Berlin 2: Bikes, Bricks and Biiiig Buildings

We weren't in Berlin for that long really, which meant we had a lot to fit in. The first couple of days were pretty jam packed with getting our bearings, seeing the sights and learning a lotttt of stuff that I probably should have already known.

By the last day, our feet were getting pretty tired. We wanted to go to the East Side Gallery - the open air art gallery on the remaining part of the Berlin Wall along side the Spree River - and it was nice and sunny. So, we rented some pretty precarious bikes from our hostel and after a bit of a panicky start, headed East.

My chain came off. I sent us the wrong way. They drive on the wrong side of the road...

But we got there, safe and sound.

Now, I'm a bit of a sucker for an inspirational/meaningful/cute/lame (delete as appropriate) quote. So given that there were dozens of them painted on such a historically significant wall, in some pretty cool styles, I was loving it. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking.

One of the star attractions of the wall - Honecker & Brezhnev's famous kiss

The famous Trabi car - apprently they're awfullll but they are cute looking cars (priorities in check)

^ Me, 'doing it cool' (or not?)

Loved the wall. What used to completely segregate and stand in the way of freedom now is all about freedom of expression. Definitely worth a visit.

That evening, we decided to head up the Fernsehturm (TV Tower in Alexanderplatz).

We treated ourselves to cocktails... 

...the only way to handle the height, obviously

We watched the sun go down over toy-model Berlin before grabbing dinner at the bottom of the tower.

A great end to a lovely trip!

Niobe X

Rufford Park

Recently, my Granny and I went for a day out to Rufford Park, just north of Nottingham. We’ve been going 

since I was young, and now occasionally go for a wander round the lake and a catch up.

Unfortunately after this heatwave we picked a day where it was quite cloudy, but a nice breeze meant it wasn’t so hot we couldn’t enjoy the walk.

Rufford is home to an old Abbey and there are re-enactments and craft fairs throughout the year.

It's also home to a lot of geese...

But the lake is what we normally go for; it’s a nice hour long amble where you can watch the ducks and geese and admire the view.

And after working up an appetite may I recommend the Saville Restaurant which offers a three meat carvery for a very good price… I don’t have a photo of this because my gravy was dripping all over the place and I was making a bit of a mess, but if you imagine a roast, and double the size, you can probably imagine the plate in front of me.

I was stuffed!