Berlin! 2 Months later...

Phew! Well that was the quickest two months of my life in a city that was never once dull. Writing a guide, designing it and taking almost 2000 pictures in a place that never seemed to close (except Sundays and the fact that no shops are open - sometimes a 24 / 7 Tesco Metro is not the devil we all think! ). There was always a bar or a festival, a place to rest or a spätkauf. From the sidewalk to the highest roof there was graffiti and thanks to money problems of the Berlin local bureaucracy it was largely left where it was pasted, sprayed or painted. In summer this leads to a playfully anarchic atmosphere in the city with hundreds of pieces sprayed next to tiny football cages and local shops. The splashing of colour so liberally over a city famed for its stark aesthetics has been accompanied by another change in the cities storied cultural history. Throbbing with cool the capital has an incredibly youthful feel, especially in the east where I stayed - although I must confess that I never had rooms in Kreuzberg - which has been a consistently hip destination for 20+ years.
The cold war aesthetic of much of Berlin coupled with the surprising immensity of a city consisting of just over 4 million can sometimes make the place seem a little empty. Exposure to so much cheap clubbing and drinking venues can certainly turn your head and I was certainly guilty of staying out far too late far too often. However it was the small pleasures of the city that really worked their way under my skin, such as cycling along the dominating Karl Marx Allee towards Mitte and disappearing into Tiergarten for a few hours. Under the unbroken tree cover I would sit and think about what I needed to write or design - perhaps practise my German with people sitting nearby if I was feeling sociable.

I made what seemed like a million new friends and ate out more in a central European city than seems sensible - although unusually Berlin has a fantastic line in Mexican and Japanese restaurants with Sushi being remarkably cheap. The one thing (and Berlin is not alone in this)there did not seem to be was a good fish and chip place, with restaurants stockpiling mediocrity rather than high quality food. Still who needs fish and chips when you have Maki rolls? Back to the friends though - and the majority of people visiting Berlin nowadays seem to be from Spain. Perhaps they have some sort of affinity for the place and its not hard to see why with one of the best known arts and partying venues in Berlin having a substantial link to spanish culture. I am of course talking about Tacheles. Although flooded with tourists all day and night it is a genuinely interesting and bizarre series of buildings, left twisted by bomb damage and taken over by a ragtag bunch of artists and hermits. A definite site although it may be in danger of demolition to be replaced by a new glass and steel monster that would bring in money by the bucketload at the cost of a small but significant portion of the culture.

Favourite district? A head to head between edgy new hotspot Prenzlauer Berg and the greenery of Tiergarten/Charlottenburg. The latter edges ahead with sites and museums but P-Berg certainly holds it own with dynamic bars and venues for young people to congregate.

Favourite bar? Haus am Mein See! Not just because I got free drinks and got to know all the guys working there very well - it was a genuinely awesome little place that literally did not close. Great for working at 4 in the morning.

Favourite moment? Rowing our silly little boat in the Tiergarten with Jane, Jasmin and Victor. 4 apparently intelligent people in one boat and we can't make it go in one direction unless of course it was the wrong one! Finished off with beer and pretzels and a nap in the park. Awesome.

Favourite song? Anything by Janelle Monae - her last album Archandroid was not given a listen through in its entirety. Long cycle rides thankfully put an end to that tragedy. Her telegraph beeping, guitar screech imitating voice and 1920's via the year 3005 stylings seem to put her on a perfect par with Berlin's futuristic old world vibe.

Whilst we peace out here is the lovely Janelle Monae with Faster.... and next time? Mushrooms, Battle and my triumphant return!