A case of Ostalgie and the first time visitor to Berlin

As you’ve probably come to realise, Berlin is one of my favourite cities.  Having visited twice before, it was therefore high time that I took Mr Lighty to Berlin.  Over the years we have developed something of a fascination with the history of the Deutsche Demokratik Republik (DDR) and former socialist countries; I’ve been lucky enough to visit quite a few ex-socialist countries, but Mr Lighty has only previously been to the Czech Republic.  It was lovely, therefore, to visit Berlin a third time with a first-time visitor and experience the city through their eyes – as well as indulge in a bit of Ostalgie.

DDR Luxury
For a short break where we were looking to soak up much of the communist history of Germany’s capital city, where better to stay than one of the country’s former most luxurious hotels of the DDR?  The Park Inn Hotel was built originally as the Stadt Hotel Berlin, which was used to house Comecon representatives in its time, and was the premier 4-star hotel of former East Berlin - it was even noted for having unusually fast lifts for the period!  Its location cannot be beaten, either, being centrally located at Alexanderplatz, overlooking the communist TV Tower (which is a very interesting visit in itself), and indeed, on our second day in the city, we made all of our visits on foot, walking a circular route from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate, up to the Reichstag and down again past Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, Gendarmenmarkt and on to Museum Island and Berlin Cathedral.  It was lovely to experience the first sighting of the Brandenburg Gate and enjoy the Reichstag audio tour with Mr Lighty; two iconic Berlin landmarks, which for the first time visitor are a must.  Checkpoint Charlie, another must on Mr Lighty’s list, has become horribly touristy unfortunately, but the city can’t have everything!

The Park Inn Hotel at Alexanderplatz...  

...and the East German-built TV tower 
as viewed from our hotel window.

A step back in time
One of the first stops on our tour of all things East German was the DDR Museum.  This museum is dedicated to original artefacts from the period before German reunification.  With the likes of a recreated East German flat and a Trabant car, there’s plenty to engage the visitor within the hands-on museum.  It was really interesting to read about the products available (or not available, as the case often was) in the DDR, and to see how East Germany lived, but I did feel that it made the era feel like it was ‘fun’; yet I’m sure that if you lived in East Berlin at the time, it wasn’t fun in the slightest.  

Mr Lighty in a Trabant in the DDR Museum

A much more authentic experience, if you like, was our visit to the Stasi Headquarters.  The headquarters of the Staatsicherheit, or secret East German police, was ‘Haus 1’ (House 1), a highly secure compound which was the centre of the fight against enemies of the DDR from 1960 onwards, and was built as the seat of the offices of the Minister of State Security and the head of the Stasi, Erich Mielke.  In a bid to make that period of time more open and accessible to people, Haus 1 has now been opened to the public.  You have the sense that it has been left exactly as it was in Mielke’s time.  In fact, Mr Lighty didn’t take to the museum well – I’d never seen him so creeped out by anything!!  I’m pretty sure the museum’s tea room was the original canteen from the DDR;  complete with 1980s retro chairs and little more than a tea urn (although at €1.20 for a coffee including a biscuit, who’s complaining?), and I’d never seen a coffee drunk quicker than I did from Mr Lighty that day – he couldn’t get out of there fast enough!  There was definitely a sense of foreboding in the museum, and coupled with the Stasi records exhibition on Zimmerstrasse, it must have been terrifying to have lived through a period where your every move was watched and recorded.  Indeed, since the archives were opened to the public 20 years ago, there have been approximately 2.8 million requests from people wanting to read what Stasi spies wrote about them.

Haus 1, the Stasi Headquarters

'Enjoying' a cup of coffee in the Stasi Museum!

A foray into the West
Of course, Berlin isn’t just about East German history, and our trip also included excellent visits to the Olympic Stadium, and Berlin Zoo, both of which I hadn’t visited previously but was very impressed by.  The Olympic Stadium’s exhibition on its history, with particular reference to the National Socialist era, is well worth a visit, and although Berlin is a city which has been through a lot of traumatic history in recent years, it is also a city which is trying to be open and honest with the world to prevent it from happening again.  After three visits to this fascinating city, there’s still so much to see and do – the zoo being a case in point, as we simply didn’t have enough time to do it justice, having to get back to our hotel and on to the airport for our flight home that evening.  The one disappointment of this trip was the fact that we couldn’t do the Trabi tour I’d been so looking forward to doing, as we didn’t have the foresight to pre-book – we’ll just have to use it as an excuse to go back!   And with so much to see and do, I’m sure after Mr Lighty’s first experience of the city, he’ll be glad to join me.

