Like the title says

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all from me

Set off 4.15am.
Into one of the lounges for bacon butties, coffee and a cheeky beer.
Quick flight to Berlin.
Pre-booked shuttle met us and we were out and about in Friedrichshain late morning. 

We had read that the area we were staying in was similar to the Northern Quarter in Manchester. A bit quirky with cafe bars and street art. It was easy to see the likeness as we walked in search of our first bar passing closed shutters of businesses which weren't yet open ...

 

The quirkiness continued inside the bars. After a couple of pints and a rather "spirited" game of bar football we were off ...





Tried a Mexican bar next. 





We had the best intentions of getting down to the East Side Gallery, but as the evening closed in, more bars opened and we are weak     Temps were -5 to -7 overnight, so we soon realised that it was far easier staying in bars. 

 

We were up early 'ish' Saturday. Good breakfast at the hotel then off to the centre of Berlin for a look at the TV Tower. We passed this on the way. 



And this whilst we queued ...



TV Tower is an impressive structure. 



We took the views in, had a couple of beers at the bar and then we were off again ...



Got diverted as we wandered toward Checkpoint Charlie. 







Speaking of which ...





We went over the road and read about people killed trying to jump the wall and people caught (or succeeding) in escaping. It's mad to think this was less than 30 years ago. 

We quickly lost light and temps dropped so we went back in search of warmth (and beer), passing the TV Tower on our travels. 



Found a really quirky alley off the main centre with a bar and lots of street art. Some fantastic pieces. 







This is really clever. The light on the wall is the flash ...



We had a few beers then trammed back to 'home' and spent the night local. Stayed out far later than intended, rolling in sometime around 3.30am. 

Back up again Sunday morning for breakfast (which seemed to arrive far too quickly!) and we were off again. Decided we would go to the East Side Gallery so wandered down there as it's got a stretch of the wall still in place. 

Passed this on the way. 



Dave asked how the art is done on such a large scale. And by magic ....



Despite not yet having a beer this kept us giggling for a fair bit longer than it should have done. 



Then we got to the wall. 





One of the local shops ...



We wandered further, over the bridge. 



And decided we might aswell jump on a train. 



The plan was to go to the Olympic Stadium and Tuefelsberg (Devils Mountain). We had to switch trains along the way and wandered past yet more street art. Love the way the building has been made bigger with paint!



Mario Gotze. He's German don't you know. 



We got off the (next) train and walked through Grunewald Forest. We'd decided to walk to Teufelsberg first as it closed at 4pm, then do the Stadium if we had time. I didn't think we would get here so was quite excited as we walked through in the freezing temps. Then we got a glimpse of the Spy Tower ...





I'll add a link that's really worth reading as it explains all about this place. The current owners have allowed street artists to do as they wish and charge a small fee to enter and go wherever you want. It's an amazing place.



















That's my little brother (Jason) stood with me ...



















We just managed to get back through the Forest before it was dark - and very cold. 

Then, bite to eat and we were off the the airport and the weekend was over. 

Oh, and a bit of info and that link ...

Quote:A Cold War relic lies abandoned on top of a mountain made of rubble, built over a Nazi college that couldn't be destroyed after World War II. The gates of the former US spy station are locked and secure, its perimeter sealed by an uncompromising high fence, an angry crisscross mesh of wires that clearly imply “Eintritt Verboten!”
Welcome to Teufelsberg, literally ‘Devil's Mountain,’ a hill reaching 120.1 meters above sea-level, made from an estimated 12 million cubic meters of war rubble (apparently about 400,000 bombed houses) pushed together in the north of the Grunewald forest in West Berlin.
Buried deep beneath is what remains of a planned Nazi military training school designed by Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer. So sturdy was it that attempts by the Allies to destroy it failed, so they covered it with war-rubble instead. There was plenty of it around at the time. Every day, 80 truckloads of 7,000 cubic meters of rubble collected mostly by local women used to arrive. They became known as Trümmerfrauen or ‘rubble women’ for their efforts.
Perched atop this (wo)man-made mound now sits the old abandoned listening or intelligence-gathering stationused during the Cold War by the Americans and British to learn what was going on in Russian-controlled East Germany. It wasn't very discreet; three huge bulbous globes, two radomes perched atop buildings three-stories high and another sitting a further six-stories higher, creating a giant condom-shaped tower.

