Sitting on the train, listening to the dull rhythm of the wheels beating on the tracks no-one felt like talking. We were heading out to Oranienburg, a town 22 miles north of Berlin, which today looks like a picturesque country retreat city-dwellers should want to relocate to, however, delve into…
After experiencing the famed Berlin nightlife was it a mistake to book an early morning tour at the Reichstag building? Dragging ourselves out of bed at 8am on a rather bright Sunday morning should have been a pleasant experience. However, for anyone who has yet to experience a Saturday night…
As general sceptics of anything organised by others, it was a complete shock to my husband’s system when one night, during our planning stages, I turned round to him and announced that I had booked us onto an arranged walking tour of Berlin. With puzzlement on his face, he turned…
Whenever we visit a new destination there are two things we want to see: the landmarks that have made the place famous (yes, the ones that grace several pages of any well respected travel guide) and those places that only locals seem to be able to stumble upon. So, starting…
View from our Balcony On this beautiful sunny morning in Berlin it is hard to imagine that not 30 years ago this city was still cut in two. Sitting on our balcony of the Adina Apartment Hotel Hackescher Markt at this early hour I can hear nothing but a subtle…
Star Rating: *** Pages: 249 English translation first published by Secker and Warburg in 2003 Originally written in German and titled Herr Lehmann this story represents life in Berlin, for the twenty-something’s, before the wall came down. With no responsibility or sense of short-coming Herr Lehmann has embarked on a…
Star rating: *** Pages: 256 First published by Hogarth Press in 1939 Want to know what Germany was like pre WWII? Christopher Isherwood highlights the highs and lows of life in Berlin in his short biographical observations expertly put together within this novel. Split into six short stories, all with…