I had such a good time back then, largely because I was in the midst of a nine month holiday. Ah, the days of the strong yen and the not so strong euro made my life oh so easy - travelling, meeting interesting people, eating, drinking, paying a euro to get an old DDR visa stamp in my passport...
One of the things I loved about Berlin that first time was that it was still in a stage of rebuilding and restoration, and it had a really vibrant energy that seemed to flow everywhere, endlessly. I was excited to get back to this city that had always made its way into my top five.
So we hopped in the car on a European-balmy Saturday morning in July and arrived in Berlin about 6 hours later. We checked into our hotel, which was cool, but a bit too warm all at the same time. We stretched our legs around the streets near Ku'damm and we sampled some of that famous German beer. We did some touristy things. The Gate was high on my list as it was being restored that first time I was there so I hadn't seen it in all its glory. Apparently, the thousands of other visitors to Berlin hadn't either; we had to constantly dodge posers and photographers and street performers and all that hooha that goes along with summertime in Europe. There was light on the other side of the gate though - we stumbled across an Australia shop where I bagged two jars of vegemite. Unfortunately, Nico didn't manage to find the inflatable kangaroo that he's wanted for so long!
One of the things I loved about Berlin that first time was that it was still in a stage of rebuilding and restoration, and it had a really vibrant energy that seemed to flow everywhere, endlessly. I was excited to get back to this city that had always made its way into my top five.
So we hopped in the car on a European-balmy Saturday morning in July and arrived in Berlin about 6 hours later. We checked into our hotel, which was cool, but a bit too warm all at the same time. We stretched our legs around the streets near Ku'damm and we sampled some of that famous German beer. We did some touristy things. The Gate was high on my list as it was being restored that first time I was there so I hadn't seen it in all its glory. Apparently, the thousands of other visitors to Berlin hadn't either; we had to constantly dodge posers and photographers and street performers and all that hooha that goes along with summertime in Europe. There was light on the other side of the gate though - we stumbled across an Australia shop where I bagged two jars of vegemite. Unfortunately, Nico didn't manage to find the inflatable kangaroo that he's wanted for so long!
What I noticed about Berlin this time was that it still looked like a construction site but it lacked that energy of six years ago. I don't know, maybe it was the nature of the trip that made it appear that way - the fact that our road trip was for only four days, the slightly stressful morning at the Australian embassy and no inflatable kangaroos at the Australia shop ;)
We still had a good time in this famous capitol, but I think the Berlin of 2002 will be the city that I remember with a much bigger smile.
We still had a good time in this famous capitol, but I think the Berlin of 2002 will be the city that I remember with a much bigger smile.
