More Berlin-ey goodness

It was thiiis big... (actually it's bigger!)

It's been a lovely few days in Berlin.  It's definitely beginning to get colder over this side of the world, I've had to wear a light pullover.  However, I suppose one should not complain over highs of 16-17 degrees and no rain.

We've moved into a cute little apartment in West Berlin for a few days.  This is a great place for us to base ourselves as we explore the other side of the city.  Granted, it's not as funky or as alternative as the Eastern Side, but it has its positives.

Yesterday, we went and hung out in Berlin Zoo.  If you are in town, GO TO THE ZOO!  It's like being a kid again!  The Zoo has the largest collection of species in the world (according to their wiki page).  But anywho, the hippos were absolutely amazing.  And when one of them roared (or burped, who knows?), the ground shook.  Stunning.  Also worth checking out is the aquarium.  

Today we took in the Bauhaus Design School Archive.  It's quite interesting to compare the work done in the school in its history to retro and modern design elements of today.  Plus they also had several modern competition works on display showing up and coming designers.  Very interesting.

After that, we went to the Reichstag, home of the Bundestag.  Unsurprisingly, a building that's absolutely choca-block full of history. The tour doesn't go through the building itself, instead it takes you up to the newly renovated dome (a huge glass contraption that sits on top of the building), allowing great views out over the city and straight into Parliament itself (although the Budestag wasn't sitting at the time).  

From up there, you can get a real sense of how large Berlin is.  But because of the way it's developed and its split history, it's rather sprawling rather than central and building out.  It's also not as tall a city as, say, Manhattan - it's wide, and most of the buildings are relatively short.  This gives it a great skyline, but is an arse to navigate through!

Anywho, a few further days in Berlin, then off to Milano, Italy.  Might still do an update here, who knows?