Wind of Change (Berlin, Germany, part 2)

We breakfasted at home again.  The domestic bliss of an apartment hotel. It's not quite a hotel, nor is it AirBnB, it is somewhere in between. Our studio apartment gets cleaned every third day. On other days there is no need to be concerned by an untimely knock at the door.

The Old Museum from the bus.

After yesterday's rain and the overnight storm, we ventured out into sunshine. Exciting. A short walk to the Hop-on Hop-off bus stop, number 17. It is actually the end of the route but the sales dude said we could get on there. So, we did. And there we sat. We could have walked to stop 1 and commenced with the first bus of the day.

A statue on museum island bridge.

As the first bus departed from stop 1, we left our resting place and drove to the starting position and there we sat for another 15 minutes. Insider knowledge or more astute questioning would have resolved this issue. Regardless, we were seated and comfortable on the top deck of the bus. We could open the windows but the top remained closed for the duration.

Brandenburg Gate like we'll never see it again.

This journey, the Red Route, occupies around 2 and a half hours. There are a couple of 15 minutes respites so if you are quick enough you can get the perfect photo and resume the tour on the same bus. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be snapping photos from onboard, so there are fewer photos than expected. However, it was meant to be a sightseeing expedition so we could determine what to visit (and hop off at) again tomorrow.

The Reichstag.

We passed many major sights including: Alexanderplatz, Berliner Dom, Humboldt University, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Central Station, Schloss Bellevue Palace, the Victory Column, Potsdamer Platz, Berliner Mauer, Checkpoint Charlie, and back to the Rathaus. There were obviously other things in between, shopping centres, churches, you get the drift, my dear reader.

Gendarmenmarkt I think. Be fair, I was on a bus.

Happily, this time the bus continued straight back to stop 1 where we would pick up the Blue Route bus that ventured into what was East Berlin and the sections of the wall we wanted to see. In a stroke of timing genius, our next bus was waiting for us. Ok, maybe they match schedules.

That is a real sized replica Sputnik.

There wasn't a lot to see on the second route, at least not from the bus window. We were taken down the grand boulevarde that was initially built so the GDR could hold the obligatory marching displays. It is now called Karl-Marx-Allee.  After sailing through the area renown for the most exclusive nightclubs in Germany, we alighted at stop 3, the East Side Gallery. After a detour to photograph the "most beautiful bridge in Berlin", we returned to the wall. It is a 1.3 km preserved stretch of the wall that has murals almost the entire length. Some are more estoric than others and it probably warrants some enterprising millenial to create a startup that hires out audio guides explaining each mural.

Can't see the fuss really.

There were, of course, the usual vacuous, look-at-me, selfie takers. Or in one instance, a boyfriend who must have been at photo 6 of his girlfriend behind the gate in the wall. I don't know how high the number of aborted photos went because I walked away, tired of waiting to take a photo of the gate without her self-absorbed personage obscuring the real shot. I hope the sex was worth it. She was hard work.

Only here to match the text above.

We continued down the street side of the wall until the end and then went toward the river to stroll down the inside. The side of the wall that was facing West Berlin is covered in graffiti, as opposed to art. There is a pleasant grassed area, a walkway covered by flowering (at the moment) crab apple trees, bordered by the river. As the sun was shining, the area, originally known as the 'Death Strip', was being enjoyed by locals and tourists.

The beginning.

Back at the commencement of this section of the wall, I checked the Big Bus app to for the whereabouts of our transport back to Alexanderplatz. We watched as the bus left the stop while we were stranded on the opposite side of the road. There was only thing left to do. Beer. We sat in the sun near the stadium that will shortly host the Laver Cup (Europe against the world). Almost like being back home seeing Rod's name up in lights.

The famous mural. Who is tonguing whom?

Tracking a bus via an app in real time means no stressing about when to finish a beer. Nice. Beer enjoyed, ok maybe I had two, we strolled back to the bus stop and returned to Alexanderplatz. The clouds were beginning to look threatening but we were safely home before the obligatory storm arrived.

The French have such a way with words.

Over a glass of wine, we planned the next day's outing. A reasonably early start to get back on the bus and again travel the red route to actually hop off and hop back on after we have had time to explore and take photos.

I like the sentiment of this one.

That bridge again.

The title song, Wind of Change was really a no brainer for this post, although Jayne wanted some song by David Hasselhoff, whoever he is. Back to reality. The Scorpions, a long lived German band had their biggest hit in their twilight. Rather fitting, it was also the twilight of the division in Berlin. Physical at least.

A lovely spring day.

