Wilkommen in Berlin!

What a lovely day I have had in Berlin. The sun was shining all day and it was a hot 28 degrees C. I got up early at 7am and after a quick breakfast in the hotel I set off on a morning walking tour. Being early on a a Sunday morning it was really quiet and within a short time I had crossed the River Spree and arrived at the Reichstag - another building where mum, dad, Campbell and I climbed to the top of the Norman Foster designed glass dome. Then to the symbol of Berlin - the Brandenburg Gate - can you spot a tiny Max in the photo?

A walk though the haunting Memorial to the Murdered Jews was thought provoking as was the nearby Memorial to the persecuted LGBT community. The Tiergarden park was beautiful in the morning sunshine. Then a walk along the famous Unter Der Linden street to Berlin Cathedral and I watched the river boats plying around Museum Island. A good spot for a selfie I thought, until my camera fell over the wall of the bridge to the riverbank below! In spite of the crash, it still seems to be working, although it's a little dented. Thank goodness I didn't bring my good Canon.

It was so hot I decided to hop on a City Tour bus which gave a great overview of Berlin - the Victory Column, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Kurfürstendamm, Kaiser William Memorial Church, and a remaining segment of the Berlin Wall. I arrived back just as a huge cycle event was taking place - literally thousands of bikes brought all the main roads to a standstill in some kind of Green statement - wonderful to see.

In the afternoon I decided to go to a matinee show of the Disney musical - The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Although it was in German I was able to follow (most of) the story. It really was a great show with some super performances and moving scenes. It got a standing ovation at the end and I wonder why it has never been to the West End or Broadway.Read more