Germany...

In just under 12 hours I head off to Tegel airport with mixed emotions... 17 hours later I will be arriving in Washington DC.

I have really enjoyed my time in Germany and have seen a lot more than I ever expected. Firstly there was Hamburg as previously mentioned... then Dresden and Cottbus last weekend. Berlin seems a lot cleaner than I remember from my previous trip in 1999. Back then there was a lot of work going on with buildings going up everywhere... there still is a lot of buildings going up but its not as obvious as before. If ever there was an opportunity I think I could live here although I would most probably get homesick after a while and want to return home. I saw the cutest little kitten tonight which reminded me of Charlie which in turn made me home sick. Oh well..

Back to the story at hand... I have been on lots of walks while in Berlin rather than the usual tours. I have been able to see so much more of the city plus get some exercise and loose some weight before my trip to USA (where I fear I will put it back on!).

Above is the Brandenburg gate, one of the most famous spots in Berlin and most probably Germany. You see the gates a lot in relation to "The Wall" plus also if you look at historical footage from WW2. Brandenburg gate was actually on the wall border. Below is the Reichstag, it was severely damaged in WW2 but in 1999 restorations were completed and it became home of Germany's Parliament. In my travels over the last 2 weeks I have seen a lot of restoration of buildings damaged during the war, something that didn't happen until after the wall came down mostly but it was interesting to still see some buildings left as they were after the war as a monument.

One such building in Berlin is the Memorial Church (Gedachtniskirche) although part was reconstructed as to act as a museum (shown below under the Reichstag). Berlin has so much history and many museums that it would take weeks to go through them all. I did want to go to the SS museum and also a few other war time museums but unfortunately time didn't permit this time around... maybe next time when I want to look at more of Europe.

When we went out I wasn't able to always take part in conversations (as I don't speak German) so I started to take "artistic" photos of whatever was around.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Dresden with Anja and her brother. We stayed at her cousins and Karson (I hope I spelt your name right) was a great host and tour guide (and no Karson, I didn't get bored of walking around... how could I with so many beautiful buildings!).

It was in Dresden that I also experienced my first all blue sky's since the start of my trip as can be seen in the pictures below. Over the previous 3 weeks there had always been at 50% cloud in the sky!

A recently restored Church... I can't remember its name however it is very famous and I think it cost nearly 1 billion euros to restore! The darker bricks in the picture above were the original bricks before the building was bombed just days before the end of WW2.

Inside the above church... The detail in the building was just amazing... there are no words or pictures that could truly explain the inside of this building... it was just amazing!

Inside one of the former Kings residences... he had quite a few places he lived in... all were amazing buildings.

Yet another spectaular building in Dresden. The older part of the city has so much history (I think it was 800 years) and it was just amazing to walk through. It was also interesting to see how high the water came up in the during the floods that affected so many buildings in Dresden back in 2002. I don't know any statistics but I would hate to think how much water flowed through the city.

In Dresden our main mode of transport was Trams... it was interesting to see that they are the same ones that are now in use in my hometown of Adelaide. Considering its size (about 500 000 people) Dresden had an amazing up to date public transport system...

Another "Artistic" shot while in a cafe... I really wanted to bring this teapot home...

Yes another picture of a toilet... but this one is a bit different! While at Peters place (a friend of Anja) I noticed this lamp shade and couldn't stop laughing. Basically someone had converted a kids porta potty! Now you parents know what you can do with some old unused equipment!

Well as mentioned before it is with sadness that I say goodbye to Germany, Anja and also her Parents. I have really appreciated and enjoyed my time here and while its sad to leave I am also looking forward to the next part of my trip (and the reason why I originaly started this trip... the wedding!).

Again I'm not sure of how much internet access I will have in the USA but as always I will do my best to keep my blog up to date. I 'm not sure how many people are reading it but its good for my own memories... the first few weeks of my trip are already a blur!

Until next time.... ciao