punctuated by beautiful trees, flower beds and window boxes of floral colour. For foodies, there is plenty to indulge. The variety and choice of culinary delights and dining experiences are excellent. Whether your preference is for the traditional beer halls that swill with rosy-cheeked cheer and chatter as regulars and tourists enjoy the local beer, roasted meats and piquant ginger-bread, or the contemporary upmarket version of this Bavarian dining experience or simply a small family operated restaurant with inexpensive home style fare – Munich has it all. The city also caters well for those in need of a heavy dose of retail therapy. Munich has shopping for every taste from high end luxury to tourist souvenier. Its refinement is completed by a super-efficient and clean public transport system, which makes it very easy to get around. If satisfaction is the gap between expectation and result, then Munich completely filled that gap and to my surprise I was blown away by its harmonious environment and traditional vibe. Next stop, Berlin. Touching down on the tarmac at West Berlin airport, I readied myself for a clean and quick terminal-to-tourism transition, similar to my Munich airport experience. Instead West Berlin airport welcomed us with a shock of bodies, colour and noise. Leaving the airport we were confronted with a myriad of faces and a blurred palette of fastmoving colour. The indifference of our taxi driver, whose lead-footed driving sent us sliding over the seats, and seeking an introduction to the city out the the window. The passing scenery morphed from derelict buildings splashed with graffiti to glamorous contemporary structures, sharply intercepted by flashes of steely blue water and soft emerald green patches of forest. Finally we entered Marienstrausse, a quiet cobblestoned street in the Mitte area. This area is known as a historial melting pot of the former West and East Berlin districts. It harbours immense historical and touristic value, including the Museum Island, Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz. Our friendly host handed over the keys to our lovely two-bedroom apartment, and we were delighted to find it was equipped with every modern convenience. Sightseeing was a breeze from our central location. A five-minute walk across the River Spree was the famous Unter den Linden with TRAVEL the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and various Parliamentary and Embassy buildings at one end, and the Humboldt University, among other significant sites, at the other. A fifteen minute walk along Friedrichstrasse, once the main shopping strip in East Berlin, past modern retail icons such as Galleries Lafayette and Quartier 206, was Checkpoint Charlie and the remnants of the Berlin wall; a stark reminder that the unified Berlin is only 26 years old. Following the line of cobblestones that indicate where the famous Berlin Wall once stood, we encountered fading old and stunning new buildings standing side-by-side, surprisingly interspersed with an occasional overgrown vacant lot. The stark vacant lots reflect the reality of Berlin’s (modern) history. More bombs were dropped on the city in the last weeks of WWII than during the entire war. It seems live artillery shells and bombs are still found regularly in areas of Berlin, especially on these vacant lots, and the city employs a bomb demolition team which reportedly defuses a bomb per day. For lovers of architecture, there is plenty to admire, especially the differentiation between modern refurbishment and the historic landmark. The Reichstag is a perfect example. Badly damaged at the end of WWII, the Reichstag was remodeled in 1990 by English Architect Norman Foster and the results are stunning. The other newly built contemporary buildings closeby are equally as striking and new infrastructure projects such as a subway (currently under construction) beneath the Unter Den Linden give a glimpse of the spectacular that will be Berlin in the not-sodistant future. On the surface, the shopping seems glamorous. Most of the big names in retail have a presence in either the Kurfürstendamm, Berlin’s most popular shopping street, or around Friedrichstrasse and Hackescher Markt, the East’s up-and-coming shopping areas. But maybe it was the time of year, or the recent end-of-season sales, but the range Pindara M 82 agazine Summer | 2014/15
Pindara Private Hospital Magazine - Issue Three
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