A trip of firsts : EMD-BNE-SIN-HEL-TXL return

[craven morehead]

it has been fun reading all your first and looking forward to the rest of it.

Many thanks mmchow it has been quite odd having so many firsts in one trip

 

[craven morehead]

Some pics from the executive lounge breakfast offering

 

[LadyC]

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A nice feed of Cod, potato and spinach washed down with .... of all things, an Australian De Bortoli Shiraz. What else would they serve on a Finnish airline lol.

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Snap! That looks exactly the same as my AY J meal to Prague. I thought their Euro J product was quite good. Enjoying your TR

 

[craven morehead]

So after catching up on some work it was time to get off my cough and go for a long walk. There is still something magical about getting out and hitting the streets of another country. You get to see so much more at eye level than just sitting on one of the hop on hop off bus tours. So let's go and see what today has in store Berlin style.

Starting point at the corner of the Sofitel :



The next few photos are all relatively close to where I am staying.

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church



Berlin Zoo





The biggest doof doof machine I have ever seen !

 

[craven morehead]

Some more of the Doof Doof :

 

[craven morehead]

Not something you see everyday, well especially out where I live ... The fuzz T-Boning a taxi ... No injuries except maybe the coppers pride

 

[craven morehead]

My 9th first a Father's day overseas ; Happy Father's day to all the AFF Dads : Cheers CM

 

[OZDUCK]

Nice photos & so envious of you being in Berlin.

 

[craven morehead]

Snap! That looks exactly the same as my AY J meal to Prague. I thought their Euro J product was quite good. Enjoying your TR

Many thanks LadyC it's taken me a long time to muster up the courage to have a go. Even after 25 trips abroad I still feel like a C grader compared to some our esteemed colleagues on this forum. I have learned an awful lot of travel advice/tips on here over the past 9 years. However we all had to start somewhere so it's my turn to share some info on this occasion.

 

[craven morehead]

Nice photos & so envious of you being in Berlin.

Cheers OZDUCK even though it's a bit dirty, a bit unkempt once off the main roads the place really does have some Spunk. I am most certain I could do an extended stay here. Oh and the weather has been spectacular for my stay 15-22c some very light rain at times but I have had no cause to put up the brolly or pull out the spray jacket.

 

[craven morehead]

Okay so this 10th First just caught me my surprise !! I'm jumping the chronological order just for this post I've gone to the AY check-in counter and yep they've got a Priority lane but there are 20 Asians in front of me. So I think to myself (not in a racist fashion) it would be unusual for so many Asians to hold Priority boarding status with AY or OW as compared to say frequent European travellers. That was my thought process anyway. Get to the counter and I ask the lady is everyone flying business class today ? Yes sir there will be 29 of you in J today Wowser! Is that some sort of record for a Euro J flight ? The curtain will be a third of the way down the plane lol. Will be interesting to see if they cope with the service. Righto I'll get back to commenting on Berlin when I get to Helsinki. Cheers CM

 

[craven morehead]

Righto so a bloke gets busy for a few days and the AFF platform changes just sussing it out now.

Continuing on with my day walking around Berlin (sans map or wifi) and the first bridge I cross look down and see one of the ubiquitous cruise boats.

 

[craven morehead]

Haven't quite worked how to load posts like before .....

After crossing the bridge I think, yep I like walking along the riverbank of most European cities so I hang a left. I then spot some kangaroos and think to myself, some madman with too much money has imported them into Germany. Walk another 100m and realise the Zoo is split across both sides of the river. Dopey pillock

 

[craven morehead]

Locals enjoying the sensational weather around what would be considered the very Western end of the Tiergarten

 

[craven morehead]

Slightly different style of housing to what I am used to in Central Queensland. Nice location on the river.

 

[craven morehead]

There is an absolute plethora of luxury performance cars around here. This one a Mercedes AMG Bi-Turbo V8 whilst cars like this are a not in tune with my budget, I am not sure I would go down this path (unless Lotto gets up) as I translate/convert all costings these days against how much time I can spend overseas.

 

[craven morehead]

So starting my walk through the Tiergarten proper on the way towards the Victory Column and then down to Brandenburg Gate. So as previously stated coming from Central Queensland I am more used to this :



Than beautiful green European parks and gardens. I really enjoying walking around these open spaces in big cities. I reflect on the contrast between this and my normal surroundings and really consider my good fortune at being able to see the World :

 

[craven morehead]

Hopefully I won't bore people with too many photos of these lush green gardens

 

[craven morehead]

The Victory Column with Victoria, the Goddess of Victory in the centre of the Tiergarten is one of Berlin's most famous landmarks and a popular tourist spot. Height @ 67m - info borrowed from internet.



IFA was my "business" reason for being in Berlin



So I turned here to head down towards The Brandenburg Gate ( Brandenburger Tor )

 

[craven morehead]

Two thirds the way down towards TBG and looking back at Victory Column. I'm not normally one for selfies but in the absence of a travelling companion I decided to have a lash. Naturally the resolution is poor in selfie mode but that maybe a blessing for some The weather at times looked threatening but never graduated past a light sprinkle at worst.



And looking forward to the The Brandenberg Gate :