Neues Museum

One of the highlights of our trip to Berlin was visiting the Neues Museum, which reopened five years ago following its renovation by David Chipperfield Architects. The museum had suffered substantial bomb damage during the war and had sat untouched until the 80s. The architectural intervention is possibly the most beautiful and well done I have seen, the way the old meets new has been sensitively and cleverly done and the detailing is incredible. I only hope my photos do it justice. I think we're really lucky in the UK that our museums are free for all to enter, but the entrance fee to see the building and fascinating Pre and Early-History exhibits, including the sculpture of Nefertiti, is well worth it. A must visit if you're in Berlin.

Brrrr in Berlin

It had been six years since my last trip to Berlin, and this one was to celebrate a few milestones: Dan's big 3-0, his becoming an architect, and us putting up with each other for the past 3 years! We arrived on a Thursday lunchtime to the realisation that minus temperatures had also just turned up too. Never to be put off by bitter winds we started a jam packed weekend of tourism: warming up with Gluhwein at the Christmas markets in Gendarmenmarkt and Charlottenburg Schloss, brunch in the rotating restaurant of the Fernsehturm, winding our way up the Reichstag dome, visiting the Checkpoint Charlie museum, exploring the tombs of the Holocaust Memorial, checking out the stall at the Mauerpark flea market, walking along the wall and seeing the great architecture and exhibits of the Neues Museum. It's incredible to believe that the history of this city is still so young and from what we hear it's an ambitious city where people think you can do anything.

Camp Inside

Berlin is one of my favourite cities and if I go anytime soon for a visit I'd definitely stay here at the Hüttenpalast. You get to stay in an caravan instead of a room!

Image from Hüttenpalast

Flohmarkt

I love visiting fleamarkets and I love Berlin, so Flohmarkt am Mauerpark is a great combination of the two. It's in Prenzlauerberg in East Berlin where I stayed in 2008 for an architecture trip, it's a beautiful suburb of the city. At Stil in Berlin, lots of the subjects have bits 'n pieces picked up from there - I want to visit!