For our final full day, we went to the modern Berlinische Galerie and the fleamarket at Mauerpark, which had lots of old camera equipment for sale from East Germany. View photos Berlinische Galerie and Mauerpark
Stasi Museum
The Stasi Museum is in what was the headquarters of the Ministry of State Security (better known as the Stasi). So you get to see the offices of the head and others. There are photos of the offices in use and they have a good resemblance to the offices now. So they have been preserved … Continue reading / view photos Stasi Museum
East Side Gallery
We couldn’t pass the opportunity to take part in the relatively nascent and only parkrun in Berlin. So it was an early start and a couple of metro lines to get us to join about 100 people (including many Brits) at the Hasenheide Park. We could have been back in the UK. Dressed in running … Continue reading / view photos East Side Gallery
Wandering around Berlin
The day started with the delightfully spacious central library before joining the crowds at the Brandenburg Gate then walking around the corner to the Reichstag. The German parliament Reichstag building is free to enter provided you have registered on their website. It was partially destroyed during the war but, after reunification, became the home of … Continue reading / view photos Wandering around Berlin
DDR Museum
The DDR Museum gave a fascinating insight into life in East Germany. There were artefacts from public life, the ruling party (SED) and living in a tower block. A whole flat was re-created. You even get to sit in a Trabant! It’s worth visiting and getting the 200-page guidebook (paper or ebook), which has much … Continue reading / view photos DDR Museum
Berlin – first steps
The first full day in Berlin started with a logic puzzle, which, if I were looking for stereotypes, I would have expected in Germany. To operate the shower, there were three dials pointing to six o’clock. The puzzle was to work out the times to set the dials so that the water would come out … Continue reading / view photos Berlin – first steps
Back in Germany
Whilst inter-railing many years ago, the cold got the better of me in Scandinavia. Earlier on the same trip, Pier-Paolo, an Italian I’d met in Oslo, had asked me to go stay with him and his family in Rome. I had said it was too far from Finland, which was where I was heading. A … Continue reading Back in Germany
Creating this Website – Part 2: Customising WordPress
Highgate Cemetery
A few weeks ago, there was an open day at Highgate Cemetery. I hadn’t been there for years. There are many famous people buried there. You can see some of the names in the map below. It was sad to see the Karl Marx tomb, which had recently been defaced twice. It reminded me of … Continue reading / view photos Highgate Cemetery