Tuesday 16 September

This morning we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Potsdam, a 45 minute train ride from Central Berlin, and what a treat it was. This is Nikolai-Kirche in the town of Potsdam.

Walking through the Central streets of Potsdam was a joy, pretty old buildings, cafés , cute shops...we stopped and had coffee and pastries ( as we do).

Our first glimpse of Schloss Sanssouci....

I just loved how colourful it was, especially today with the blue sky.

I partcularly liked the Orangerieschloss with all the sunshine coming in the eastern windows.

but most of all I loved the meadows in the Parklands....the trees, oh my goodness, they were just beautiful, giant oaks....were the only ones I could recognise...but everywhere you looked it was like a painting .

This was taken near the Schloss Charlottenhof....

It was one of the warmest days of our holiday . After a brief rest and shower we headed off to a Vietnamese restaurant within walking distance that Tash had recommended . We had a delicious meal and then strolled to Museumsinsel...above The Berliner Dom and below part of the bridge over the River Spree.

Monday 15 September

Blue skies and sunshine today, so we set off rather early to make the most of the glorious weather. First stop East Side Gallery... Thought Pete blended in rather well!

Then we caught the train to Kurfurstendamm, one of Berlin's most attractive shopping boulevards....and very expensive too. Obviously the shops were full of winter gear so I wasn't too tempted to buy anything.  We did stop and have delicious pastries and coffee in KaDeWe, Europe's largest department store...the gourmet food section was extraordinary.

Towards the end of Kurfurstendamm is the Kaiser-Wilhelmina-Gedachtnis_Kirche...the tower of the original church...next to the new tower being built....serves as both a memorial and reminder of the terrors of war .

After a small rest and some lunch at home we rode out to Potsdamer Platz....I really enjoyed seeing this area, the architecture was simply amazing. The area was wasteland for many years after the destruction of its buildings in WW2 but after the fall of the wall it became Berlin's biggest building site.

Above and below are taken in the Sony Centre, Potsdamer Platz....

I am standing on an enormous strip of grass...parkland...in the middle of all the buildings in Potsdamer Platz. Only a few hundred metres away is Kulturforum which we were keen to see especially the Philharmonie, home of the Belin Philharmonic.

This is our park next to our apartment block at nearly 7pm as we were walking back from the station...we were so surprised to see all the people!

Sunday 14 September

Since it was raining when we woke this morning we decided to lay in bed for a while. In keeping with the sad grey day we decided to visit the Jewish Museum and Topographie des Terrors.

The Jewish Museum was unique, never have I been so captivated in a museum....the architecture was amazing and the layout of the exhibits was so easy to follow. We spent hours there. This is a photo of one of the rooms on the museum.

This is a photo of a pool of water in the centre of the Topographie des Terrors ....a museum? They call it a documentation centre in the area where the three terrifying NAZI institutions...the SS , Geatapo and SD were before and during WW2. Below is a photo of the remains of the cellars where prisoners were tortured.

A beautiful window of the school of Arts andCrafts which was occupied by the Gestapo during WW 2, the building survived the bombing when everything around it was destroyed.

A statue of Axel Springer in front of his publishing company building in Kreuzberg , which was right next to the Berlin Wall....

Whilst walking in Kreuzberg , we saw these jolly chappies, drinking their beer and pushing the pedals.

Saturday 13 September

A street in Scheunenviertel ( barn quarter) near our apartment....we were on our way to the Berlin Wall Memorial. I have been surprised and pleased to see so many trees. The Scheunenviertel was once the Jewish quarter, it has changed dramatically of course...damaged and decayed after WW 2 but now has been revived and is full of lively cafés and fashionable boutiques. There is still a lot of the old quarter remaining though...

A grey wall on a grey day....a wonderful memorial to visit, very informative and done in a thoughtful manner.

From the memorial we walked to Hackescher Hofe, Berlin's largest and most attractive group of restored commercial buildings....the whole area was a real treat to walk around...so different ...

After exploring many of the streets and sights in the Scheunenviertel area we walked home for lunch. This is the park next to our apartment block, it was such a still day and very overcast...so challenging to take a good photo!

In the afternoon we caught the train to  the Brandenburg Gate....I always find it thrilling to be somewhere that I have seen in books and on television ...it is surreal...and I wasn't disappointed. The photo below is of one of the sculptured images in the walls of the gate.

We also visited the Reichstag and other parliamentary buildings nearby. We are going back for our visit to the Reichstag dome on Wednesday so I hope to have some better photos as the weather is predicted to be sunny.

Friday 12 September

Waiting at Prague train station for the our train's platform number to come up.....not that we knew where the platforms were exactly, but we followed the crowd, like sheep.

It was a very comfortable train ride to Berlin, rainy and foggy outside. We seemed to follow the river for most of the journey, I took a few photos but there really wasn't  enough light. It was however gorgeous scenery.

Our street..in which we have a very nice apartment, clean, spacious and lots of windows letting the light in....we will be here for the next 6 nights, the longest we have stayed in one place...

After starting the washing machine we headed off to the supermarket , just 5 minutes down the road. I absolutely love grocery shopping in other countries. It is so interesting to look at all their products. As we have been eating out so much we are looking forward to some home cooked meals here in our apartment in Berlin. These are a few of the items we bought today. The ice cream was a bit of a mistake as we have no freezer!

Thursday 11 September

Today was another sensational day in Prague. We decided to start the day early and see some of the most popular sights without the crowds, which was just lovely. The first photo is of Pete walking towards the famous Charles Bridge.

From the Charles bridge ...

These two were taken on or just near the bridge, I played with the photos a bit as there wasn't much light but they do capture the atmosphere of the morning. Charles bridge is lined with statues of the saints, and in these photos , the Prague castle can be seen.

One of the most popular tourist spots is the Old Town Square, usually full of people with cameras. This morning it was quiet .

An empty street in the old town....

After our early morning walk through the old town we walked up to the Prague castle...we spent hours looking at the cathedral, basilica, palace....but this was what caught my eye...the floor in one of the rooms of the castle. I have loved examining all the cobblestones in Prague, there have been so many different patterns and stones used throughout the old town, but this floor from the castle was amazing!

In the afternoon we caught a tram into the new town ( which is not that new)... There are plenty of them and they are very comfortable to ride.

Before dinner we had to try a "trdelnik"."..a sweet cinnamon and sugar coated pastry from street vendors in Prague. I am so glad we didn't try them sooner or I would have eaten them all day, so yummy.  In the evening we had a pizza for dinner and then went to an excellent concert at the Rudolfinum.

Wednesday 10 September

What a wonderful day we had today in Prague....we walked up into the parklands surrounding the old town ( beautiful views of Prague) , then onto the paths behind the castle ( more views) ...the deer moat.....then into Letna Park where we stopped for lunch( again more stunning views). We explored the Jewish quarter ....and old town....ventured into a couple of shops ( and bought shoes and bags!) and stopped along the river to take photos of the bridges and white swans. We found a delightful place for dinner and then ended a terrific day at the U Maleho Glena , a cellar jazz club...soooo good,