Berlin - day 1

We arrived in Berlin late last night and Luke met us at the airport - his flat is closer to the airport than where our hotel is, so it was easier for him to meet us there and get in our taxi to the hotel. We decided at the last minute that he should just stay with us at the hotel, as paying a room rate rather than a rate per person it made sense for him to share Thomas' room at no extra cost. We got to bed very late and I did not have a good night's sleep - not related to the hotel, but rather that I have not been sleeping well for a few weeks now.

This morning was bright and sunny and it was a very hot day at 27C. I started the day with a swim in the hotel pool (did over 1km) and then we had a late breakfast. Early this morning Luke had his first physio appointment since returning to Berlin, so we had planned to eat breakfast after he returned from the appointment. He has had a problem trying to get physio here - it turns out that in Germany one needs a prescription from an orthopaedic doctor before one is allowed to have physio. The letters from the surgeon in Switzerland, and from the one in England, and from the physiotherapist in England were not acceptable. He therefore got an appointment with a doctor yesterday afternoon, got the prescription and consequently was able to have his first physio session today. It was all so sophisticated and different to England - at the doctor there was a waiter serving drinks! At physio today he went into a special lymph system machine that drains the fluid from the knee area and moves it further up the leg, as the physio was a little concerned that his knee is still a bit swollen.

After our late breakfast we hired bikes from the hotel and set off with Luke as our guide. The first extra photo is a view of the Brandenburg gate with a protest taking place (taken from the hotel window). We then stopped at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe as seen in my blip. I have a similar photo taken four years ago when Thomas and I had a weekend here, and I wanted a recent version of it! Then on to Potsdamer Platz, followed by a visit to Checkpoint Charlie which had the usual tourists wanting photos with the 'guards'. By now it was really hot, and we cycled on to the Topography of Terrors, which is the remains of the Gestapo headquarters. Then we had a long cycle out to Templehof Airport, which was controversially closed in 2008. It is one of Europe's three iconic pre-World War II airports. Extra photo of me sitting on the runway, never sat on an airport runway before!

Next stop was Alexander Platz which is the heart of 'East" Berlin, where we had a light lunch. Luke then took us to the Hackescher Market, and on to the Hackescher Höfe, which is a series of courtyards with some wonderful artisan cafes and coffee bars, and excellent street art - see the last extra.

Finally we cycled back to the hotel via museum island, going past the cathedral. It has been great to have Luke as our guide, showing us areas of Berlin that we had not seen before. 

Tomorrow it's another busy day planned but we have just been warned by the hotel that there is another huge protest taking place outside our hotel tomorrow which will make access to certain areas tricky.