Berlin

The first thing you notice about Berlin is the large scale of everything.

Especially after Amsterdam, where things are generally fairly intimate and a wee bit cramped.

Here it's all monumental.

I was wondering if it was the Nazis or the communists but then I realised that it goes a long way further back - and may be something related to German culture.

As you may have heard, after the wall came down there has been a lot of building going on. It is an incredible place. There are old buildings that have been incorporated into very modern complexes and plenty that just oozes 21st Century.

There are still some old East German apartment blocks that have not been 'fixed-up' - on of these areas is across the road from our hotel. But on the whole it is neat, clean and orderly.

The size of the roads and buildings means that even though there are a lot of trees, the place looks  a bit stark.

We did the hop-on, hop-off city tour yesterday to get a bit of an overview.

Today we are going to get a 3 day ticket and head out exploring some of the more interesting of the things we saw.

Photo of the day.

 The Grosse Stern . It is a very large column at the end of a very long avenue.