Berlin - wow!

The word unique is often misused but it is certainly the right word to describe the city of Berlin. No other city in the world has experienced the history of the capital of Germany.
We have just had a fantastic weekend there with Heather's parents and our friend Pauline.
The drive from Kiel is about 4 hours - we were thankful for a great deal on a 7 seater hire car and a GPS to get us there. After a few challenges regarding our hotel booking(or lack of it) we managed to find a great little "Pension" with 2 family rooms at a very reasonable price. We were located just off one of the main shopping streets in Berlin - Kurfurstendamm, a designer shopping paradise if you happen to have a spare €30,000 for a watch or coat. Berlin is also a great place to see expensive cars - I have never seen so many Italian sports cars in one place and Porsches are everywhere.

We had expected a wet day on Saturday but it turned out to be a lovely day and we used a city tour bus to get us around all the main sites.

Our first stop was Potsdamer Platz and part of the old wall. This area had been the widest part of the "killing zone" no man's land between the walls and has now been developed with many exciting and innovative buildings.

Next on the route was "Checkpoint Charlie" the famous crossing point for diplomats and foreigners which had seen the only confrontation between American and Russian tanks of the entire cold war.

We continued across the city seeing many wonderful buildings before we reached Alexanderplatz where the highest tower in Germany is located. After a long wait we were able to enjoy great views of the city from the top.

By the time we got down from the tower, there was only 45 mins left before the bus tour ended so we raced around the rest of the city, identifying a number of places to visit next day.

On Sunday, we headed towards some of the best known sites in Berlin. We saw the memorial to the jews killed in the holacaust. This had a big impact on the kids as they tried to understand what had happened and why - a good lesson for them.

We then went to the famous Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag - the German parliament, including going up the amazing glass dome at the centre where the public can get a great view of the surrounding area.





The kids also discovered a war memorial to the Russians, complete with tanks.

After grabbing a snack back at Postdamer Platz, we were soon on our way back to Kiel.

Berlin is a city with many contrasts, rich history and a unique experience. We were very privileged to have the opportunity to visit this city during our time here in Germany.

We have been concerned about some of the kids education but it has been great to give them the opportunity to experience a real life history lesson in Berlin.