So, we finally left our tale about 2 months ago with our 3 day epic hitch from Brussels to Berlin, however our time in Berlin was easily worth the effort it took getting there.
Berlin is an amazing City, with so much recent history, so much going on, and it was the first decent weather we had had! Alex and I became proper culture vultures spending hours at the Checkpoint Charlie and Stasi Museums, visiting the German Parliament at the Reichstag, and even going to the theatre to see Berlins latest big thing The Blueman Group.(Thanks to our awesome hosts connections who supplied us with free tickets!
Thanks to the excellent weather, we spent lots of time in Berlin's Various parks, and exploring the various neighbourhoods, Alexanderplatz with its supreme sovietness, Potsdamer Platz ( home of the worlds first traffic light), Unter den linden (where we gawped at the new Audi R4, and dreamt of the super cars we knew we'd never get a lift in.) and the great shopping at Templehoff... visiting KaDaWe (the Berlin equivalent of Harrods) where my budget instincts led me to foolishly over indulge myself on the (free) sample chocolates. They were disgusting! We also stumbled across the North Korean embassy, which was a tourist attraction in itself!
Our accommodation for our stay in Berlin made our time there. We stayed with Matthias, Nora, Mira, and Dina, living in a University Student flat in what is easily the coolest district of Berlin; Kreuzburg (SO36!). We spent the majority of the week ingratiating ourselves into the German Uni lifestyle, enjoying cheap evenings down the local pub, making the most of having a well stocked kitchen, playing poker, and watching their extensive student DvD collection.So good was the hospitality, that every evening after a busy day in the city doing the sites, it felt as though we had a proper home to return to. It was without a doubt this hospitality that made our time in Berlin, and in particular being able to see the city through the eyes of a local. My personal highlight of our stay in Berlin, was accompanying Matthias to his university for a seminar discussion in English, on the topic of fundraising! Obviously Alex and I had a lot to say on this matter!
It was with heavy and reluctant hearts that we finally left Berlin, and once again aimed for an early start... we finally got on the road at lunch time and were on our way to Halle!
