Alexanderplatz

Today the HG and I set off on a bit of an adventure..... we travelled from Glasgow Airport to Berlin-Schonefeld Airport, and then into the city.  The flight was great, but the journey into the city was rather fraught, as we had to take the train and it is all automated at the airport, so the tickets have to be purchased from a machine. 

This would be easy enough, as you choose the language and it guides you through the procedure, however, the machine kept on rejecting 20 Euro notes, which was all that we had, having just arrived in the country.  We were not the only travellers who were perplexed and a group of about seven of us decided to go on the train and get a ticket there; that was not allowed, we were told by the train conductor but he could give us no other help, and the train left without us.

So we all trouped back downstairs to try to get some change, and eventually due to the generosity of passersby we managed to get tickets with 10 Euro notes.  Unfortunately this meant that the train had now left the station.  And it seemed there was not another one for some time. 

Eventually we were told to take another train but that we had to change trains to get to our destination.  So the seven of us took the advice, only to have another problem as when we changed trains only five of us managed to get on before the doors automatically closed. 

All was well in the end though, and my photograph and the extra are the only ones I took, and show our hotel in Alexanderplatz, in what was formerly the east zone of the city; it is  a huge building of around thirty stories, one of the largest in Germany we were told.  It is terrific and will suit us very well for our short stay.

Let's hope tomorrow goes well.......