Berlin

A free weekend in Berlin was the result of being in the right place when someone needed a computer disk delivered to the CBIT technology fair. The trip was the week before the Love Festival and the streets were full of people getting ready for the millions who would be descending on the city. I remember the traffic being particularly bad so I left the car and toured on foot. I was struck by the significance of being able to walk under the Brandenburg Gate, something unthinkable for so many years; I was greeted on the other side by a true capitalist society with the pavements filled with vendors hawking souvenirs from replica First World War helmets to miniature Statues of Liberty. It was a glorious summer day but the temperature kept rising and one of my friends, without any aid from a German-English dictionary, translated directions on a sign and assured us it led to a restaurant with air conditioning. It actually led to a gay sauna.

There was so much construction going on everywhere; I think I read somewhere that there were more cranes in Berlin than anywhere else in the world. I haven't been there since 1998 and wonder what the Potsdamer Platz (right) looks like today.

We walked around the old city centre and saw so many wonderful buildings, both historic and modern. There were so many places I wanted to visit but time was extremely limited. I visited Checkpoint Charlie and the associated museum but the combination of the heat, the subject matter and Missa Solemnis over the speakers got to me and I became quite faint and had to step outside.

I was grateful for the cool evening air and found an outdoor restaurant near the Ku'damm, returning there the next day to see the shops and pick up some new sunglasses. It was just as hot the next day and there was still the drive back to Hamburg to face, so I left early with the intention of returning shortly. I turned back to get one last photo of the Victory statue (right).

I still plan to return; I just wish I could have done it by now!