So as some of you may recall I was sent to Trondheim, Norway, in October for a workshop and general research meetings at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. As things worked out, I was able to spend 5 days in Trondheim in total, flying out from Gatwick on the Friday and flying back on the Wednesday. This gave me 3 days of touristy things (well 2 with the weekend) and 2-3 days of work. Not as long as my Indian report from last year but, nevertheless, here is my brief write up of Trondheim (and some photos).

Day 1 - 21st October
Flew out on the 20:05 flight to Trondheim from Gatwick. Left the house at midday and took the train to Gatwick, stopping off for lunch at Reading. Spent a few hours in the airport before boarding and worked on some code. Was lucky enough to be given the seat 1A on check-in, which turned out to have a lot of leg room which was nice. Flight was delayed leaving Gatwick (same as with departing for India... there's a pattern forming...) but we eventually landed in Trondheim at just gone midnight (Norway time) on the 22nd.

Day 2 - 22nd October
Took the bus from the airport to the city centre (approx. 25-30km) in the early hours, arriving at the hotel (P-Hotels Brattøra) about 01:30am. Checked in, unpacked and slept. In the morning breakfast was delivered to the door in a little bag, consisting of a sandwich (Ost & Skinke (ham and cheese)) and a bottle of apple juice. Although it doesn't seem much, it was rather filling and the sandwich was tasty enough. I looked online for what were the things to do in Trondheim and set out for a walk around the city centre, heading south from the hotel.


Breakfast - ham and cheese sandwich with applejuice (even though Google translate says it is orange juice, it tasted like apple juice to me)

I ended up visiting a library that had an event on for a literature festival occurring that weekend and attempted to read a Harry Potter book but it was all in Norwegian so I quickly put it back, before continuing south towards the Cathedral. It was a nice sunny day so the views were very nice. I continued south past the Cathedral towards the university, though I did not venture onto the campus just yet. I detoured round past the athletic centre that was hosting the Northern European Gymnastics Championship that weekend before heading back towards the city centre to find something to eat.

It was here that I realised prices in Norway are quite a bit different to England, with a 500ml bottle of soft drink (Diet Coke or similar) costing around 30-40NOK (Norwegian Krone) - approx. £3-£4, nearly double the price in the UK. So dinner was a half sub from a local Subway type shop before returning to the hotel for the night, having walked a total of 13km.

The Cathedral


A bit of the river


Slight Cyberman vibe

Day 3 - 23rd October
Having explored the city fairly easily on the Saturday, I opted to head towards the Ikea on the outskirts of Trondheim on the Sunday. It was about 3-4miles from the hotel and the walking route would take me through some of the residential areas, so I viewed this as a chance to see how Norwegians live and how their houses look compared to English ones. I got lost several times en-route to the Ikea which was fine as I wasn't following a map and was happily exploring the east of the city centre. I finally got the Ikea about 2 hours after leaving the hotel only to find it wasn't open on a Sunday! Doh! Should have checked before leaving the hotel, but I might not have seen the different houses if I had not ventured towards the Ikea.


What looks like apartments set into a hill

On the way back to the hotel, I went a different route and stumbled upon a fort in the middle of a park. The fort was used during the second world war by the occupying German forces with some history notes dotted around the fort. It was free to walk around and though it was a bit windy on top of a hill, it was nice. Walking home took me through a bit of the harbour side of Trondheim which looked like it might be busy with shops during normal opening hours before returning to the hotel having walked 17km. Sunday evening was then spent reading up about the Norwegian invasion during the war and its consequences (as is typical with such things, what started out as a half hour bit of reading turned into several hours of research).




Monuments of the fort

Day 4 - 24th October
Monday was a rest day of sorts, as there was work to be done and meetings to be had back in England so most of the day was spent in the hotel. However, I did go for a short walk to the west of the city centre and up to the university to find the building I would be in on the Tuesday, so I still walked about 12km.


Nighttime lights in the city centre

Day 5 - 25th October
Tuesday was the first day of the workshop at the university, so I spent most of the day up there. I walked to the university in the morning and met with Johan van der Zwart, the researcher who had invited me to Norway. In the morning I gave a presentation of my research to some MSc students before discussing the reason for my visit with Johan, Aneta (a fellow researcher with Johan), and Dominique (from Switzerland).


