The trip was relatively uneventful from our point of view though there was a rather significant accident on the other side of the motorway that caused that direction to be stationary for at least 4-5 kms - how long before they got on their way would only be a guess.
Throughout the journey there were clusters of wind turbines which made for
majestic sights, at least in our view.
Our hotel is in the Mitte (or middle) district of Berlin and after checking in we went to check out some of the local sights.
While, I assume, the majority of the sights are war related there is certainly plenty of other interesting things to see.
Our first stop was the Bradenburg Gate, a stop that had also been chosen by many
others. It certainly is a centre piece at the side of a large square and an archway to
Strasse des 17 Juni which stretches for approx 2km to the Siegesaule (Victory
Monument) another visually attractive edifice - I have to say that I can't remember
the Germans winning too many recent battles so am unsure what they are recording!
Turning back towards the city we walked through a rather large but well laid out
park known as Tiergarten. Not long after we entered the park we came across an
area which was being used by naturists who were enjoying their day in the sun.
Further through the park there was the Landwehrkanal which was being well used
by some in row boats and others seated on the many benches slurping their biers
Passed the Zoo we strode until we emerged from the park and turned into Kurfurstendamm another of the well renowned European shopping streets.
We walked around 2km down one side of the street passed never ending High Street shops before crossing over and walking back down the other side passed never ending ....(you get the picture).
Some of the buildings along the street were quite delightful but none of the photos
we took really do the grace of the street justice.
By this time we had walked 10-15kms since leaving the hotel and were many kms away from it so after a meal in the area we found the U-Bahn for a quick trip home.
Purchasing tickets from the automatic machine is not that easy with the language issue but I had resolved that it was at 9 stops what I regarded as a short trip so duly purchased 2 "short trip" tickets.
Sherry asked how did I know it qualified for this ticket and I confidently assured her that I was right.
Sitting on the train after around 4 stops a "passenger" comes on board and flashes a card - he was obviously the ticket inspector.
Along with other passengers in our compartment we showed him, confidently I must stress, our tickets and he stared at them for a long time and muttered something in German which went over our heads but we caught the gist of it.
As we stared at him at least 5 of the passengers started badgering the gentleman - I heard him say he was only doing his job (or at least that's what I thought him to say) before he gave us back our tickets and got off the train.
We then asked a lady who spoke some English what the issue was and she told us that a "short trip" ticket was only valid for three stops. "How are visitors supposed to know what constitutes a short trip" she said.
By now we had reached our stop and as we alighted and thanked them all we were wished a pleasant stay. I think thanks to these kind folk we escaped a 40 euro fine each.
I am warming to the Germans!
Tomorrow we have another 3 hour walking tour booked so a good nights rest is essential.
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