Berlin wall...

If you just look in the middle, it's like a scene out of a movie. I dodnt take many shots at the airshow ground. It was just most unpleasant and warm. No, warm is an understatement. It's like Singapore weather with no ventilation. Urgh.

After boss arrive in day two, having settled his Jam stuff in another part of europe, we spent out first night out looking for the casino, which he said was the biggest in Europe.

Guess what we stumbled upon the berlin wall....heee...all thanks to jeano's great eyesight. =P

Testing of boss' photgraphy skills.

Right outside the trainstaion Potsdamer. These are of course deliberately set up back on site. The origianls were removed to be detroyed. But only later did they think that some should remain. Not many whole pieces have been left. So if you're at a Berlin gift shop, chances are, there a small vial with a chuch of coloured conrete which they claim is part of the berlin wall. (hmmmmm.....)

I took this phot coz i wanted to show ge how gross a collection over years of bubble gum looks like...very colourful..and OMG

The historical markers on the ground, like a line drawing out the berlin wall location.

Opposite the Casino, the Blue Man group theatre! Too exp lah...so never went to see..

OK, it's not as big as I thought it would be, but it's about hmm....4 storeys, with an area of a basket ball court. As I brought his up as a conversation with my boss, we realised that maybe the casinos in europe are mostly old ones, so they never built MEGA ones back then. Hence, this would make sense to be the biggest.

Anyway, like I said, not many pics of the airshow. On this day where the pic was taken was my only Free whole day in Berlin, (Boss and mel lfet early this morning.) and I went to something like their City Hall

I snuck in a quick photo of these guys. If you want a shot with them, I think $$ is involved. A free donation, in the chest on the floor. I didnt need one lah, But I thought it was cool, it's thier old military uniforms. =)

This is the Brandenburger Tor. ('Tor' I gathered, meant gate. It was the site of celebrations when the Berlin wall came down and throwing you back even further in time, when Napolean lead his victorius troops marching in.

a nice torust heloing me out the take a pic after seeing me struggle many time to get a shot in, in the DIY fashion. hhahaha

The next decent historical buidling is about a 5 minute walk away. the Reichstag buildt in 1884(aka Paliamentry house). Can't go in without paying, and the details was that since its in use, you can only go to the modern wings. (which are made of glass walkways)

I learned from my recent course research (which I chose to write about hitler) was that it was here that in one of his attempts to take control of germany, he stormed in and held governers hostage.

These carved out panels flank the main entrance.

There were many tourists, but the square was big enough not to be crowded. I picked a spot to sit and just soak up some sun and atmosphere. It was near the front door.

A man who stood beside a bicycle, watched me for a while, then came up to me and started chatting. I acted not too interested. But he was more keen to find out if I was from China or one other country that I can't recall now.

When I said no, and said singapore, he repeated his question, and looked abit stumped when I still said no...hahaha...probably thinks it's in China, and that I didnt' hear him properly. he still looked unconvinced. Anyway, am still alone, so didn't want to too friendly so I acted disinterested.

He hung around abit, looked like he was trying to do some survey or something, but I didnt see him approach anyone else. (most people there looked local/ ang mo or asian folks huddled in the safety of their tour groups.

Eventually, he moved a to another spot at the square.

As I walked back to the Branderburg Tor, a small crowd gathered on the far end of the Reichstag. Some filming was taking place. The lady in the pciture is part of the show, and she is to just sit there and watch.

since everything was in german, so I had no clue.

But i guessed it was a priviledged moment, so I stayed, coz i seems like the locals knew who this guy was, who was performing songs, singing...

and taking the strangest things out of his attache case...LOL

It was a short filming and everyone whooped and clapped when the filming ended, and he said a graceful thank you. =)

Security guards for chickens....

Made a U turn at the Museum cluster and am actually trekking back towards the Alexander Platz station using a difference route so that I can see different things. Could only window shop and saw this nice colourful display...really pretty. Unless you're afraid of butterflies. These are fake of course. But so much care was made in the layout...

Quieter streets, lined with road side restaurants and shops. I liked this lamp post plastered with layers and layers of adverts, from professional ones to your regular off the photocopier machine type.

See the photo above, in the center, a thin dark vertical strip of building, with a yellow light on the ground level?

