+ Thursday 4th October
I arrive at
Schönefeld Airport, southeast of the city, in the late afternoon amid darkening skies. After a 25 minute train journey through Ostbahnhof, Alexanderplatz and Friedrichstraße stations, I eventually arrive at the
Hauptbahnhof. This is Berlin's main railway station and is known locally as the
glass cathedral. Leaving the station in heavy rain and high winds, I can't help but think that were this the UK, they'd have issued a severe weather warning and cancelled the trains. This being Germany, everything runs smoothly and on time.
I walk the 5 minute journey across the bridge over the canal and down Invalidenstraße to the
Adina Hotel. Thanks to an email from Howard pointing out that I turn 50 during my stay, I've been upgraded... Yay! After unpacking, I trace my planned running route for the week. I shelter from the drizzle to enjoy a lovely pasta dish (with much red wine) at
Roma, a basic Italian restaurant on Friedrichstraße before retracing my steps to the hotel and retiring to bed.
+ Friday 5th October
My early morning run down through the
Tiergarten and back up through the
Brandenburg Gate, past the
Reichstag and over the
Spree is, quite literally, breathtaking. After a wonderful breakfast, the morning consists of a visit to the house in
Schöneberg where Christopher Isherwood rented a room and wrote his Berlin novels. This I follow by a skip past Neues Ufer, the gay bar Bowie and Iggy Pop once hung out at.
The afternoon sees me visit every Zara outlet in Berlin in search of a check shirt that I first saw in Cardiff. My quest isn't a complete waste of time: I see
Pariser Platz,
Potsdamer Platz,
Leipziger Platz,
Alexanderplatz and everything in between. I think I even pass Marlene Dietrich Platz at one point (but maybe I'm dreaming). I'm thrilled and excited to discover that Alexanderplatz has a branch of C&A (this takes me back...).
That night I eat in Pas´Qua, a tiny basement Italian on Auguststraße. Lovely food and, again, too much red wine. As I totter up the road, I pass an upmarket fancy-dress shop called
Maskworld on Oranienburger Straße. I leave 5 minutes later with a ginger afro on which I've just spent €45. The hidden costs of drinking!
+ Saturday 6th October
A very early run, accompanied (part way) by a fox along the Spree embankment, is followed by my first of 3 visits over the coming week to the Reichstag (don't ask). The weather is awful and so views from the dome are non existent, however, you cannot fail to be impressed by the building itself. This, in turn, I follow with a brisk but damp walk to
Berliner Dom, taking in
Gendarmenmarkt (very neoclassical) and
Bebelplatz (very wrapped in scaffolding) along the way. Berliner Dom is a very big church and, other than that, I can't find much else to recommend it.
Next, a visit to the
Museum of Photography: If you like huge prints of 70s style glamour shots of nude women, this place is heaven. I don't and it isn't. This is followed by a visit to the
Contemporary Art Museum, housed at Hamburger Bahnhof (some impressive Warholes and a couple of Lichtensteins keep me happy). In the evening to the
Berliner Philharmonie for a wonderful performance of Wagner and Beethoven by the
Berliner Philharmoniker led by
Bernard Haitink. I float on air all the way back to my hotel.
+ Sunday 7th October
After an early run and a long lazy breakfast, a morning walk to the house
Bertolt Brecht and
Helen Weigel shared on Chauseestraße. Today Howard joins me in Berlin. At midday I meet him at the Hauptbahnhof and then to
Hackesche Höfe for brunch together. This is followed by a leisurely stroll through the Tiergarten, past the embassies, the
Sony Centre, the
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the
Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism, the
Führerbunker (site of Hitler's bunker), the Brandenburg Gate and, finally, my 2nd visit to the Reichstag - very atmospheric in the failing light. The evening sees us eat at the basic Italian,
Roma, I'd visited on my first night in Berlin.
