Berlin

Well the first night on a train was great - we even slept for some of it despite being wedged on a shelf with a stretchy thing to stop you falling out when the train goes round a bend! Particularly impressed by our friendly guard who brought us breakfast in the morning..... who says you need to go on a cruise to get a bit of luxury!

One thing that is very different from last time i 'travelled' anywhere - nearly everyone has a laptop, a netbook or a phone and accommodation has free wi-fi. Great for keeping in touch.

Now enjoying the sights of Berlin. Berlin is a place with a past.....you can't help but be conscious of all the new buildings replacing the old. Key Sites:- The Reichstag building, the iconic Brandenburg Gate, Ian with a cold pint of German beer. We loved our boat trip on the River Spree, and got very hot trailing through the multiple security points in the Reichstag building ("what's that long metal object in your rucksack?" ....just a buttery picnic knife actually but the xray machine didn't know that) up to the amazing glass dome on the roof (designed by Sir Norman Foster). Today we're planning to do the walking tour recommended by Helen ;-)

It's so exciting to be here, see new things, absorb a bit of history and culture. I so wish we had managed to book trains through Poland and the Baltics.......tomorrow we cheat and fly to Moscow. I've been reading an old book 'God's smuggler' about Brother Andrew, a Dutchman who's life was filled with miracles as he obeyed Gods call to support the church in Eastern Europe (during the cold war). Over and over again he took a car load of Bibles through the checkpoints while God blinded the eyes of the guards. What an amazing God.