Berlin Part 1

Berlin

We jumped on the overnight train from Zurich 

and we had a delightful picnic in our cabin for 6 with the 6^th person not turning up. Rachelle and Simon and assured us no animal products were allowed on the train (no, we don't know why either) so we cunningly ate our Gruyere cheese very quickly. Then a spot of reading and it was lights out as we went to bed as the world rolled by.

Lovely.

Not quite so fast. The bunks we were sleeping on (stacked 3 high) were about 6 inches wide and the rail on the side to stop you rolling off was questionably low. This meant that Delia put Maja to bed on the lowest bunk but Maja could still fall a good couple of feet onto the floor. Not good. Therefore poor Delia ended up sleeping on the floor with her arm draped across Maja. Not a great way to sleep. Then halfway through the night our mysterious 6^th passenger appears, steps on Delia and climbs into the top bunk.

Anyhoo we arrived in Berlin and in a mild panic had no idea at which station we were supposed to get off. When we realised we were pulling into the station and rapidly gathered our bags. For some reason I asked Delia if she had my wallet (she usually keeps it in her handbag) and she couldn't find it.

PANIC!

I kept searching the cabin while she rushed off 3 carriages down the train to the buffet carriage which was the only other possibility as she had had an early breakfast with Ben and Maja there. So there I was with 3 kids, all our bags, the train has just pulled into the station and I had no idea where Delia was. I shoved all the kids onto the platform, then I shoved all the bags onto the platform. Still no Delia. Surely she would jump off but what about my wallet with our money and cards?

SHIT.

I was jumping up and down trying to look over people's heads to see Delia.

SHIT

SHIT

Then I hear from behind me, “Johnno!”

How the hell did she get behind me?

Delia had jumped off the train and run past me while I was hopping on and off the train getting the bags. She had found the wallet in the darkened buffet car below the table she had sat at.

Phew.

So we still had our cash and card. 

I'm not sure what I expected when we went to Berlin. The last time I was in Berlin was when I was about 7 and my vague recollections are of my family and I camping beside the Berlin Wall and I looked through a hole in the wall at some machine gun towers behind. Now I have no idea if this actually happened but it is a very strong memory.

So what was Delia expecting? Grey apparently. I think that's what I was expecting as well. Perhaps with a hint of lingering thoughts of empire.

Wrong.

Berlin is wonderful.

We did arrive on a grey rainy day, however, and we couldn't get into our apartment till after lunch we dumped our bags at the station and wandered over the river to the Reichstag and BANG it hits you. This place is where history happens.

Now the Reichstag is a quite a building but no more so than your average grand structure from the 19^th century, but when you get close and see the shrapnel damage, it dawns on you that there have been rather a few significant events in the building. The fire in 1933 (correct me if I'm wrong) which the Nazis used as a excuse to assume dictatorial powers happened here. And now it's had a Sir Norman “Gherkin” Foster makeover. It's a remarkable building and we didn't even get to go in!

We wandered up to the very small queue and were told that we had to book over the internet 3 days in advance. What?

Very disappointed as we were only going to be in Berlin for 3 days. Instead we walked over to the Brandenburg Gate (more history anyone?). Again, impressive but only when you think that the middle arch we just walked through couldn't be walked through until relatively recently and then before that reserved for royalty. Napoleon had marched through the gates in 1806 which really pissed off the Prussians and in fact nicked the statue on top too. Cheeky blighter. 

 

Then of course there was that pesky wall put up in the 1960s which passed right in front of the gate. The Berliners had thoughtfully put a line in the pavement where the wall used to be so we had Ben and Finley stand either side of the line and took a photo.

Then it was off to see some museums. The Berliners do good museums we'd been told. So off to MuseumsPlatz to see a gallery which was a very pleasant way to start our stay in Berlin. In fact, we saw many an old Masters painting and much to my surprise Ben was absolutely fascinated and wanted an in depth discussion about every single one. Something I was not able to provide. Delia on the other hand was able to provide very detailed explanations, so Ben was prompted to say, “You're useless Pappa”.

Thanks Ben.

Then we walked through the Tiergarten where Ben and Finley got to play Bear Grylls with their new pocket knives and whittle any spare loose bit of wood. We ended up at the 62 metre high Victory Monument with more war damage (History anyone?) and an amazing view up to the Brandenburg Gate. 

 

Another whack load of stairs with a terrifying drop again and unfortunately on the way down I tore my quadriceps carrying Finley. Am I really 40 this year?

Time to get to the apartment for a bit of rest. The apartment was in an area called Prenzlaeur Berg that had been recommended to us and what a recommendation! An absolutely wonderful area full of bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, bike shops, kids and a generally wonderful ambience. This was the former East Berlin but it didn't feel like it at all. The apartment was a nice little place and a wonderful base for 3 days. 

 

The next day we went to a museum called the “Story of Berlin” which was pretty thorough and thought provoking account of the history of Berlin but not the kid friendly place that we read it was. We spent a lot of the time talking to Ben and Finley about the time Berlin was split into East and West and Ben said it must have been a time of living in fear.

We felt it was a time to expose the kids to the cultural side of Berlin and we headed to the Bauhaus museum. 

 

Funky Bauhaus Chess Set

We loved it and after that we headed to a bit more history: Checkpoint Charlie.

We had visited Checkpoint Charlie in the 1970s and my recollection of it was one anticlimax as the American troops were very uninterested as they waved us through. This time we took lots of photos and saw the Berlin Wall Museum. The efforts of the East Berliners to get through, past, under, over the wall were truly extraordinary. It was also quite sad to see the stories of so many people and the miserable lives they led and then the pure joy when it came down in 1989.

Checkpoint Charlie