That's an old old theatre, still in use! It was the only oldest looking building along the entire stretch that kept it's old charm with no new coat of paint.

Though I didn't go in, this was the ground level. A 3meter arch tunnel covered with classical posters.
Didn't go further on past the tunnel...didn't feel too safe, because it's a back passageway. But very interesting, because it seemed like a local haunt to kick back and relax. On the left and right are the back of the restaurants/ cafes and still have customer tables!

Look at the layers of theatre posters...

Back to the road, I encountered 3 markers on the cobble stone floor, marking the place was home to Jews before they were taken away to camps. Suddenly I felt remorse and a quiet acknowledgement of gladness that the place kept it's historic look.

Big empty streets. Where are all the people?

One of my biggest impression walking the streets of Berlin is that the locals are scary. The youth travel in packs...like wolves. You'll never see less than a group of 8 walking together. Usually a mix of male and female. The frightenting thing is that walk in fast strides while chatting, almost like marching!!!... Not like the usual outing with friends in SG where you stroll.

I had a flash feeling of what it must be like in a riot.

So many cars..but not many people in sight...

Shops on the right are modern and built below the train tracks. =)

Local street signs.

I'm reaching my destination soon...This entire stretch has boring graffiti....getting dark! Hurry!

Ah ...here we are...let me introduce you to what Berlin uses as it's local icon. If you go to a souvenier shop, you will find either a bear (to represent the berlin bear), or their 'green' and 'red' man, which is used in all their traffic lights.

Yes, you see it? their green man wears a hat! (crossing the road and took this!)

Ack!!! why am I still on the road taking the pic!?!!! hehehe....

Here we are! the Station sign for the U-bahn.

Open plaza at the platz...

Finally it's 8.30pm. I settle down for my meal. Only had breakfast at the hotel that day. Save $$.

The only places left open were restaurants and they were all packed with no english menu. In addition, not cheap. So with nothing economical/ simple that was still open I decided to try their KFC.

Made me miss our local KFC. the place stank of oil and was run like some low-end eatery. Tables looked greasy and chairs had crumbs everywhere.

So i chose to sit outside and watch the 'traffic at the plaza' of trams going by. The table beside me was a mother with a young kid.

Another unsettling thing was that the KFC had a security guard. who stood around the door! Goodness..initially I thought he was just a passing cop..but realised he was hanging around as though securing the area. Please note that the KFC is about the size of...hmmmm....you know the starbucks in T2 airport? Yep...two times the size of that. And outside there are only 4 tables!

I guess I did feel safer having him around. He was polite since I was a customer. I figured, maybe it's because groups chose to plonk themselves at the tables/ some homeless people could give trouble as it was very near the subway access.

It was not fun eating there. Air was still, not cool, but not warm either. And just too damn quiet. My first meal in town..urgh...

Going back to the hotel. This is the transit station called 'Ostkreuz' that is under a revamp. It's easy to spot when you're arriving at this station because of this old tower on the left. My Boss, mel and me still do not know what it's for.

The station layout is complex, but I figured it out. hee...we have to use this route everytime we want to go to town.


Train arrival signboards. Just like in Frankfurt, one track has many train routes passing. so make sure you baord the right one. Only two routes go to Schonefeld airport. S9 is one of them and have to wait for a long time if you miss one (about 15mins)

You can bring bicycles into the train too.

It's a long 50min trip back to the hotel....so we take photos! hahaha...

Even at midnight back at the hotel, it looked like it was 7pm SG time.

Alexander Platz...

is one of the main train stations on the Berlin map, so I did my quick exploration.

Here's the Berlin dome. Known to be the only dome like structure in the city. There are not many old buildings around, my guess is that they are all bombed during the war. See the modern but old buildings like the Sanyo one below. They are right next to the historical buidlings and look really functional and plain. Like a post war quick rebuilding project.

Fountain with King Neptune in the middle of the park.

Clock tower of a church!

The back of the church looks like a mini version of Notre Dame in Paris. (Berlin Dome on the left.)

The tower that reminds me of so many city towers, marks Alexander Platz. (restaurant on top!)

Wandered over to the Museum cluster. About 5 to 6 of them side by side. Sadly all were closed because it as already so late. Yes, I know, it's bright still, but it's already 8pm local time!!

