Life on Dorotheastrasse

We’re on holiday so set alarm for 7-30! Necessary because we had to leave the hotel at 9. Breakfast was a buffet job and there is lots to choose from. The best bit is a butter machine; you look through a hole in the top and place your plate underneath, then press a button to fire a fresh pat of butter wherever you need it. Too much fun even if you don’t need any butter!
Onto the coach which drove all round Berlin, frequently parking up so we could jump off and look at stuff for between 10 and 20 minutes. Got a cafe latte at one stop. I thought it was just the right temperature but Mum said hers was freezing. Just shows there no pleasing everyone! Oh yeah, we passed Angela Murkel’s actual home. It’s right next to the river and there is a street market outside. They don’t make a fuss but no stalls are allowed right by her house and there are 2 policemen standing outside. She wasn’t in as she’s in Canada at the G7 conference.
We saw Checkpoint Charlie, Hitler’s bunker etc etc and returned to hotel at around one o’clock. The problem was we had tickets for the Reichstag Dome at 2-15 so only had about 20 minutes before we had to set off walking. It was 32 degrees today so very hot, walking. The Reichstagg is the German Parliament building so security is equal to airports but Mum got in after the usual frisking. It’s difficult going places with a desperado. The dome has been built on top of the old building and you go up a long slope round the outside wall and the floor transmits messages about what you are seeing through a headset. You then come down an intertwining slope. Of course there are always some wallies who go the wrong way round. I wonder what their headset makes of that?
Then we had tickets to go up the tv tower which is far and away the tallest structure in Berlin but it necessitated walking all the way back to the hotel and then walking about twice as far in the opposite direction! It was very good and the views were brilliant but it was very stiflingly hot inside! We had a very nice tea on the way back and by the time we got back to the hotel we’d done 17,000 steps today. I’m in danger of the troops (aka Mum) revolting!