Berlin, the city of separation

Ok, so I just wrote the blog on Prague and now I must tell of Berlin. These poor girls are sitting on the couch waiting for me to be done so it will have to be quick.

We took the train from Berlin to Prague and arrived on Tuesday evening. We were greeted by Uli, my dad's cousin. This connection is a long lost one. The last time my dad saw Uli was when they were about ten. Since then, my aunty Sheena has seen Uli and his wife Gabi, but other than that, there has been almost no communication. When I told my dad I wanted to go to Berlin, he immediately suggested Uli and I started to get excited about meeting some paternal family (they all live so far away and spread apart that we rarely meet).

Uli greeted us, we went to drop off our stuff, and he treated us an authentic and delicious German dinner. I had some kind sausage, Uli is the authority on these things, and Chels had some German pasta (i've forgotten what its called). We were soon to find out that Uli and Gabi would treat us like this for the rest of our stay, with free and delicious food and unbelievable hospitality.

We came home to a glass of wine with Gabi and Uli and then settled into our nice warm bed in our own room! No sharing for the next 4 nights! Wonderful. We woke up, had a huge egg and toast breakfast with Gabi and then she took us to a lake at the end of the subway line. It took about 45 minutes of public transport and walking to get there but it was worth. It a wonderfully warm lake with small coves to swim in. And a beer garden to top it all off! There were so many people playing the water and having a beer. It gave me the immpression that Berliners are very close with nature. They love to be surrounded by it. I couldn't agree more.

The next few days, we took another Sandeman free tour through Berlin, borrowed Gabi and Uli's bikes for a bike ride through the Tiergarten, and saw a local market full of sausages and smelly cheese.

The smelly cheese is another story all together. Gabi HATES cheese. And even worse, smelly cheese. Uli LOVES it. So when I mentioned that the smellier the better, he made me promise that I would have a cheese feast with him. We did just that, when Gabi was out of the house, and it was some of the best goat cheese, and brie that I've had in a long time. Thanks for that Uli, it was a treat.

The tour we took was really interesting, mostly about Hitler, the Nazis, and the Berlin Wall but also about the architecture in the city and how it has developed since the fall of the wall in 1989. Its really cool to see a city that has been constantly transforming in only the last 20 years. Great for an urban development and architecture nerd like me.

I loved Berlin. It could have been the warmth that we experienced from our hosts, or the fact that we could enjoy the city without worrying what we were paying for sleep, but I think it was the attitude of the general population and the abundance of hope that shrouds the city. I know that all sounds so artsy fartsy and big words, but its the truth. Its a city with a really interesting (although incredibly sad) past and it shows in every area.

So I must let these girls on the internet now but I want to thank Uli and Gabi for letting us stay with them and for the great conversation and hospitality. It was a joy to be in Berlin with you two and I beleive you showed us things we would have never seen before. So thank you.

Hope you're all having wonderful days. Next blog will be about our two nights in Amsterdam and my journey home. I leave tomorrow!

Love you all!
Ash