Hand Luggage.

Marvellous Morocco

I’ve been very neglectful of the blog these past few months which means a back log of travel memories to get through.

First off is our incredible tour of Morocco. Spanning 2 weeks and covering some of the highlights of this fascinating country.

We started off in the hectic, colourful tourist town of Marrakech, spending several days exploring the incredible markets, souks and architecture.

Taking a day trip to the seaside town of Essaouira before joining in a small group tour that would take us from Marrakech to Fez via the imposing Sahara desert.

Finally we’d hire a car to drive from Fez to the blue city of Chefchaouen, then end our trip in Tangier.

So buckle up – it’s a riotous ride!

Old and new

It’s the last day of our whirlwind Berlin trip so ticking off a few more iconic sights.

The beautiful Berliner Dom and the river Spree look stunning in the sunshine.

The Bode museum is another eye-catching and well known sight. This handsome listed building was built between 1898 and 1904.

It was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

Below the Reichstag building is lit up at night and shines like a beacon across tje river.

The Brandenburg Gate looks just as stunning by night and it’s a fitting end to our amazing trip.

As we’re heading back to our hotel we come across this light and sound display depicting the turbulent events of the past 40 years.

Neon colours over water is always a wonderful combination 😍

Berlin tales

Today is a mishmash of sights. Starting off with an independent look at the life, and rise to power, of Hitler, in the Berlin Story Bunker.

You can literally spends days down there, there is so much information. Housed inside a 6,500-square-metre WWII bunker, the museum painstakingly recounts some of the most infamous events in German history.

Then we hop over to Potsdamer Platz, to check out the architecture of the Sony Centre, once a bustling shopping complex, but now silent and empty.

The Rotes Rathaus is Berlin’s impressive town hall of located in the Mitte district on Rathausstraße near Alexanderplatz.

Then we need to fuel up with beer and ice cream under the shadow of the TV before heading off for more sightseeing.

We’re off to check out Nikolaiviertel which is an old quarter of of Berlin, founded around 1200. I didn’t see this the first time I visited Berlin, so something new!

The first Berlin houses, the first market and the first church were built here at the end of the 12th century. It still retains an olde worlde air that is distinctly different to the urbanity of the rest of Berlin.

The oldest church building in the city, with its green towers is St. Nicholas Church. Plus pastel coloured merchants houses and quaint little bars and cafes make this a compact and enchanting little place.

East Side Gallery

First up some spicy nosh to fuel us for the arty trek ahead.

Then, no visit to Berlin is complete without a trip to the colourful East Side Gallery

At 1316 metres long, the open-air art gallery on the banks of the Spree in Friedrichshain is the longest continuous section of the Berlin Wall still in existence.

Once the wall came down in November 1989, over 100 artists from around the world began painting the East Side Gallery, and it officially opened as an open air gallery on 28 September 1990.

There are more than a hundred paintings on what was the east side of the wall, a lot of which are commenting on the political changes in 1989/90.

Some of the paintings are more famous than others including Birgit Kinders’s Trabant breaking through the wall.

Below is the famous Dmitri Vrubel’s Fraternal Kiss. This is actually titled ‘My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love’ and shows Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing East German leader Erich Honecker.

Every time I visit there is something new to spot. Definitely one for art and history lovers.

Berliner Dom

Berlin Cathedral AKA the Berliner Dom is an impressive German Protestant church and dynastic tomb on the Museum Island in central Berlin.

The magnificent green dome of the Cathedral is one of the main landmarks in Berlin’s cityscape.

It originated as a castle chapel for the Berlin Palace and several structures have housed the church since the 15th century.

The present church was built between 1894 to 1905 by order of Emperor William II.

Leaving the mother to enjoy the exterior I slog up the 270 steps to the dome to check out the view from a bird’s eye vantage point.

It boasts an incredible view out across Berlin including the River Spree.

Wall Gallery

Another grey day in Berlin but we’re not deterred. Lots of sights to see!!

Fuelling up for some arty fun we grab some very spicy noodles!

Then it’s off to the East Side Gallery.

At 1316 metres long, the open-air art gallery on the banks of the Spree in Friedrichshain is the longest continuous section of the Berlin Wall still in existence.

Immediately after the wall came down on 9 November 1989, 118 artists from 21 countries began painting the East Side Gallery, and it officially opened as an open air gallery on 28 September 1990.

It’s my second visit and I loved it every bit as the first time.

Enjoy this photo dump of colourful, and thought provoking artworks from the Gallery.

Ampelmann

You can’t visit Berlin without spotting the adorable little crossing sign that is the Amplemann.

His jaunty walk and stylish little hat beam out from every pedestrian crossing light! He even has his own merch!!!

Berlin is a mix of old and new, brash and weathered.

No where can you see this better than the juxtaposition of the Fernsehturm TV tower and St Mary’s Church at Alexanderplatz.

The TV tower is 368m tall and opened in 1969.

It has a viewing gallery at 203m and revolving restaurant at 207m.

The Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church) is one of the oldest churches in Berlin.

It is believed to date from the 13th century.

But much of the building now dates to the late 19th century and post war period.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie (or “Checkpoint C”) was the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War (1947–1991).

The wall was erected very quickly as a way to try and reduce the ‘brain drain’ of people leaving East Germany after the second World War.

Between 1949 and 1961, over 2 and a half million East Germans fled to the West.

It was the only checkpoint on the wall designated as a crossing point for foreigners and members of the Allied forces.

Checkpoint Charlie was not only an important Cold War site, but also witnessed numerous attempts to escape from East Berlin, sadly many ending in capture and in some cases even death.

Soon after the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961, a dangerous stand-off occurred between US and Soviet tanks on either side of Checkpoint Charlie.

This incredibly tense situation was eventually resolved with the tanks gradually withdrawing.

We pop into the informative open air museum on the corner of Schützenstraße and Zimmerstraße to learn more about the Berlin Wall, plus have a quick snap of some of the few remaining pieces of the wall still in existence.