just back from Berlin

We have just arrived back from Berlin....what a magical place.

It had snowed so everywhere looked really nice. One thing that surprised me was that the place was really quiet compared to other cities i have been to Rome/London etc. It was nice not having to dodge people on the pavements....is Berlin like this or was it just because it was between Christmas and New Year?

I found the German people very friendly and helpful. We had a bit of difficulty getting the S Bahn from Alexanderplatz to Schonfeld Airport the train was going from a different station but wasnt really listed anywhere. A lovely german gent said he was going to the airport and he would show us the way....very kind and genuine guy.

The Christmas market in Gendarmenmarkt was lovely and quite big.

We sampled a few bars and had Berliner pilsner which was v nice.

The public toilets are spotless....puts the UK to shame.

All in all a fantastic place and would recommend to everyone.

Happy New Year!!

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And a very happy new year to you, too, Sunshade3! I am delighted to see that you had a great time in my home country. Try to get back and see some more of Germany!

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certainly will try Clauds....we have also been to Stuttgart to the Porsche museum a couple of years ago that was nice also..Germany seems to be a very nice place will certainly return to Berlin

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Porsche and Mercedes-Benz are currently building new museums (or however they will call it) in Stuttgart.

The Mercedes-Benz one opens at 20. May 2006.

The Porsche one in 2007.

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Quite interesting your observations of Berlin and the Berliner. In Germany Berlin is considered of being a bit grubby and the Berliners as quite rude and noisy.

Berlin quiet

There are a number of reasons:

- the city has a more ample and widespread layout, even in central areas

Just consider that the (old) City of London (the borough) fits nearly into the Tiergarten park alone.

- there is not really one single center

- the city had before WWII approx. 1 mio. more inhabitants than today (and for this (or an even higher) number the bulk of local public transport was once planned)

- the local public transport network was %26quot;planned%26quot;. In London the intergration of the various kind of train/metro lines leaves a lot to be desired. And in Rome they started pretty late to built a mass public transport city appropriate for the size of the city.

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Berlin will always be a special place for me.

On 9 nov 1989, my wife and I were in East Berlin, having spent a day shopping for bargains (leather coats, china). On the bus on the way back to Checkpoint Charlie and returning to West Berlin, we were stopped by huge crowds in the streets less than a quarter mile from Checkpoint Charlie. After about a half hour I told my wife I was going to get off and walk. She was tired and elected to stay on the bus with our purchases. I told her I would meet her back at the hotel. At that time, if you were a U.S. service member and traveled to East Berlin, you had to wear your uniform (or be considered a spy) so I had on my Air Force dress blues. As I walked towards Checkpoint Charlie, people kept hugging me and kissing me and giving bottles of wine and liquor to take a swig of. I kept hearing people yelling %26quot;Der Mauer ist geoffnet!!!, Der Mauer ist geoffnet!!!%26quot; (The Wall is open!!!, The Wall is open!!!) I was stunned. I had been in West Germany at that time for over a year and had witnessed the changes sweeping eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, but I wasn%26#39;t prepared for the wall to be suddenly opened without any warning. By the time I made it to the other side of the wall, there must have been at least 250,000 cheering, crying, dancing people in the plaza in front of the Bradeburg Gate. There were hundreds on top of the wall itself. I have never felt such a rush of pure happiness from so many people in my life. At one point, myself and a U.S. army soldier in uniform were hoisted amd passed hand to hand, mosh pit style and boosted up on a kiosk. The crowd started chanting %26quot;U-S-A, U-S-A%26quot; (in German it came out %26quot;ooh-ess-ah, ooh-ess-ah%26quot;) I was in tears. That%26#39;s the closest I%26#39;ll ever be to feeling like a rock star.

To make a long story short, I didn%26#39;t make it back to our hotel under after dawn. When I did make it back I was wearing only my shoes socks, boxer shorts and a tee shirt and carrying my wallet and papers. I had traded away all of my uniform and decorations for kisses from pretty frauleins and libations of whatever there was to drink. I traded my garrison cap to a young East Berlin Grenzpolizei (border guard) for his Russian style fur cap. I stumbled through the hotel lobby wearing just my underwear, shoes, and that fur cap. I woke my wife up and I think she wanted to give me hell, but I just laid down, passed out, and slept most of the day.

It%26#39;s amazing how much the world has changed since that night, but it always gives me a chill and brings a s--t eating grin to my face when I think that for a few hours, all was right in the world.

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%26quot;When I did make it back I was wearing only my shoes socks, boxer shorts and a tee shirt and carrying my wallet and papers. I had traded away all of my uniform and decorations for kisses from pretty frauleins and libations of whatever there was to drink. I traded my garrison cap to a young East Berlin Grenzpolizei (border guard) for his Russian style fur cap.%26quot;

I wonder how you wife reacted :-)

Very touching story! I love hearing these kind of stories.