Beer, bockwurst and buildings

Location

Two weeks in Berlin have flown by so fast. Staying with Nick and Natalie has been the most welcomed change to hostel hopping. Although it has at times felt like a hostel with the steady stream of arrivals, departures and re-arrivals. Everyone came here for the German version of Nick and Natalie's wedding but at various points before and after the big day have taken side trips to conferences and universities in other cities.

The wedding was held in the garden of a large house on Lake Wansee, south west of central Berlin. It was great to see so many of the boys from school there on the opposite side of the world trying, without much success, to sing German wedding songs.

Apart from the wedding I've been doing a lot of sightseeing. The architecture here in Berlin is utterly fascinating. There are so many buildings of note from such a wide range of periods and styles. It has been satisfying to see structures I'd seen on slides at COFA in the brick. Potsdamer Platz is nearing completion and is worlds away from the old photographs from before WWII and during the wall.

Tonight is my last night here in Berlin. Tomorrow I fly to Athens and then a few days later to the island of Ios. I have promised to return to Berlin because the people, the food, the beer and the sights are so beautiful‚ ich bin ein Berliner.