Berlin Big and Bold

Hi fellow travellers. Our route has now taken us to the northern area of Poland from Wolsztyn to Poznan.
Poznan looked to be a large city with high rise and some industry. We travelled from Wolsztyn to Poznan on the local rail motor. The country we passed through is fine farmland.
A service pulled by steam goes each day at 8.00 but our photographic project and a hair cut in the local barbers was more appropriate. The barber was a comedian He tried to make me look like Stalin, yeah fat chance. Pam could only nod.
Poznan to Berlin Express stopping most stations. (can never figure out why they call these trains express)
Arrive Berlin at 18.10 on time. But Berlin is big.
Berlin is starting the Weinachesbaum (Christmas) period of celebration. We had not booked a bed. Sooo um yes. 1 hour on the net and 2 hours door knocking, near panic.
I stumbled on a very helpful young desk clerk who told me of a motel that had just opened on the other side of the city and they had a lot of empty rooms. A bed at last.
Rule 1. Always book a room in advance in a major city. Yes Malcolm. Thanks Mike.
The upshot of all this is we were in a hotel and it was a beauty. Upshot it was late and we were in the old eastern section. We had not eaten. The streets were quiet and dark. But the intrepid travellers set out to find food. Guess what? We found the best Italian restaurant. Our waitress was a Turkish girl who had relatives in Sydney. No we did not know them. The owner befriended us and we finished our disaster night with pasta to die for, wine and schnapps on the house. Germans love to party. "No problems" says I. "you were lucky" says Pam.

Berlin for us had changed. We visited East Berlin in 1973 with Kellie-Ann in a papoose back pack. This time our hotel was in the old Eastern section and a lot of work is going on updating buildings, infrastructure and services with scaffolding covering government buildings. Huge areas are still empty in the central areas. These are earmarked for landmark construction as soon as the recession blows over.
The buildings are on a grand scale. One is called the "elephants bath" and it looks like it. The Berlin HBF is huge five floors. Metro trains on the top and international and long distance on the lower deck. The other decks are shops, eateries, carparks. Very efficient and very easy to get lost. The city is modern as you would expect being rebuilt for 60 years after the battering it copped in the closing year of WW2 and subsequent division. But the city retains its place as one of the art centres of the world covering cinema, theatre, modern arts. It is vibrant.
The celebration, 20 years since the fall of the wall, has created Museums and tours of communist houses. (I wonder if they will take tours of our disaster residential areas?)
However we spent our days doing the usual tourist things We took a local train to Potsdam where the agreement after WW2 was signed between the allies. US, USSR, Britain, France. It is the old royal city and has heaps of castles and palaces. AFC thanks Nikki.
Took a city tour for convenience. All good ends too soon. The weather is mild.
The night express train to Paris.
On the great train journey
Image 1 Berlin HBF station
Image 2 Berlin Radio tower Alexander Platz
Image 3 Checkpoint Charlie
Image 4 Peace sculpt with Cathedral memorial in the background
Image 5 Brandenburg Gate at night