms kms to his place at the town/village of Werben, where we will stay for a couple of nights. The town, he tells us, has history going back 700 years and certainly has some very interesting and seriously old buildings still in use today. Manfred speaks only German. No recognition at all of any English words. Same with his wife Marina. We are in the old East Germany and they were taught in school to speak German and Russian only. Big opportunity for Marta to brush up her language skills but I am right out of any dialogue. I have no idea what they are saying and they don't understand me. Nice small house on 13,500 square metres of hobby farm. First some welcoming homemade lemonade as they sit around making ideal chatter with Marta. Then a drive to a local pub for lunch, Stopping to look at a local new spa along the way. Very flash! Lunch was slices of pork, roasted in a huge pizza-like oven. Slices were actually slabs, plus sauerkraut, bread, potatoes, crackling and mustard. Yummy. They then told us that Maja had marvelled at what small eaters we were last night. :-) Then a further drive to a punt for a ride through the canals for 90 minutes [while they waited as they had done it before] and to quite a spectacular little local trains museum before returning home. Conversation had been - and continued to be - constant between them and Marta, although little flowed through to me. Coffee and cake again on the rear patio followed by beers and wine. Wine was a sweet red [suited Marta] and beer was bottled, at room temperature [terrible]. Then a tour of the extensive vegetable gardens and haphazard orchard followed by more drinks and dinner around 8:00. Dinner was a light cold plate selection with dark German bread. All nice and tasty. A quick look at slides of their trip to Sydney and New Zealand and Maja's wedding and then to bed around 9:30. Seemed like the normal time they went to bed. Bed for us looked like a couch/bed conversion - a bit hard - pillows very low, little more than folded sheets. Manfred and Marina [71 & 69 respectively] seem a a very actives, spritely couple so it's a pity about the language barrier. They also suggested we cycle to lunch and then tour around but Marta couldn't due to her knee. The Spreewald area is very flat so has a lot of cyclists. It is also laced with canals and punts, pubs, spas, "romantic" hotels and resorts, cafes and various other eating places, making it a popular spot for Berliners and other tourists to visit for weekends or holidays.

Photo: Manfred & Marina, with their park-like gardens in the background.

Photos: Manfred's 1860 water pump still in daily use for gardens, patio at rear [fronts our bedroom], part of the roast pork for lunch and a ride on the canals.

16/07 - Werben - overcast still and quite cool. Took a walk into the village [1500] of Werben bright and early [6:30] while everyone still asleep. Rain had started by the time we had finished breakfast and set off for the day at 9:40. Went stork stalking for a while after Manfred spotted one and Marta was keen to see more. Then some local coal reclamation works where they had otters [but we didn't see any]. Then set sail for Lubin in Poland, some 50 kms away. Stopped at some Bunnings-style stores [very similar] looking for an indoor/outdoor thermometer similar to the one we have in the Berlin apartment as I had said I wouldn't mind one like that and Manfred was determined that we would fnd one in a "Walmart", which is what he called all these stores even though they all displayed different names. We found an identical one just out of Lubin, still in Germany, so bought it there on the return trip. Manfred and Marina did some shopping in Lubin [super cheap for most things - eg 6-pack full strength beer for E3] and we had lunch at the flower market [Brotwurst and skewers from a small stall. Then back to Germany, another reclamation project near Cottbus, more storks and finally to Cottbus, a nearby large city, to pick up some wine and beer for tonight. Sun had now appeared and weather warmed up quite a bit. Coffee and cake again when we got back at 4:00 and a snooze for everyone except Marina, who was busy preparing dinner, which turned out to be a Spreewld special of boiled potatoes, a mix that looked and tasted like sour cream but we were told was actually more a cottage cheese with challots, pickled gerkins and some sort of oil. Doesn't sound too good but tasted really great. Talked and showed a movie of daughetr Maja [elite sports girl, rower, national champion in doubles skulls 1995] until bedtime at 10:15. Manfred and Marina are really nice and friendly couple who looked after us very well, introducing us the sights and food of the Spreewald, giving us a good insight into the more rural village life in Germany. A welcome chnage from city living.

