Few words and a few more pictures of our Lads Jolly to Berlin.

[Kingy]

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.

http://www.abandonedberlin.com/2015/01/t...erlin.html