Leah & Julian in The World

Church at Perissa Beach

Leaving the wet weather behind in Berlin, we flew to the volcanic island of Santorini in the Cylades, Greece.  The caldera that makes for the spectacular view was formed by a major eruption 3,600 years ago.  We stayed in Firostefani, 15 minutes walk north of the main town Fira.  A good choice as Fira gets considerably busy because of the cruise ships arriving in the caldera at night and releasing hundreds of tourists into Fira (by donkey or cable car up the cliff) in the morning.

Our three days were spent wandering around, relaxing and eating (see later post).  The weather was sunny, the sunsets beautiful and the food fresh.  A little cold to swim in the clear waters yet.

The path to Oia

Day two saw us hike from Firostefani to Oia, 2.5 hours  north.  We managed with the average directions that took us, more or less, along the ridge of the island, through Oia and finally down a couple of hundred steps to a small fishing ‘village’ in Ammoudi Bay for a fresh seafood dinner.  The walk itself followed a path that traversed black, white and red volcanic rocks and was filled with wildflowers as well as magnificent views of the towns and caldera.

Ammoudi Bay, bottom of the steps from Oia

Sunset (20:05) at Oia

Happy Mothers’ Day, mums! xxxx

Stay tuned for our Greek food post, and the 100s of photos from Santorini!!!

I think for many people, Berlin still evokes images of a city divided between east and west.  It symbolises the struggle between communism and capitalism that encompassed much of the 20th century.

Berlin Wall: East Side Gallery

Berlin Wall: East Side Gallery

However, modern Berlin is about so much more.

The city (east and west) is now filled with excellent restaurants, designer clothing stores and bustles with an energy not dissimilar to London.  The wall is virtually gone, although a double line of bricks marks the line where the wall once stood.

Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate was commissioned by Frederick William II of Prussia, and is the only remaining gate of a series through which you originally entered Berlin.  The gate was used as a party symbol by the Nazis, and was one of only 2 buildings in Pariser Platz to survive the war. The gate lay just inside the eastern side of the Wall and when Kennedy visited in 1963, the Soviets hung red banners across it to prevent him looking into the east.

The Reichstag

German parliament sits in the Reichstag Building, a building with a tumultous history.  It was inaugurated in the 1890s, but the emperor at the time called it the “house for chatting”.  It nearly burned down in the 1930s, it was seized from the Nazis by Stalin at the end of WWII and it was here the Nazis made their final stand.  The building lay unused and insignificant until it was rebuilt in the mid 90′s and turned into the parliamentary home of the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house.  Today, it is an impressive fusion of contemporary and classic architecture.  It is also probably Berlin’s biggest tourist attraction, so we waited until 9pm to visit it, hoping to avoid the daytime crowds.

Inside the Reichstag, looking down from the Cupola (dome)

Thought I’d take a quick moment to review a few restaurants we’ve tried in Berlin.

First up is Mr Hai & Friends, one of 3 restaurants owned by Mr Hai.  It’s a Vietnamese restaurant that is just around the corner from our hotel.  We ventured there our first night as we both were in desperate need of some vegetables.

Mr Hai & Friends

Ordering in a foreign country can be quite overwhelming, especially when you go somewhere that isn’t aimed at tourists.  There was no English translation for the menu, and although we’ve picked up a fair few German words, it was still a bit off a mystery.  Fortunately, we’re reasonably adventurous eaters, so we just took our chances.  And that my friends is how I first ate frogs legs.  Turns out “frosch” is German for frog, and they are considered seafood for Mr Hai’s purposes.  For the record, they were delicious, and quite reasonably priced at €15 for the dish.

There’s plenty more (non-froggy) items on the menu, and the food is delicious and quite reasonable.  We liked it so much we went back for lunch the next day.

Stylish Turkish

The second place I’m reviewing is Hasir, which is a Turkish restaurant near Hackescher Markt.  This came recommended by Rick Steve’s, and is a pretty posh place.  Fortunately, the prices are very reasonable.  We made up for our vegetarian the other night with meat meat and more meat!  It was  delicious, reasonably priced and had a great atmosphere – that’s the trifecta in my book!

Ahoy from St Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle

Ahoy (hello) from Prague, the old-new city.  Old because Prague’s architecture escaped the war damage of the last century; and new because it is only 20 years since the Czech Republic was freed from Communist rule.  Being a long weekend, we had our first real encounter of the trip with the hordes – thousands of snap-happy, hungry tourist lemmmings filled the streets.  Can’t wait for Rome…

Prague is cheap.  Half a litre glass of Pilsner Urquell costs 30Kč ($2) while you can get a decent meal for between 150-200Kč.  The crown is only our fourth currency of the trip, by the way, not bad for nine countries!  We ate some superb vegetarian at Lehká Hlava (Clear Head) located in a back alley away from the crowds.  If you’re ever in Prague, do yourself a favour and go there.

The main sights in Prague sit either side of the Vltava River – Prague Castle on the hill of the west bank overlooking the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter on the east bank.  The 14th century Charles Bridge joins the two banks – it has lasted so long because the foundation stone was laid in 1357 on the 9th July at 5:31 (135797531).  Amazing!

Charles Bridge, Prague

The Astronomical Clock (1572) in Old Town Square is exactly that – astronomically difficult to read.  I blame daylight savings time.

Astronomical Clock, Old Town Square, Prague

Inscribed on the walls of the Pinkas Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter are the names and last known dates to be alive of 80,000 Czech Jews sent to the Nazi concentration camps.  The handwritten names fill the walls from floor to ceiling, covering the insides of the entire synagogue.  Close by is the Old Jewish Cemetary (1439-1787), squeezing about 12,000 tombstones (many more are buried here) into about 200sqm.  Needless to say, layering was required.  The end result is a picturesque but pensive scene of crooked tombstones reaching for any light breaking through the trees.

Prague Castle & Charles Bridge by night

For some colour photos, here’s our Czech gallery.