I wanted to go visit the Greek Gods museum (can't remember the exact name) but it's supposed to be filled with statues of all of them with history included of course.

A nice tourist decided to help me make a pic down the outdoor hallways of the museum.

Above: one of the museum's undergoing upgrading

Boat timing was perfect!

Alongside the museum cluster is the River Spree which cuts through the heart of the city. See how I've wandered from the Platz tower?

Sunset...

Hackescher Markt - It's really a train station above! Yep, I have walked all the way the another station! This area is in the middle of a city park with lots of bistros lining up the sidewalks. A nice place to sit back and feast with friends. =)

Unforgettable - 2Euro scotch tape.

I was quite tired after reaching the hotel -- Holiday Inn Schonefeld Airport. (I later found out there were only 3 hotels near that airport). and mine was digustingly the furthest from it. (aka. not within walking distance. But 1 min drive.)

After checking in and making sure they can accomodate the auto-check in for the rest of the mission team, it was only about hmmm...11am local time. I was hungry and thirsty. Needed to go out explore how to get around and where to get the basics.

The hotel had a shuttle to the schonofeld airport (which is the hub for the bus terminal and train station)...but it ran at the oddest hours. I had to squint at some silly A4 sized paper and understand the timings with block out dates. I asked the recep if they had a copy of it. ---No! =S

Wah lieu...thank God I smartened up and took a photo of it. Just as well easier to refer to when I'm out and about.

Next since it was a sunday and it's considered an ulu place, I found out that I had to request for the shuttle service out of the hotel. (ie. there's hardly any guest to make it worth the regular trip.) The recep was a little shocked when I enquired. She said:" Oh, you can request for it." Me:"Can I go now?"....lady:"Now?! Ok, let me see..." ..(*scuttles to back room to find the driver*) I was quite afraid of the trip back really. I mean, the driver couldn't speak a word of English, and I was trying to ask him in the bus, how I was going to ensure I managed to get a ride back when I was done. I mean, do I have to wait for the scheduled time according to the sheet of paper or rely on thier ad-hoc ways?

Somehow, I managed to figure out I was supposed to find some signboard (which is the designated drop off/ pick up) and wait for the shuttle...if it's 5mins late from the supposed time of arrival. Call the hotel. (ie. we're not that efficient or come out when we want to.) Ah dui....

hahaha...anyway, pic above shows the 1970s look of the airport. (yes, inside looks like 1970s with the mosiac small square tile flooring and no lifts either.) Still, it was close to summer for them so you can see them all just sprawling on the open field reading, having picnics and chatting, soaking up the sun.

It's a good 400m walk from airport to train station. And I trekked up and down four times just to compare prices of snacks and drinks between the miserable number of shops/ snack counters between them. You can count less than 10. LOL!! At each trek, even tho the walkway was decently crowded, i did a mini detour just to avoid this strange normal looking man, who had this 'very free' look and kept approaching and talking randomly to passer-bys. Scary...

I eventually made my choice of shop and made this shopkeeper so happy! (He looked italian). Prior to my arrival, he was sitting bored outside his shop (with virtually no human traffic) and chatting with a friend. He was nice, asked me why I was in this part of town and surprised by my number of purchases, since he started packing up my choices after only 2 items and keyed it into the cashier, thinking that it was all he'd get for the day. hahaha...

Really helpful and tried to explain to me what the items were. Eis Kaffee --- Ice coffee....Eis tee-- Ice tea...=) Wasser -- water...

I also got my dinner/ late lunch from another shop at the train station. Some kebab sandwich from a middle eastern eatery. (see the aluminium foil behind the biscuits) + a slice of pizza.

I tell you...i was quite worried how my kebab sandwich would turn out lor....since this schonefled area is so ulu, they don't expect tourists, so the whole menu was in german. My God...there was alot of pointing up at a wall (hoping he understood which pic i pointed at since they were not numbered)....then when the owner asked me more questions on choice of meat/ condiments/ stuffing and i retuned him the =S look, you should've seen his face contort to try to find the basic english words for me! hahaha

I wondered the whole time whether i'd find it edible. What was that weird greenish sauce he added? Did he even understand I wanted a take away? I had no clue to what I had agreed/ not agreed to and the final price he was going to charge me.

