A Boat trip on the River Spree and Tortellini in Berlin

On Wednesday afternoon at 2pm I waited under the middle arch of the Brandenburg Gate for L, my email friend who I had never met before.  We  know one another from photos, but while I waited I did wonder if we would find one another  in the huge crowd.  But on the dot there she was, and I recognised her immediately. We both had mobile phones, so would have met one another eventually.   The Brandenburg Gate is a big tourist attraction, and earlier, while waiting  for my friend,  I watched these two "Empty Bottle Musicians" playing a variety of impossibly fast sea-shanties and folk songs.  Ahh, they were so poor, that they had to play "empties" in order to raise money to buy proper instruments!  

They played very well in short bursts, as both needed long rest periods between tunes to get their breath back!   They  sounded like a cross between pan pipes on a  bad  day  in the High Andes, and a rowdy Saturday night out in a back street pub, where the tipsy attempt to make music on anything that comes to hand.  I've been there, done that in my misguided youth, as an art student and would be folk singer in the Quarry Street folk club in Guildford.

A duck's eye view of the Reichstag Building with its glass dome.

From the Brandenburg Gate we strolled along "Unter den Linden," the spacious, central sandy boulevard between the trees, and then on towards the River Spree.  Berlin seems to be one huge building site in places, with many old buildings being restored to their former glory.  L suggested a boat trip around part of the city, which pleased me as my left ankle was starting to complain about the sightseeing!   We walked past Humboldt University and the Pergamon Museum and eventually found the tripboat landing station.  

After climbing aboard, we paid our fares and I drank a beer while L sipped water.  Just as we sat down the skies opened on the glass roofed boat, ahh, what excellent timing!  It was an interesting trip, followed by a meal in an Italian restaurant, where I enjoyed a huge plate of goat's cheese tortellini, part of L's pizza which was too big for her,  and yet another beer!    Beer is the best medicine for "Sightseers Left Ankle."

This year's visit to the city was wonderful, thanks to my lovely hosts.  There is so much to see, and hopefully I can return next year to renew my acquaintence with the many sites that touch modern European history, the museums and beautiful buildings.  Early Thursday morning I left on the coach for Braunschweig,  and this time my seating companion was a nice, slim young man with thin arms that stayed on their own arm rests!     

Passing the green domed Berlin Cathedral.