Berlin

Last morning with Dania and Mirko - they have been wonderful hosts. A lovely breakfast and Mirko dropped us off at the railway station for our 45 minute trip to Berlin. It was a very pleasant and comfortable trip arriving at the Zoo Station, before  transferring to our hotel on the Kurfurstendamm. Rooms and corridors were very hot and stuffy!

Turned ourselves around in a short space of time and caught a bus to the Bundestag, Brandenburg Gates and the Unter den Linden - with most of its magnificent buildings under renovation as was the whole street - one gigantic building site! 

Pretend 'cold war' rivalry for the tourists!

Back to hotel late afternoon before going out for a meal. We later met Briggette and Ludi who took us out to show us some special places in their Berlin. They selected to take us to the Hackescher Markt. This was an area the in the 19th century that craftsmen lived and worked in a cooperative type of an environment. Today it has all been refurbished by with crafts people taking up many o the properties. This also was historic centre for Berlin Jews. 

Hackescher Market

It is also an area that is very popular with locals and visitors alike. We settled for a drink later just as the heavens started to open up. Outside drinking and dining is problematic when the weather turns on you - but we are not complaining because it has cooled things down.

On the way back to hotel we stop off at the Hauptbahnhof, the new Berlin railway station. This very impressive building was spread over multiple levels with trains arriving and departing on various levels. This development  is a show piece for Germany since reunification - the area had not been redeveloped since the bombing during WWII leaving it a great opportunity to develop another main centre for Berlin. We didn't venture far outside because the rain was bucketing down again.

Hauptbahnhof - Berlin 

We later returned for a very good night sleep - it has been a very full day!