Berlin

Here we are again....

I am back from the brink. This is the first time I have been away at half term and so rather than coming back to work refreshed I am emotionally and physically knackered. But before the purge must come the images.

Gerd Rohling as seen at the Hamburger Bahnhof-Museum. I loved the way he lit the disparate groups of glass to create the most vibrant reflections.

Hans-Peter Feldman too was brilliant he created the most wonderful kinetic shadows from the flotsam and jetsam we find at the bottom of a child's toy box. This is why this Gallery is one of my favourites. Every time I visit I get challenged and inspired. The gallery is HUGE and can take all day to really see it, I of course was accompanied by the delightful Leyla who kept that notion in check. I would say though that her score overall this holiday was 8.5/10. Very impressive and I hope an improvement she can sustain.

This is the refurbished cafe in the gallery. It ticks every one of my favourite interior design boxes. The use of reclaimed office furniture, the deep red walls, the wood panelling and tiled floor. Behind where I was sitting was a wall of books and journals, I could have sat here all day. Sadly I was not hungry as the cake selection was awesome, weirs I know as a child I would have forced down a cake just for the taste, but having done up the top button of a previously very tight pair of trousers I tried hard to abstain from over indulgence.

Below is The Holocaust memorial. A very powerful tribute.

The photograph below was taken from our hotel balcony. We had a superb view over Alexanderplatz, but that block of flat you can see may look a bit grim but I promise you the view they have is stunning. I would love to live there, when you look up you can see the most wonderful book lined apartments and it is right in the center too.

The corner of Sredzkistrasse, you could almost be in Paris don't you think? A really lovely corner of Berlin colonised by the intellectual classes, it was originally in East Berlin and has a wonderful mix of old and new style apartments, very expensive now though.

MilkBerlin What a fabulous shop, you go in and customise your own bag. They are very popular, primarily because everyone here seems to cycle. They are sadly very aggressive cyclists and brook no pedestrian in their wake. I was dodging them on pavements, roads and bloody cycle paths which have appeared everywhere. Seriously I am all for it if only they could be a bit more tolerant of disorientated tourists. I saw one cyclist literally 'take out' two Italians!

This image of the Berlin Dom is so evocative. I had no idea Berlin was so green. Well not now as the leaves were falling, but because I have only ever been during the cold winter months I was not aware of the amazing proliferation of trees. They are everywhere and at this time of year look absolutely stunning.

I love the path through the government offices down by the river Spree.

The iconic tower, from our balcony a cliche but I love it.

All the gossip tomorrow!