As I come within sight of my ten-day return visit to Berlin, it's time to blow the dust out of the blog and check that everything still works.
I went there first - briefly - in 2008, as the final destination on my Grand Tour. I returned for three days last year, at the end of the shorter tour based on Leipzig, and came away feeling that I really ought to make a proper visit with the time to take in some of the superb art collections at a more leisurely pace. So this is it.
Actually I will have eight days 'on the ground', plus two tedious days of travel. The planning is mostly done, apart from trying to arrange an outline daily itinerary. I don't want to fix too much in advance, especially as this is meant to be a more relaxed trip, and much will depend on the weather. But some galleries and museums are naturally connected, either because they're physically close or can share tickets. Some are closed on Mondays, others not, and some are best avoided at weekends. I have one concert booked, in the wonderful Philharmonie.
I'm sorry to say that I shall be flying to Berlin - one of the last passengers to use the city's Schönefeld airport before it closes on 2 June - rather than my preferred option of travelling by train. Not that I have a problem with the flying itself, but the endless waiting around at a ghastly airport is really rather unpleasant. Added to which it looks as if I shall have to leave home no less than five hours before my flight to travel the 18 miles to the airport, such is the dire state of public transport in rural Hertfordshire.
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