berlin
Eco-bikes
I love these eco-bikes. You find them in most of the big European cities now, and they are a great way to get around. You use a mobile app (of course) to register a bike, and off you go. When you’re done you pop it into a rack and you’re done.
They have a similar concept with scooters which you can leave anywhere when you’re done, and the app tells you where the nearest scooters are.
A great idea, but I somehow think the South-African public isn’t quite ready for them…
Beer tasting
Nothing like a beer-tasting at a Berlin Microbrewery, followed up with an excellent eisbein
If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend Bbrauhaus Suedstern.
Turkish coffee anybody?
When we stayed in Berlin, our host was from Turkey, which meant that I was treated to many cups of the most amazing Turkish coffee.
Lego buildings
These apartment buildings are in the middle of the former East-Berlin. They are just down the road from the Stasi headquarters. I don’t know how old they are, but to me the look very simple and functional, with an emphasis on cost and not on amazing or interesting design.
They remind me of my old lego set, looking like they could have been assembled from really big lego blocks.
Two metro stations
Two metro stations.
The first one is Brandenburg Tor, with the old gothic Unter den Linden sign under it. In the cold-war, West-German trains went through parts of East-Germany, and in particular through this station. But they never stopped at any of these so-called “ghost-stations” that were closed and guarded.
The second sign is Alexanderplatz in East-Berlin, an area that today is one of the bussiest districts in Berlin.