Photos: A German Bunnings, walk in the park near Cottbus, pyramid in the park's lake and Berlin uBahn station still deserted at 8:00 am Sunday morning.

17/07 - Werben-Berlin - very overcast, ground wet, had obviously been raining overnight. Have been in the Berlin area now for a week and running out of time to do all the things we had planned unless weather takes a turn for the better. River cruise, Pottsdam tour, Tiergarden [super large zoo that Marta wants to see] and Berlin Zoo still on the agenda, as well as some interesting districts in Berlin that we have heard about. Plus trip to Hamburg on Thursday. Breakfast at 7:30, Manfred drove us to station at 8:30 for 9:14 train to Berlin. Problem with which platform and the auto ticket mmachine - good to see the locals too were as confused as we were. Ended up buying the tickets off teh conductor on train. Caught up with email at Starbucks when we got back to AlexanderPlatz and then back "home" to relax. Down the street to get sandwich [Steack Tartare for me - excellent] and fillings for Marta, then lunch and quiet afternoon watching the rain. Sun came out around 6:00 - but overcast again by 7:30. Bed at 8:30 - no TV [everything in German and very boring local shows anyway, no drama-type shows at all], nothing exciting to read and tired after a couple of drinks].

Photos: The Berlin Postie's mode of transport.

19/07 - Berlin - same again but dry - early start with u-Bahn to Alexanderplatz and s-Bahn to Hauptbahnhof [main station] and then ICE train to Hamburg at 08:17. Weather cleared on the way but came down in buckets as we approached Hamburg and stayed that way until we left, with a brief hour of sunlight during the afternoon. Irene met us at the airport and took us to her place, just four u-Bahn stops from the city centre. Irenne has bowel cancer that spread to her liver but is currently in remission. She knows they can't stop it. Her hair is returning after chemo and her feet are numb as a result but she is in good spirits. She has very good English so we chatted and lunched at a nearby working mans' fish restaurant with morning and afternoon tea before our return. Depite also having one sore leg, Irene insisted on accompanying us back to the main station and making sure we got on board safely. Nice soul. [She didn't know she had a father until he suddenly appeared when she was 16, having just been released from a Russian POW camp 11 years after the war because someone forgot to tell the POW camp that the war had ended!] Berlin seemed finer when we returned. Late dinner of delicious potato salad prepared by Irene, who insisted on sending it with us, and some local sausages. Yum, yum.

Photos: ICE train from Berlin to Hamburg and Irene with Marta on u-Bahn to her home.

20/07 - Berlin - blue sky and sun shining at last, but still cold. After breakfast at home and the usual Grande at Starbucks down the road, we sharpened our train skills further with an alternative route to downtown Berlin and did a bus tour of Potsdam, some 45 minutes away. Potsdam is loaded with palaces and gardens and bacame famous in the 1960s for where the US swapped a Russian spy for one of their own, Gary Powers. We had a look through the splendors of the Sansosouci Palace, built in 1747 for Fredrick the Great. Another display of oppulence typical of the time for the upper crust of society. No photos permitted inside. Back home about 4:30. Quiet evening at home watching The Quiet Man, a John Wayne movie from Uta's collection of old movies on tape and DVD and to bed around 10:30 to end our day of culture.

Photos: Sanssouci Palace scenes and ornate front gate.

21/07 - Berlin - started as nice sunny day but about 10 degrees but grey and overcast again by the time we'd had breakfast and a coffee down the street. We were just Die Berliners today. Watched a video over lunch in the flat - The Wall [The Making & Breaking of the Berlin Wall] - excellent documentary that includes nearby histories as well of pre and post WWII - we need to get a copy. The threat of a wet afternoon was too great for the zoo or boat cruise we had planned so we U-ed to Alexander Platz instead to see what the locals were up to. Lots of eateries of various descriptions, the Galeria department store, Park Inn hotel [we stay at in 2000], sundry stalls and 1000s of people generally milling around. The greatest attraction seemed to be watching people jump off the top of the 24-storey hotel building, albeit secured with a harness attached to a small crane on the roof. Others were sitting in deck chairs [???] on the concrete sidewalk around the square, as though at the beach. Die Berlin summer? Back to the flat for an earlish dinner in in the cot by 8:00. [I've never had so much sleep in my life!!]

