Visit home and to Berlin

Back from a trip home and a wedding in Germany. The weather was great (dull and bit chilly in the UK, don't mind that - and c.26C and sunny in Berlin, perfect for a wedding). The time in the UK was the usual mix of catching up with friends and family, which was nice. We had a picnic with my family at Dunstable Downs, which was the first time for ages that the whole family was together. My two girls came with their respective boyfriends, so gave me the chance to "assess" them - they passed :-)

I thought Berlin was a lovely city. Very interesting with a nice mix of old and new. I was surprised by the lack of a queuing system for the taxis at Tegel airport, pretty much a free-for-all - not very "German" at all. The taxi driver we had was obviously very old school "Western". He was pretty p'd off that the West was paying for the development of the East, clearly iterated in his statement of "Fuck the East". Hmmmm....

Beautiful venue for the wedding reception - Tierpark, Berlin

Even the Pelicans enjoyed it...

Everyone, it seemed, at all times of the day and night had a beer in their hand in Berlin. Very "un-Abu Dhabi"! We had our dinner one night on the outside pavement of a small restaurant and drank wine in full view of the passing public (how shocking) - while in the next doorway stood a hooker touting for business! This was not some seedy backwater, but just in a regular touristy part of town. It was great just for a few days to be free from the shackles of an Islamic society and just enjoy a bit of western normality.

Here's a couple of photo albums...

Dunstable Downs

Trip to Berlin