May Update - 17/5/08 - Potsdam (just outside Berlin), Germany (3,537 km)
Hamelin... hmm... rat obsessed are the two words that spring to mind! Arriving in town we followed signs to what we thought would be a campsite but in fact turned out to be a rather cool car park specifically for motor-homes. The site was divided up into large parking bays each with the facility to hook-up to electricity and water for extra cost and it was level, immaculate, quiet and 5 minutes walking from the centre - all for just €8 per 24 hours! We have found Germany to be far more expensive than we thought it would be, not just because the Euro is so strong at the moment but generally things are quite a bit more when compared to UK prices.
Back in Hamelin wandering around the very pretty town was delightful. Fairytale half-timbered architecture dating from the 16th to 18th centuries complement the fairytale of the Pied Piper associated with the town. In the 1800s the Brothers Grimm researched medieval folklore and discovered the tale of the town, as soon as the Brothers published their fairytale collection the town became famous. Mind you, like all towns famous for something it is rather overdone! Rat shaped bread, marzipan and cakes are eaten from plates sporting rat designs, children have balloons with rats on and cuddle rat toys. We stopped (very briefly!) to watch the Pied Piper musical in the town square freely provided twice a day to the tourists wearing rat monogrammed hats and eating rat flavoured ice cream (OK so I made up that last bit but you get the idea!).
Deciding that trying to find somewhere to both park and stay in Berlin would be the most horrendous nightmare we opted to try Potsdam which is a town slightly under an hour by train to central Berlin. We found a park and ride which seemed perfect and in fact spent two nights there completely undisturbed and benefitting from both the tram and bus which connected it to the town. We did try the local campsite but they wanted €30 per night – this did include free showers and electric but I thought it should include a full valet and waitress service too for that price!!
| The first afternoon we wandered around Potsdam which is a lovely and full of palaces and interesting parks and buildings. The main park accommodates three palaces built over three centuries; the loveliest in my eyes is the Sanssouci Palace which was the summer residence of Frederick the Great and was built above a terrace vineyard around 1745. |
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We arrived in Berlin on an overcast day and immediately hopped onto one of the city tour buses as we decided this would give us the best background on the city before exploring specific sites in more detail. Once the tour had whetted our appetites we headed off to the Holocaust Memorial.
2,700 coffin-like concrete slabs laid out like a cemetery - a lasting memorial to Jews killed in Europe and even more dramatic in the rain with heavy black skies overhead. It is fitting that it has been placed in central Berlin where so many lives were lost although it was extremely controversial and very nearly was never built at all. Some blocks in the far corner away from the CCTV cameras have black plastic caps taped over them – could it be graffiti from the rising number of neo-Nazis in the city?
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Have to sign off now but will give you another insight into our trip to Berlin soon...
Kate and Oz, on the move.