By the time you read this we will be just starting our Christmas day while you will be coming to its end. So, Merry Xmas to all. Hope you have had a safe and merry Christmas day.
Our stay in Berlin has been quite relaxing . It's been good to wake up each day to not have to load up the car to get to our next destination. But even though it's been relaxing, that's not to say we haven't been on the go.
Day 1 - find our apartment and book in. After we were set up time to figure out how to get to Schonefeld Airport to pick up Jake. Easier said than done. No matter how we entered the info into the GPS it wouldn't navigate to where we wanted to go. So, on with the data roaming on Julies phone, fire up google maps (went to it straight away), and head off (by now pitch black and raining). You can always rely on Google. Got us right to the best parking spot for the arrivals terminal, and with 10 minutes to spare. Jake looked pretty worn out by the time he stumbled through the arrivals gate. Sounded real croaky too. Seems like he's picked up a bug from somewhere. Great, now we'll all get it.

Day 2-some members of our party (not looking at anyone in particular) demanded some retail therapy, so off we went to Designer Outlet Berlin, a 30km drive to the west . Quite a big retail area, most of the big names there - Nike, Adidas. Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, etc. Prices don't seem to be "outlet" level though, not much less than normal retail.
Sam hooked up with someone he knew from Townsville who was here with family for Xmas (aint social networks great), so they went out drinking for the night. Jake Julie and i headed off for the Gendarmenmarkt, one of the best Xmas markets in Berlin. Julie and I had been here before on one of out previous trips so we knew how good it was. When we got there though there was quite a long queue waiting to gain entry. Security were checking everyone as the passed through, a sign of the times i suppose. We decided to give it a miss and continue on up to the Brandeburg gate, find somewhere to have supper, then back to the apartment. About a 3km walk.

Day 3 - an excursion up to the other end of town to Alexanderplatz, one of the most visited places in Berlin. Went up the tower to gain a birds eye view of the city . Along with the view you also get a historical perspective of how each part of the city fits into the historical narrative.

Day 4 - a day on the river.  Sam Julie & I did one of those city river cruises. We've enjoyed doing one in other cities so thought we'd do it again. It proved to be quite fruitful. Sailing along the river Spree you get a sense where historical places fit together. A time line of history. Quite a relaxing couple of hours. Apart from trying to find the meeting point that is. We'd booked the tickets online and the confirmation email was a bit scant with info regarding where the boat leaves from. Did a Google search and headed for what we thought was the right place. Wrong. Not only we get off the wrong train station but we also headed in the wrong direction. After a fruitless 20 mins trying to guess the right way to go, Julie asked a passing couple for advice. Through some broken German, broken English, and a few hand gestures, we were soon heading the right way. All ended well after all, and we were soon ensconced in the warmth of the river boat .

Day 5 - Sam's birthday. Headed into what was West Berlin for a bit of a look. Did a stroll down Kurfusrstendamm, one of the iconic streets in Berlin, the one place which stood for everything East Berlin didn't - money, consumerism, decadent lifestyle. The place where East Berliners dreamed of going. While we were there we reconnoitered for a restaurant to go to for supper. Picked out one called Restaurant Turga, a place with Turkish cuisine, not exactly German dining, but it does get good reviews. 

Day 6 - Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to all. Before lunch we went for a walk over to Checkpoint Charlie, about 10mins away. On the way we came across various plaques which outline the significance of buildings and streets - it seems that the area we are staying in was first used by the Nazis and then by the GDR as the centre of their political power. We also came across the last surviving piece of the Wall - about 20m of it. Got back to the apartment at about 1130, just enough time to cook out Xmas lunch - roast chicken pieces, pork, veges, and gravy, all the trimmings this year. 

Last st night in Berlin. Tomorrow we are headed for Dresden for a few days before heading back to Frankfurt to drop Jake off to fly back home. Sam Julie & I are then heading back to Paris for a few days.