Enjoying the view over the Olympic Stadium from the Bell Tower

Solihull, Stratford and Sex and the City

So it was recently that time of year again when aforementioned lovely friend 1 and I went to visit lovely friend 2.  As you may remember, lovely friend 1, Neil, and I have traipsed all over the country (and have even been to Europe!) to visit, lovely friend 2, Georgina, and this time our travels landed us in Solihull.  I, for one, wasn’t sure what to expect from this part of the country: I’d certainly never been to the country’s second city, which was where our train pulled into on the Friday evening, and despite Birmingham’s status as the second city, I have always felt that it is overshadowed in the media and travel-realms somewhat by the likes of Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.  Boy, were my preconceived ideas blown out of the water!  I was pleasantly surprised by how pretty the region is, and how many great visits are close at hand.  And what’s more, yet another fabulous weekend was spent with my lovely friends, to boot.

From left to right: lovely friends 2, 1 and myself!

First impressions: Marvellous Midlands

Upon arriving at Birmingham New Street, Neil and I were promptly whisked away by Georgina and Luke, who becomes lovely friend 3, to the wonderful Red Peppers Grill and Cantina within the Mailbox shopping and office complex.  The area surrounding the station is smart and upmarket and there are signs of renovation and regeneration in abundance, with the new station itself being a case in point.  I was certainly impressed with the atmosphere, menu and the decor of the restaurant itself.  Over one too many glasses of wine, the last 6 months or so of separated friendship fell away, and it was wonderful to catch up and laugh together once more.

Stratford, but not as we know it

After a leisurely breakfast and lots of tea and coffee, the Saturday was about exploring.  With the next statement I’m about to make, I would be ashamed to admit that I am a geography graduate: on our one full day in the Solihull area, we ventured out to Stratford-upon-Avon, and I never would have guessed that Shakespeare country was that close to Solihull!  You’ll remember from my previous post on York that Georgina makes for an excellent tour guide, and she also proved herself on this occasion to be an accomplished driver, too.   Setting off in trusty Mabel, the drive to Stratford-upon-Avon (or just simply Stratford, as the locals call it – not to be confused with Stratford in East London, which is local to Neil and I, and is therefore Stratford as we know it) was stunning – we were lucky with the weather, which helps of course, but even if we hadn’t been, it would have been easy to see the beauty of the surrounding countryside as we drove through the villages of Hockley Heath, Henley in Arden and Wootten Wawen.

Stratford Canal Boat

The RSC and spring blossoms

Stratford itself was also quaint and pretty, and after a pit stop for lunch in Othello’s, the plush restaurant of the Mercure hotel, we wandered the streets to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, and up to the pretty canals.  The only disappointment of the day was the lack of gluten free cakes in the Hobson’s Patisserie tea rooms, and the attitude towards it from the staff too, with Neil backing my cause, but the building itself was beautiful – I had to make do with drooling over the non-gluten-freak cakes instead.  After a quick visit to the Christmas Shop (yes, the Christmas Shop, in April – and they wondered why business was slow!) we made our way back to Solihull.  No weekend with these particular lovely friends would be complete, of course, without cooking a delicious meal – tonight’s recipe was Chilli Con Carne – a few glasses of wine, and of course, the mandatory watching of Sex and the City – complete with live audio analysis, of course.

Gorgeous looking non-gluten-freak giant scones in Hobson's Patisserie

Short and sweet in Solihull

Our final day dawned bright.  We really were incredibly lucky with the weather!  And after more tea and coffee, there was just about time for a pub lunch in a trusty Weatherspoons in Solihull town centre.  We were struck by the fact that the pub didn’t feel like a Weatherspoons – the Midlands’ beauty was far reaching.  After a quick stroll down the highstreet to the pretty St. Alphege Parish Church, and a brief look in the smart Touchwood shopping centre, it was time to make our way back to the station, to say our goodbyes and make promises of future visits.  And, as Shakespeare himself once wrote, parting is such sweet sorrow: yet another weekend filled with good food, good fun, and most importantly, good friendship, was over.

