Berlin Dispatch #2

More random exerpts from my travel journal:

"Remember; leave journal and Lonely Planet highly visible on table to advertise that I am merely a hungry traveller and not that sad that I make a habit out of lone dining..."

"Spent a while contemplating the stark reliefs of the Holocaust Monument and some visitors' complete and staggering lack of decorum. It's a memorial to over six million dead - not a playground."

"Would have had a bite to eat there, but the prices seemed almost double anywhere else, and besides the opportunity to grab a Bison burger from this Canadian Deli I'd seen earlier seemed too good to miss. I mean, hey, when in Berlin..."

"Finally figured out Berlin's transit system. Forget anything you know from London. Virtually ignore colours and numbers for that matter, all you need to know is the terminus and all importantly whether it's an 'S' or a 'U'. Really, it's that simple it took me days to grasp."

"Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche. Try saying that after a few drinks."

"I thought, to be honest, that she was meeting up with me for dinner meerly to be polite. However, this clearly wasn't the case. The body language, the sparkling eyes and the fact that she actually seemed to be listening to me, and not just hearing, made for a wonderful evening. See, this is my problem though, I meet women hundreds, even thousands of miles away from home when I'm relaxed and actually at ease with myself. Never at home, when I'm probably too tightly coiled to notice anyone who dares notice me."

"Potsdam, like Berlin, was somewhat underwhelming on first impressions. However, at the end of a gorgeous clear blue day, having explored the old town and the stunning Schloss and gardens, the spell had indeed been cast."

"...Felt that was plenty of time, but of course Sod's Law meant that anything that could slow the journey to the airport down, probably would. So 3 U-Bahn changes, a bus transfer and several unnervingly stationary trains later I made it to check in with some 15 minutes to spare."

"Clouds freckle the landscape below and a haze threatens to blanket the gorgeous checkwork-pattern that is Western Europe from 37,000ft."

[This was uploaded at home. Back now. Bugger... Anyway, more pics to follow later in the week...]