My 65th birthday came and with it retirement. Having decided to do as much travelling as possible whilst we are still fit enough we arranged to visit Wyn & Karen our son & daughter-in-law. Wyn is in the army and is stationed in Germany.
Mon 22nd
Up at 0215 to drive to Wilmslow and the airport car park. Got the shuttle to the Manchester airport and booked in. Flight scheduled for 0800 but took off 0820. Arrived in Paderborn 1030 local time. Wyn was at airport to meet us and took us to his house. We were very tired and as Wyn had to go into work for an exam took the opportunity to have a nap. When Karen & Wyn came home from work we had a Chinese takeaway and an early night.
Tue 23rd
Got up quite late and after breakfast took a train into the town centre of Gutersloh. We enquired about trains to Berlin for Thursday and were told that if we booked two days in advance we could get concessions making the price 256 euros not 488, decided to go on Friday and booked tickets.
Had a walk round the town which has some nice old buildings
R & W went in “Alex” for a beer while V had a look round C & A. Went to “Media Mart” and bought an electric tin opener.
Karen fetched chicken for tea. We played a silly game on TV (50” Plasma Screen!!)
Wed 24th
Got up late weather bright and sunny, took the dogs for a walk round local woods.
In the evening went to “Greco’s”, a local Greek restaurant, for a meal.
Thurs25th
Karen off work today. Went to look around KraftMarkt/Hobby Shop which was a huge garden centre type place. Went on to Bielefeld. Had a wander round town and called at “Knigge”, a lovely old fashioned café ,for wonderful cakes, pastries and hot chocolate.
In the evening we went to a Chinese Buffet Restaurant which was super
Fri 26th
Up at 6am to get train into Gutersloh, bitterly cold morning. Train to Minden then changed again onto Berlin train. Had booked seats in smoking (for K & W) a bit unfortunate as it was half of a carriage where everyone from all over the train came to smoke (will know better next time!) Scenery not very interesting, miles of flat farmland with a few towns, as we got nearer Berlin we saw at least two run down, almost deserted, vast railway marshalling yards, also quite a few deserted towns, we assumed it was the old border between East and West Germany. Not much wildlife to see, a few cows, very few birds but V did see two separate groups of deer.Arrived in Berlin 1120, at their grand new railway station built in time for the World Cup 2006.
We went to the information desk and bought a ticket that allowed us to travel on all buses and trains until 0300 next day. 14euros 80c for the 4 of us. Got a train out to the Zoo Bahnhof and walked to The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is one of Berlin's most famous landmarks. The damaged tower is a symbol of Berlin's resolve to rebuild the city after the war and a constant reminder of the destruction of war. 
W e then went on to the Elephant entrance of the Zoo & decided not to go in as the animals would probably all be inside out of the weather
We walked on down to the Tiergarten which was a royal hunting estate turned into a park. We then walked down a long avenue towards the Siegessäule a Victory column built to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Prusso-Danish war of 1864. The 8.3m (25ft) gilded figure at the top was added after further Prussian victories in wars against Austria and France. It was moved in 1938 from in front of the Reichstag by the Nazi government to its current location at the Grosser Stern.
There was a bitterly cold wind driving at us and it was starting to snow so we stopped at a little café on the edge of the Tiergarten for a hot drink. We walked on to the Bellevue Railway Station. We got a train to Friedrichstrasse Station which took us through the main station and out the other side. We then walked to the Reichstag
Eisenman’s design is quite unique and has drawn both praise and criticism. Occupying about 205,000 square feet (19,000 square meters) of space near the Brandenburg Gate and just a short distance from where the ruins of Hitler’s bunker is buried, the Berlin Holocaust Memorial is made up of 2,711 gray stone slabs that bear no markings, such as names or dates.
The slabs undulate in a wave-like pattern. Each is a five-sided monolith, individually unique in shape and size. Some are only ankle high while others tower over visitors. Eisenman hoped to create a feeling of groundlessness and instability; a sense of disorientation. Most will agree that he succeeded.Visitors may walk through the memorial in any direction as there is no set pattern to the stones. The architect has said that he hopes it will merely become a natural part of the city, blending in with its background; used for shortcuts on the way home from work or a place of peace and quiet on a chaotic day.
Sat 27th
Did not do a lot, went out to “Media Mart” and supermarket, also booked table at “Gasthof Gropper a local pub.
Went for meal in evening to “Gasthof Gropper" , which was very nice, there was a function going on which appeared to be an ambulance service get together with a lot of hilarity and a fake casualty on a stretcher.
Sun 28th
Stayed in all day as raining. Karen did Sunday roast and we had an early night.
Mon 29th
Up at 0400 to get to airport. Wyn took us and we booked in. The flight took off early and we landed at 0710, reclaimed car and set off home. When we got to Shrewsbury we went for a snack at Morrison’s, got a few groceries and home.
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