Berlin

Part of me wanted to arrive in Berlin and accept the city for what it had now become, not a divided city as it once was. But as I stepped off the train and out onto Alexanderplatz into what was once East Germany, I couldn't help but feel a bit strange when I thought how only 13 years ago it would have been impossible for me to stand there. I'd once read that the Communist DDR regime had deliberately built streets to be wide so tanks could roll down them and Communist processions could take place along them and as I walked further into what was the East along the broad Prenzlauer Allee I couldn't help but wonder if this was one of those streets. Then I entered my modern hotel run by the worldwide Ibis hotel chain and I realised just how much things must have changed.

We made a special effort to find Checkpoint Charlie and I'm a bit ashamed to say that, at first, I was completely disappointed. Although the famous "You are now leaving the American sector" sign is still there and there's a guard's hut in the middle of the road, the street is now just like any other busy city street with shops, restaurants and traffic whizzing by. But then I thought, isn't it fantastic how the traffic can now whizz by again and Berliners from all sides can eat in whatever restaurant they choose? There's always the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum for us tourists that want to learn more about the past and it was stupid for me to even contemplate that the Checkpoint would remain in its old, divisive state.

One of the most memorable things I saw in Berlin was probably the murals painted on a remaining section of wall at the East Side Gallery, painted by several artists as an international memorial to freedom. With paintings such as "Test the Best" where a "Trabi" (Trabant = The East German made car) smashes through the wall, you can't help but be moved by it.

On the other hand I couldn't help but laugh when Gem and I ran out into the middle of the road to get a good photo of the wall and got a load of horns honking at us and young German guys waving and shouting out their car window at us, no doubt slagging us idiots off for being in the middle of such a busy road! But, that didn't deter us from doing exactly the same thing again later on in front of the Siegesaeule (Victory Column). At least there were Japanese tourists in the middle of the road too this time, so we weren't the only nutters!