St. Alphege Parish Church

For more travels with my lovely friends, why not check out my previous blog on Cool York? Visit: http://www.anansweronapostcard.blogspot.co.uk/2012_05_01_archive.html

A snapshot of Suffolk

It is starting to become a bit of a tradition for Mr Lighty and I to venture on what we term a ‘mini-moon’ every now and again.  So much so that every short break we go on is now called a mini-moon, even as we embarked on our second anniversary weekend – you’ve never been married long enough not to go on a mini-moon, after all!  And this time, our choice of mini-moon destination was to that most charming of English counties, Suffolk, on a perfect English Spring weekend, for a snapshot of what this coastline has to offer.

Lowly Lowestoft

We decided to base ourselves in the coastal town of Lowestoft.  One of the most important aspects for us of any of our mini-moons is our accommodation, and this weekend away was no exception.  We picked Lowestoft as a base, I must admit, more because of the fact that we liked the look of the quirky little B&B we stayed in more than due to any major research on the town itself – perhaps a rookie mistake for any travel junkie to make?  We were certainly not disappointed by our guesthouse, the Baytree House, which was full of character and warmth – not to mention a great breakfast, thirteen guinea pigs and seven pugs!

Lowestoft itself, however, looked like it could do with a little bit of love being injected.  It was a little tired, a little rough round the edges.  This isn’t to say that we didn’t enjoy our afternoon spent there; after a lovely gluten free scone and tea served in bone china cups at the Flying Fifteens tea house – which was again, full of character and charm – we whiled away an hour or two on the crazy golf course - not to mention the traditional seaside lure of the 2p drop machines!

Lowestoft South Pier

There were certainly hints of the town’s former charm to be seen; opposite the old town hall, now only used on polling day, there was a quirky chemist’s shop front, dating back to 1817, but now sadly closed, as were many of the other shops on the high street.  Lowestoft is also the most Easterly point in Britain, and so, on our second morning in Suffolk, we walked down to Ness Point, so that we could be the most Easterly people in Britain.  As much as we enjoyed the bracing walk along the sea front, we couldn’t shift the thought that it was such a shame that there wasn’t more made of this spot to attract tourists, locals and those looking to do coast-to-coast bike rides alike.

Remnants of the ancient chemist's

Ness Point

Out of Africa....in Suffolk!

After our departure from Lowestoft, our Sunday morning was spent at the wonderful Africa Alive! zoo.  Set in 100 acres of land, Africa Alive! is a recreation of the African Savannah – and all in sunny Suffolk!  From smaller creatures in the farmyard area (including baby goats on the attack!), through to a wonderful viewing platform over the lion enclosure, it’s easy to see how you could spend most of a day here.  We particularly enjoyed the giraffe feeding, and the fun of the walk through the lemur enclosure, where these cute creatures are able to wander freely around your feet; we loved how fifteen lemurs managed to cuddle up against the cold on one tiny stand, and then how they decided to climb on the back of the sheep they shared their enclosure with!

At the Giraffe feeding

A lemur on a sheep's back!

From Africa to Aldeburgh

We love to pack it in during our weekends away, and therefore we made a final stop in the lovely seaside town of Aldeburgh.  Drawn to the town by the lure of the famous fish and chips, Mr Lighty was particularly pleased to see that a classic car show was taking place on the beach front as we drove into the town.  Aldeburgh is full of cute and quirky boutiques – think upmarket gift shops, interior decor shops and fashion outlets – and after a mooch around these and a stroll amongst the vintage cars on the beach, we were ready for our fish and chips.  The queue pretty much said it all about how famous these fish and chips are: we waited half an hour for ours.  However, having been lucky with the British weather, we took them down to the seafront, eating from the paper whilst watching the waves roll in, which proved to be the perfect end to our day.  Aldeburgh sums up for me what Suffolk at its best is about: beautiful and sleepy, but still upmarket and quirky.  And the chips didn’t disappoint either!

The classic car show on Aldeburgh beach front

 

Mr Lighty with his famous Aldeburgh Fish & Chips!

London - but not as we know it

Working in travel, I have often told people how lucky I am to have gathered some brilliant and unusual experiences over the years.  But my most recent of these experiences was slightly different; it wasn't a VIP ticket to a Mozart concert in the Kursalon in Vienna, or travelling in first class on the Eurostar; nor was it salsa-ing the night away in Cuba - all of which were equally amazing in their own right. This was a little bit closer to home: this was The View From The Shard!