The University main building

Day 6 - 26th October
Wednesday was my final day in Trondheim and it was primarily spent at the university for the final part of the workshop before taking the bus back to the airport and flying back to the UK on the 18:00 flight to Gatwick. The workshop was good and interesting meeting with St. Olav's as well. An uneventful journey home (where I managed to acquire seat 1A in the self check-in for extra leg room again) turned stressful at Gatwick when they took forever to get the bags onto the belt (and when they had, they had managed to break part of it again.....) but luckily the 20:03 train from Gatwick to Reading was delayed by 4 minutes so I was able to catch that train for a return home.

Concluding remarks
Overall Trondheim was a nice place to visit, with some different architecture and views. The weather was nice, it was sunny all of the days I was there and it wasn't too cold (for me anyway). I'd recommend a visit, but if you're going from the UK save up spending money as the price differences between the UK and Norway can catch you out a bit! But overall, an enjoyable visit to Norway, and a wonderful networking opportunity with fellow researchers on the mainland of Europe.

In total, I took 542 photos during my visit, mostly of mundane things that I like to have to look back on in years to come like the street signs, and houses and, in some cases, just the route I took (useful for finding my way back if I get lost!). Some of them (about 66) were uploaded to Facebook and have been used here, but I also promised Kingy some that didn't appear on Facebook. Don't worry, you're not getting the remaining 476. Just a select few that I think are interesting.


This was a view of a bridge over the river from the path by the river with some large green areas going down most of the river back into the city centre.


A view of the city from the fort


A contraption in the fort for dropping a weight on the ground (purpose unknown - anyone know?)


An example of high prices, these shirts are the sorta quality you could pick up for £7-£15 depending on your retailer, here marked up at 399NOK - approx. £40.


Part of my walking and finding hidden areas - a couple of basketball hoops have a rest from a hard days work being hoops.


Finally, a little bit of how they live - garages out front with spacious drive ways and decent sized housing. Close to the city centre and very close to the university.

Donald Trump elected 45th President of the USA.


Unbelievable. Didn't realise the Americans hated Hillary THAT much! 


Now this is going to be some ride. The lunatic is in control of the asylum. 

As some will know I get up a bit early to ride a few miles before work. I keep a close eye on the weather via a couple of apps on my phone which have proved to be quite accurate over several months. 

Last night I rode home and temps were 5 degrees - which was fine for shorts on the bike. I don't wear lycra unless I absolutely/ no possible way round it have to. So, after checking and re-checking my apps agreed that it would be 3 degrees with some frost when I leave the house at 4.30am. I decided that whilst chilly that would be fine for shorts. 

So, I get my gear ready last night. I susbstitute the teeshirt I have been wearing (over a long sleeved base layer) for a thin jacket and get my winter gloves out. 

4.30am I leave the house and both cars are white over as I pass them on the drive. Initially it feels a fair bit colder than I expected, but it usually takes 15 minutes to acclimatise so I put this down to me being a tart and just ride off. 


3 degrees my arse! 


In the latter part of my ride as people were getting ready to leave in cars they were out with engines running scraping ice off car windows. 

My jacket, winter gloves and buff did their job keeping my upper body toasty. Smurf boots made sure my feet were the same - but feck me my legs were cold!   Rolled into work 23 miles later for 6am and checked temps. All the apps had changed their minds and were now arguing between -2 and 0 as a 'high temp' at best. Bastard technology! 

Since we started. 

Passed the 10,000 post mark today. Thanks everybody. It's been emotional. 

OK. Have a lads (& Robinson) weekend jolly coming up in mid November. We are off to Berlin. 

From what I understand we are in a hotel in Friedrichshain, which is supposedly a bit like the Northern Quarter of Manchester. 
Already have some ideas on what we want to do - TV Tower, Berlin Wall and Astro Bar have been mentioned. Would love to get over the Tuefelsberg Field Station (NSA Spy Station) but its a bit too far so unlikley. 

Anyone been to Berlin and have any must do's?

Anyone ever been to Trondheim, Norway? I've been invited (and have booked flights/accommodation, etc.) to the city to give a presentation and take part in a workshop later this month. I'm flying out on the Friday and have the Saturday/Sunday to look around/be a tourist before the workshop/presentations on the Monday-Wednesday. So has anyone been? If so, anything in particular I should look at doing/going to see? Or avoid?

Happy Birthday mate. Have a good 'un.