just to let you know

A wee final round-up of the recent Berlin trip. Some peeps might have been missing more pictures... Well here they are.

It's not the complete selection yet, as I didn't take the digicam into the stadium and the diposable cameras have not been developed yet. There are also some of Johannes' photos missing. Keep them coming, matey !

Mon, 31/5/04 - Berlin Schoenefeld Airport (waiting for return flight). Well that's almost it ! Times flies and all that. Despite the Saturday's match it's been a terrific 4 days here in Berlin and I feel like I've reached my "German Fill" again.

In the part of former East Berlin, the Schoenefeld Airport has established itself as the main low-cost airport in Berlin. Traveling to and from Schoenefeld into the city centre takes about 30-45 minutes - depending on where you want to travel further on to (the most efficient way to get into town is by taking the S9 train).

In comparison to the trip I did 19 years ago, I have to say that this time I wasn't as blown away by the monuments as I was back then. This is not meant to diminish Berlin monuments, but merely stating that I have been around a bit more since 1985 and seen and appreciated other places (such as Kilmarnock and Aberystwyth, for example).

What was far more important this time is something that might sound silly to you: For myself, I have (finally) accepted Berlin as the german capital. You might understand what I'm talking about if you go back and read some of my other stories I wrote before. Berlin and I had a bit of a weird relationship beforehand, I now have to say that the sheer amount of history that this reunited place holds is breathtaking. and I completely underestimated this fact before. Lots of things slotted into place for me over here and I think I understand the passion of most Germans for demanding to make Berlin our capital again.

My third day in the capital and I feel slowly but surely settled in. An amazing number of places have changed dramatically changed shape here since 1985, I can tell you. Hard to believe that so much ahs been accomplished since 1990. Besides all the complaints about the high costs of reunification and revitalisation of all the ex-border zones, I think Berlin has definitely benefitted from it.

In case you were wondering about the Alemannia Aachen Cup final of last night: It's all over - we didn't make it. But it didn't really come as a big surprise, to be honest. Our team did well and fought bravely.

to be continued...

Thu, 27/05/04, 9am (on the GNER train from Edinburgh to Newcastle) It's funny how modern times and low cost airlines transformed traveling for all of us. Return flight fares from Newcastle are way cheaper than a connection flight from Edinburgh to Berlin. I therefore decided to catch the train to Newcastle Central and from there make my way to the airport. Door-to-door the journey shouldn't last more than 7 hours - which I don't mind. To speak with Goethe: 'Man reist nicht, um anzukommen, sondern um auf dem Weg zu sein.' (One does not travel to arrive, but to be on one's way.).

The first leg of my journey takes me through the beautiful Scottish Borders and north english countryside. Blue sky, rich green fields and spots of shiny yellow raps all over the place. This makes me wonder if blue, green and yellow go well because of blue sky, green fields and yellow raps looking pretty damn good when put together. Or do we think they go well together because we know that they are all linked as they compliment each other?

Thu, 27/05/04, 13pm (on plane to Berlin)
... and now for the final stretch. It's been 19 years since I visited Berlin last.

When I was there in May 1985, it was still divided - swimming in a socialistic sea. Back then, I had to see it to believe it. I think my whole school class had to. A split city, the Wall, a different economic system, yet still the same language and heritage. It was weird. Growing up next to the western borders with the Netherlands and Belgium, I remembered the long queues at customs when crossing borders. In the 70ies and early eighties, things were far from amicable between us and our western neighbours, so I was somehow used to borders and territory. But nothing was as despicably mind blowing as the inner-german border was back then.

After the wall fell, I couldn't quite understand all the talk about the importance of Germany to be reunited. Much to the anger of my father, I questioned and challenged every statement that was made (and believe me, there were lots of statements made in the media during 1989 - 1991!). I couldn't see the reason why we should be reunited straight away. Blame my youth or my fairly unhistorical upbringing, but I thought that economically we would be heading for a disaster by trying to save the East out of its financial misery. Up to then, I had grown up in a country that was called "West Germany" - I obviously realised that there was an "East Germany" and that a famous german tabloid always put the letters "DDR" (GDR) in quotation marks - as if to say that this country is not for real and Germany should be one.

To be continued...

In eight days I'll be off to Berlin to see my home town football team Alemannia Aachen take on the german league champions of Werder Bremen in this year's DFB Pokalfinale (cup final of the german FA) at the Olympic Stadium.

However, it'll be an exciting trip in lots of other ways. You must know that it has been quite a while since I have last been to the german capital city. Or to be exact, the last time I stayed in Berlin (1985) - it wasn't even re-declared to be the german major city (although Bonn was always named as the interims capital). What I do remember though were the VoPos (Volkspolizisten - East german policemen) and the rigid controls when crossing the border. To give you an idea of the context, you must know that I lived in the small town of Aachen back then. Aachen is situated at almost exactly the other end of the country - the west end. In other words, one couldn't be further away from Berlin than living in Aachen. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that Aachen is some sort of ghost town. On the contrary, it is an amazing and flourishing town with a busy and exciting local economy and dedicated people driving cultural aspects forward. However, in a historical context, growing up in Aachen left me slightly aside as far as domestic, inner-german issues were concerned. My other feeble excuse is obviously my age back then - at 14, I'd rather spent my time in front of my newly purchased Commodore 64 than sticking my nose into history books.

So what am I hoping to explore and find out next week? Well, to be perfectly truthful, I'm not entirely sure. I will certainly go and see some of the "old places", the checkpoints, Kreuzberg maybe (I drank my first ever Tequilla there), the Brandenburg gate, the Siegessauele, the Subway - I'm also looking forward to re-discover the refurbished Reichstag.

Back in 1985, we all felt so free and easy. As you are when you're 15 and away from home. Being told off by guards and policemen, having your passports inspected and almost disected was a quite marking experience for all of us.

We thought we were the new radicals.

to be continued

Some of you might declare me completely mad, but I intend to take the iBook with me to Berlin on my Alemannia Aachen DFB Pokal final trip in less than 4 weeks time.

The plan is to update the log from over there and keep you all updated with texts and photos via WiFi Hotspots. There aren't too many free hotspots, but I'm hoping to be able to walk into some public buildings and gain free WiFi access there.

Most prices are around €8 - €10 for up to 3 hours. This might sound alright, but there is a part of me that feels ripped off to pay that much for 2-3 hours of usage. Especially if all I want is to check email and upload some articles for the blog.

We shall see - flight & hotel is booked and ticket has been arranged. German capital - here I come !

By the end of May 2004, it will be almost exactly 19 years since the last time I visited Berlin.

Back in 1985, I saw a city that was still divided. I saw the wall, "den Osten" (the East - as we call it) and I saw lots of people who seemed to talk the same language as me but nonetheless were very different. It was a big encounter with history for a then 15 year old like me. Altogether, the trip left a lasting impression.

This time, I'll go over to see my home town football team play the German FA (DFB) Cup. It's one of the biggest achievements in club history and I'm more than proud to be part of it.

On this blog, I will cover everything that happens before, during and after my Berlin 2004 journey. To make it easier for my readers, all my Berlin reports will have the same unique look as this first little intro.

I hope you enjoy the reports as much as I will surely do !