*sniffles*

Its tiring but in cases like this, you just have to keep a smile, friendly face, stand out of the way of the locals (who just waltz in and ramble an order) and keep alert. Have to make sure you don't offend anyone lor.

Thankfully the man was nice and I believe he gave me alittle more than the usual stuffing, seeing how clueless and hungry I was. =) God is good. =)

So yes, My mini purchase of all the above is a grand total of *drum roll* = 50 euros! which is about S$75...*faints*..I felt very poor straight after...=(

Just 2 packets each of ice tea, milk, water, plain biscuits and a coca cola + dinner!!

Next day, I set off late morning to ILA. It was one day before the show (monday), and it so reminded me of Avalon where there's no transport at all. So I 'requested' (hehehehe)...for my hotel shuttle to the airport, (to save some moolah on distance) then took a cab. Thank God I didn't try to walk. It was a good 8km away.

The cab driver whom I rode with to my hotel the day before just pointed in a general direction and said it wasn't far off. But i didn't trust their version of 'nearby' one lor..hahaha...besides he did not say it was within walking distance.

I spent alot of time moving between the Exhibitor's Centre and Hall 11 (which was where our booth was.) Everytime I had an issue, I had to trudge there. It's like...hmmm...walking between Wheelock and Wisma. Doesn't help me not in comfy boots and it's gravel/ raw road.

Above you see the booth next to us...so on lor the taiwanese. But realised they sold it to two taiwan companies. Still they came in full force, one comepnay having a team of 6 people. =) So fun. They were laughing and chatting away while cutting and pasting their displays. Me felt lonely setting up...

And here's our booth! Yes, they spell the country name wrong lor. Many of the europeans were trying to figure out which languange the mistake was made in. The germans said that it's Singapor in german....so....was it french?, Spanish? =)

I had to get help to put up the posters. Glad I planned well and brought all the materials I needed. Except I had to hunt for the only stationary shop to buy scotch tape. really can faint at the prices! hahaha...The shop was like a container truck run by 3 aunties! Very local...who were clueless about what i meant by scotch tape, or even tape...LOL...

I had to look and point...and when I heard a roll of masking tape costing 6 euros, I asked them if there was anything cheaper. After showing me 2 other versions of tape. I settled for the 2Euro one --which is the small roll, yellowish transparent tape that you can buy for 50 cents back home lor...S$4 for that...yes. it was the cheapest...kekeke...

Basic deocr for the SG booth! took me about 2-3 hours, waiting around for them to send the contractor to help. As with other shows, they always say they'll get it done and hope you'll just go away. I gave up once the lights were up, but country word not changed. It was already 4pm plus, and I may have to wait till the next day lor!

Trekked near the exhibition hall. We were the International Suppliers Centre - Hall 11...and yes, there WERE 10 other halls, scattered throughout. I didnt even walk to Hall 1 to 3 during the show coz it was just too far.

Took photos here and there. See the cars just drive haphazardly around the planes...so liberal, unlike the overdone security at our local show lor...

I found these roles of grass cute. Interesting hor? They are real leh! They used them to 'tile' the indoor cafe of the adjacent hall for the garden look. =)

SG flag!! hee...all the foreign countries taking part in the ISC!

The standard photo of "here I am!"....I realised this is the only pic of me I took in the show ground (...that terrible lor! LOL!)

Weather was warm. Went back to the hotel to shower and put down stuff, before heading out to Berlin center to explore. Solo travel so must be wise in what i'm carrying. Especially since it's long train trips in the outskirts. Once again, ulu train station, so no helpful signs/ people. So took me one hour to figure out how to buy the right ticket and get on the right train.

Thankfully, the day's were long in Germany at this time. Sunset was at 1030pm. So even at 530pm, it was still like 2pm! Can stay out longer!
Above station is Ostkruez is was like the interchange from schonefeld line to the berlin center. Thank God again, that ge and I figured out how german train lines work. So i read the map alot faster and knew which was the right one to board. Heeee....

This station was surrounded by constuction and looked very make shift. Very dark at night, which you'll see in my return trip pics.

While waiting to transfer at the station, this hostel opposite was called "1st floor hostel"...hmmm...so what's on 2nd floor ah? =P ....notice how skinny the building is tooo!!!