+ Monday 8th October
A quick run and breakfast is followed by a trip to Alexanderplatz for a visit to the beautiful
Fernsehturm. Great views but I'm more impressed with the 1960s
GDR decor inside. Next a train to the
East Side Gallery then back to Alexanderplatz for the
DDR Museum and a chance to sit in a Trabant - very cramped. From here, a train to the
Olympiastadion - undoubtedly a beautiful building; epic, simple, strong and impressive but ultimately, I can't help but feel, rather sinister.
In the evening we eat in
Kellerrestaurant im Brechthaus; it occupies the cellar of the house Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel shared and which I visited the day before. Lots of photos of Brecht and some wonderful food, made all the better by the friendly staff and the fact that they cook vegetarian dishes especially for me because they have little vegetarian choice on the menu.
+ Tuesday 9th October
Today I am 50. I never thought I'd live so long! This thought occupies me as I run around the Reichstag. A shower, a long breakfast and some card opening and gift unwrapping before we head out to the
Pergamon Museum. This museum is seriously impressive with its Pergamon Gate, Market Gate of Miletus and Ishtar Gate - all massive in size; they really take your breath away.
We then hot-foot it to the
Neues Museum in search of the bust of Nefertiti, followed by a quick visit to the
Alte Nationalgalerie. In the afternoon we trek out to the
Schwules (Gay) Museum but it's closed - out and proud 7 days a week apart from Tuesdays when it's a bit closeted! Still, a pleasant walk and a welcome relief from the
objet d'art. Back at the hotel for a quick dip and sauna before getting a taxi to
Alpenstuek, a restaurant on Gartenstraße. A lovely evening thanks to Howard. Happy birthday to me!
+ Wednesday 10th October
After whipping around the Reichstag on my run, we head out to the excellent
Bauhaus Archive. This is followed by a marathon trek around the
Gemäldegalerie's 900 paintings. Ordered chronologically, the Medieval religious art is wonderful but as we progress into later eras, I have to admit, I become blind to these masterpieces. By the time I get to Rubens I give up. Gluttons for punishment, we press on to the
Neue Nationalgalerie, which by this point, quite frankly, we couldn't care less about. In the afternoon we visit the
Jewish Museum, which is excellent and, at times, quite moving. It's worth a visit, not only for the contents but also the architecture of the building.
In the evening we make our way to Potsdammerplatz for the opening ceremony of the
Festival of Lights. It's lovely to stand in the crowd and enjoy the spectacle. We take in some of the monuments and buildings bathed in various lighting effects as we make our way from Potsdammerplatz to Pariserplatz and onwards to Friedrichstraße and eventually Pas´Qua, the tiny basement Italian on Auguststraße that I'd eaten in on Friday. We are rewarded with good food and some unexpected entertainment, as the kitchen staff argue quite audibly.
+ Thursday 11th October
After my run, we decide to pop into the
Bode Museum, as we have some spare time in the morning. The building is more impressive than the art it contains. We then visit the Reichstag (my 3rd and final visit) for a guided tour, which is fascinating. The dome is closed for cleaning but we've already been there (twice!). In the afternoon we visit the
Berlinische Galerie, which I've been looking forward to seeing, with its late 19th and 20th Century collection of art. Difficult and sometime bleak pieces covering some troubled times for this city.
After a shower back at the hotel we make our way to
Tipi am Kranzleramt in the Tiergarten for a cabaret dinner and a show by the excellent
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. Very funny and entertaining. To bed, happy and a little bit drunk.
+ Friday 12th October
My last run around the Reichstag. The weather is beautiful. After a relaxed breakfast, we pack and check out. We spend the morning strolling through the Tiergarten and then along the Spree in the cold and clear sunshine. By lunchtime we're back at the hotel to pick up our bags before heading off out to Schönefeld Airport.
Our flights are about an hour apart: me to Bristol then Howard to Liverpool. I leave Berlin not just a year older but having somehow slipped past a half century on this earth. It has been a lovely holiday - a time to relax, unwind and ponder what this new chapter of my life will bring. During my daily runs around the Reichstag, I have thought long about concentrating on becoming a more responsible and mature person; a thought, I'm happy to say, I have whole-heartedly rejected.
