We got back from Berlin at midnight, and have had a lot of time already to reflect on how the trip was both stressful and fun, awesome and shit.
It started when our first flight was delayed due to strikes in France (surprise surprise) before we transferred at Brussels and we had a load of stuff from duty free confiscated (which we were told would be fine as it was duty free and sealed). I was then dragged to one side and patted down and swabbed for drugs.
Our connecting flight was fine, and we touched down in Berlin and grabbed a cab to the hotel. Taxi driver was Turkish, and so I understood the gist of his conversations as we wended our way through the city.
The hotel was great - couldn't fault a thing! I may have written down the basics of some of their cocktails to work on here...
Friday was great - CONCERT DAY!! The support act was Jack Garratt, who I hear on the radio but am not a huge fan of. He was good, but very static as he sang and played guitar, keyboard and drums simultaneously.
MUSE were fucking incredible!!! Their set was not just vocally and musically on point but the visuals were like nothing else I've ever seen. Drones filled the air at certain times and panels dropped down on various points which then had extremely clever visuals projected across them. I was glad of the seats in the first tier as the standing area would have been too close to appreciate anything bar the band. Also, being a 360 degree view of the long stage, I was glad of a head-on view. The downside is that I have not been able to shift some of the guitar riffs from my head since... Could be worse!
The next day, Gray accidentally got the wrong S-bahn tickets and we ended up with an on-the-spot fine of 120 Euros - aka our holiday fund... This was probably the lowest point by far.
We had a picnic in the park where we had red squirrels sharing our bench (and pretzel).
We saw a lot of sights, from towers to churches, museums and memorials. It is not a long time since the Wall came down, but it is amazing how far the city has come since. Reminders are everywhere but the city reunited pretty flawlessly considering that the population is still hugely Russian. Going further back, there is still a lot regarding Hitler and the legacy he left on the place. Cold War bunkers and a spy museum exist alongside mass graves and fragments of Wall. A striking blend of relics from different eras are interspersed with shopping precincts and skyscrapers.
The zoo and aquarium filled a day and we still didn't get to see a lot inside.
I got to see the Ishtar Gate, which was totally worth it.
The sun shone for the most part, until the way home when our flights again caused problems. Our first flight was delayed sufficiently enough that - in order to catch a transfer - we had new flights scheduled by the airlines. Great! We got on board the EARLIER flight - having waited at the airport for 4 bloody hours already - and were told that boarding cards had to be printed at Frankfurt airport for the final leg. Fine, until it took 3 desks and multiple machines before someone at business class sorted out the damn things. On the plus side, we got into business class for free. The downside was a full body scan for us both...
We landed and got through to the exit in record time! We then had to wait 20 minutes for the people to collect us and I had to calm Gray down. He may have shouted down the phone at someone...
It was a huge relief when we got home and fell into bed, even if we only got a few hours before work for us both. At 7.30 this morning, I sat with a mug of decent tea - the first in a week - rotating photos and watching GoT in case spoilers were seen.
My day at work has been a shit start, and I felt like I could happily fuck back off abroad again. Here's to a better day tomorrow...