Early birds: The View From The Shard
As an office, we were lucky enough recently to be among the first people to experience The View From The Shard. Working in its shadow, my colleagues and I watched as the pointed tower crept ever closer to the sky, and there was, understandably, talk about its progress within the office. We were excited, therefore, when a travel-trade pre-opening invitation popped into our inbox. The travel industry has its perks, and this was one we were looking forward to!

In the shadow of The Shard, as viewed from outside of my office

As the day neared, there was more talk and some nerves before finally it was upon us.  At 12:30 on Thursday 24^th January 2013, 6 of us walked the short distance from our office to The Shard, to be amongst the privileged first few who would get to experience London from above.

The Shard Experience
The Shard has taken its cue from skyscraper viewing platforms the world over in that it recognises that the overall visit has to be an 'experience', and not just a nice view.  After the initial security checks, the visitor steps in front of a blue screen, where your photo is promptly taken to be mocked up into a shot of your group with a fantastic London view behind you – very much like the iconic shots of construction workers sitting on a steel girder which are recreated at the start of The Rockefeller Center’s ‘Top of the Rock’ viewing platform in New York, except the Shard obviously doesn’t have any steel girders to play with. 

From here, your wait for the lift involves a ‘Q&A’ session with one of the many friendly members of staff, who are happy to answer any questions you may have, offer up facts (did you know that the lifts travel at six metres per second?!) and point out the clever gizmo on the wall which shows where the various lifts are in the building.  It’s then onwards and upwards, firstly in one bank of lifts, upon which colourful leaves fall and seasons change, eventually stepping out onto a carpet inlaid with a map of the River Thames, which encourages you to identify the various landmarks described along the river as you wait for the final lift – the final lift which takes you up, up and away to the View From The Shard itself.

'Leaves' falling on the lift roof

The 'guess the London landmark' carpet, as you wait for the second set of lifts

London from above

Once you step out onto the 69^th floor, it’s rather high!!  And the height makes the views breathtaking: the river winding its way towards Canary Wharf and the Docklands, being able to see into the grounds of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge being reduced to the size of something which wouldn’t look out of place in a child’s play set....even the seeing the trains coming into London Bridge Station from this different, aerial perspective is interesting.  I think for me, my favourite view was the view directly across the river looking on to the Swiss RE building, commonly known, of course, as the Gherkin (my favourite piece of London architecture), the new ‘Walkie-Talkie’ and Tower 42.  The buildings have such an iconic, ‘London’ feel to them, and seeing them in such an up-close manner adds to their beauty. 

The view across the river towards the Gherkin, Tower 42 and the Walkie Talkie

The Shard has also embraced technology with the interactive telescopes dotted about at intervals: these touch-screen gadgets work by pointing the telescopic end at a London landmark, and the user being able to identify them on-screen and even learn more about the building in question.  These were impressive as they were, but another incredibly friendly member of the Shard team told us as we descended in the lift that they were still in the process of adding another 100 landmarks to them, to improve them still further.  There’s also the impressiveness of the structure itself; up on the floor above, floor number 72, the roof remains open-air – most Londoners will say that The Shard looks unfinished because the point at the top doesn’t meet, but I think having been up to the top, the open-air nature of the construction adds to the viewing experience, making you feel on top of the city and among the clouds.

Up in the clouds: the open-air nature of the top floor, reaching up into the 'unfinished' point

The verdict

There were some teething problems on the day of our visit – the lift, for example, on our descent didn’t want to work for the operator for quite some time, and we all stood wondering if we’d have to walk down the many flights of stairs to ground level – but that’s to be expected at a pre-opening.  At £25.00 for a pre-booked ticket, the price tag is also pretty hefty, but all of my colleagues said that had we been anywhere else in the world, and not on our home turf, we would have paid to have visited the viewing platform, so there’s no reason why it shouldn’t succeed in London.  It’s different – and certainly taller – than anything else that London has to offer, and this uniqueness will stand it in good stead.  All in all, I feel very privileged to be able to say that I’ve been up The Shard – and viewed London, but not as we know it.

Tower Bridge in miniature

The River Thames winding its way towards Canary Wharf