Photos: A day at a concrete city beach for Die Berliners, warm jackets and all.

22/07 - Berlin on a Sunday - shops all closed - sunny to start but overcast and threatening again by the time we'd had our coffees - grabbed umbrellas and onto U for the Zoological Gardens [Zoo Berlin]. Already 10 min queues by 10:15. Sky now clear and stayed that way the rest of the day - a REAL summer day with temp around 20 max. Zoo had all the usual suspects but was disappointing overall with most enclosures a bit smallish. Took around 3.5 hours to get around and out again [queues to get in now about an hour]. Then another hour or so for a walk around a deserted downtown - only cafes open - nothing like Sydney - before the U home about 3:30. The auto ticket machines at station was a challenge again, as most now are, as many not accepting notes any more - faulty? - and no other option to buy tickets. Only major stations are staffed. Dinner at 6:30 and to bed by 8:00 [again!]. TV here is useless. News repeats the same stuff for days - the US Aurora shooting and Oslo shootings commemoration service have lead the news for the last 3 days, morning and night. Other shows are a mishmash of lightweight nothings - even if we could understand them. Forecast for tomorrow is 24 deg. :-)

Photos: A selection of the usual suspects at the Berlin Zoo.

23/07 - Berlin - summer arrived today with blue sky and blazing sun shine from dawn to dusk - max 29 - a look at CheckPoint Charlie after coffee and quick grocery shopping in the morning, followed by an unsuccessful hunt through tourist and DVD shops for an hour os so looking for some local videos we would like. Then a toss up whether to visit their Tiergarden super zoo of some 400 acres or take a cruise on the Spree to see Berlin from a water perspective. The latter won and a different perspective it certainly is. Spent the afternoon cruising the canal network. Berlin consists of a network of islands connected by some 700 bridges, more even that Venice they claim. The four hours was a bit long - 2 hours would have been ideal but our only choice was one or four hours. Was 5:00 by the the time we got back home. Another early night but now with summer here, the sun is still high and bright at 8:00 so going to bed at that hour is a little more difficult.

Photos: Our car for the week but not used, Checkpoint Charlie and our regular morning coffee spot.

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Photos: Cruise scenes - and the changing faces of Marta - and our "gourmet" lunch on board.

24/07 - Berlin - summer is still here with 31 today. Our final day in Berlin so cleaning the flat and packing the #1 priority after breakfast and coffee. Lunch at the Friedrichstrasse Lafayette centre just down the road - half a dozen oyester [@ E3.00], a crab soup and lobster soup, all delicious. Then a bus ride to a nearby suburb so Marta could see what suburban shopping was like. Not flash. I then went for a wander down Friedrichstrasse while Marta had a snooze - looked at some tech shops and had a frozen yoghurt, watching the passing parade for a while. It's interesting how staying longer and in an apartment makes a place feel different. Tourists in sightseeing buses or prowling around on foot are "them" rather than "us". Now starting to feel like a local, knowing the train and bus systems, supermarkets etc. Two of the regular staff at Starbucks have known Marta by name now for a week or so and, when she walks in, greet her by name and know her order. We only go there in the mornings so that's not bad considering the 1000s that pour through there very day. Dinner tonight again at the Lowenbrau city hotel, same as the first night, this time with pork neck steaks, a beer and a white wine for Marta. Then off to bed for a 5:30 start tomorrow for our 8:50 flight to Goteberg.

Photos: The lengths local graffiti guys go [as seen from boat yesterday and bus today], our daily local fruit stall next door and lugging the bags to taxi when leaving.