East Side Gallery

So to my last day in Berlin. Fortunately my flight was not until late afternoon, which meant that after I had spent some time packing there was still time for an expedition before lunch. As it was a fine day there was really only one option: the East Side Gallery in Muhlenstrasse, which both Jenny and I had been determined to see. This is a long stretch of the former Wall which since reunification has been given over to art, and more than a hundred images have been painted on the concrete panels. In 2000 a major restoration and repainting was undertaken as many of the works had deteriorated and been defaced by graffiti: unhappily but unsurprisingly the graffiti has reappeared.

Some images are political, such as that of Honecker embracing Brezhnev, which Jessica has had printed onto a mug; some are humorous, as in the depiction of the Japanese sector, with Mount Fuji in the distance; some just record, as in the image of the Wall skirting the Brandenburg Gate; and some combine politics with humour, as in  the famous image of a Trabant (the ubiquitous one-size-fits-all East German motor-car) apparently bursting throught Wall itself (I can't think why I didn't take a picture of this one). The section of the Wall that constitutes the Gallery follows the River Spree: it runs for about a quarter of a mile, and gives a fascinating insight into how Berliners regarded their own history and situation once freed from communist rule; we probably spent a good hour there, and it would certainly be one of my must-see recommendations for any visitor to Berlin.

Then it was time for a quick lunch, which I don't remember at all, after which I said goodbye to Jenny at Warschauer Strasse station - she had an afternoon meeting, and unaccountably trusted me to find my own way to Schonefeld airport. I left Berlin, and Germany, with many good memories - particularly of the food - and sincerely wanting to return. But not a single green-haired goth girl did I see!

If only the German language was easier to learn ...