Until next time.

Wind of Change (Shoalhaven Heads not Budapest)

And Tony's Pizza, I hear you enquire, my epicurean reader ... absolutely ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ delicious. Would definitely return for, more next time we are down this way.

The wicked westerly wind continued to hound us as we packed up and pointed the car north towards Shoalhaven Heads. Hence today's title. All the way back from 1990 and the Scorpions. I hope the winds change soon, the westerly is way too cold.

But first, a detour to Mt Bushwalker, to check out a potential bushwalk for the grand children. Sadly, that area of the Morton National Park is still closed, following the devastating bushfires of the last fire season. The road in was in better condition than I thought, and is tar most of the way with a few gravel sections. The evidence of the fire is everywhere and once again, I can't help but marvel at the excellent work done by the RFS when you see how close the fire came to destroying more houses. You can also judge the intensity of the fire by the tree tops. There are areas where some trees still have their upper most branches and others, where they are skeletons, covered in new growth. So, no walking here in the immediate future. Back to the highway.

Mt Bushwalker being closed, destroyed my travel timeline somewhat. We had extra time to kill, prior to our 2pm check in at Bangalay Luxury Villas. Despite having driven past the Sussex Inlet turn off multiple times in my life, I'd never actually been there. It is a place that lives large in memory ... going down to Sussex ... been to Sussex ... thinking of buying a holiday place at Sussex. Yeah, whatever. I think I destroyed a dream. I will never drive that road again ... think of holidaying at Sussex ... think of buying a weekender there, or even be remotely interested in anyone who mentions Sussex in a sentence. A cluster of houses on an inlet, Gold Coast style. I retract that, the Gold Coast has no style. Let's go Gold Coast emulation, without the services.

Similarity #9 Markets. Budapest has Nagycsarnok (Great Market) it is apparently a tourist magnet. Perhaps I will find out next year. The tourist magnet at Mollymook is the Beach Market. Our itinerary didn't coincide with this one either.

Still with time to kill. I remembered that the Two Figs Winery is on Shoalhaven Road. Wine tasting. Yes. Much more my style. We arrived to find a sign stating that all tasting must be pre-booked online. Curiously we had come across this type of signage before that wasn't always observed. So, we thought we'd take chance. There were a lot of cars in the car park. The westerly wind almost stopped us opening the car doors, but we thought we ask if they could fit us in. The good news: yes they could. The bad news: I've joined another wine club. I think I need help. That makes ... noooo ... I'm not revealing.

The view from Two Figs

Ok. So I joined another wine club. That should give you an indication as to the quality of the wine. And we spent an hour there tasting and discussing the wine. You could do worse. If you haven't been to Two Figs, it's well worth a visit. The views from the top of the hill over the Shoalhaven Valley are excellent and while they don't offer food, you can do picnic stuff, if you're so inclined. Not me.

From the winery, another membership and a case of wine in the boot, we made our way to Bangalay Villas. It is the block back from the beach at the end of the golf course. The villas are superbly appointed and front onto the golf course, either directly or through gardens. There was a welcome bottle of wine which we would have enjoyed on the verandah except for the chilling westerly. So, inside with the fire on (ok, it's gas, but it looks real).

The three course dinner was delivered to our villa. Warning: some assembly required. Not an issue. We had an entrée of octopus and Davidson plum with macadamia, followed by lamb shoulder and potato bake, with a dark chocolate and native currant mousse. Very nice. Accompanied by wines we had acquired on our trip.

The next morning we were woken early by sunshine. Oh yes! I think even Jayne appreciated it after Mollymook. To be clear, the house at Mollymook was in a great position with the most awesome ocean view, but it lacked direct sun. It was, therefore, cold, all day. By contrast, we were now warm and very comfortable.

Breakfast of sourdough, muesli, yoghurt, fresh fruit, pastries and eggs encouraged a leisurely start to the day. Eventually we gathered the energy to walk the little distance to Seven Mile Beach. Given the proximity to the mouth of the Shoalhaven River, I was circumspect about what I would find. The capriciousness of south coast weather and its beaches is well documented. That said, I have never seen so much drift wood on the one stretch of beach. I know it is because of the river mouth, but it was quite amazing. People had created structures from the wood along the beach. There were throne rooms, little cages, seats, teepees ... I would have just built a fire, but that's me. There was also evidence of the bushfires, there was a lot of burned timber and charcoal along the high tide line.

The throne

The tide was coming in and there wasn't a lot of beach to walk on if you wanted to keep your feet dry. So we walked down to the mouth of the river and then back to the surf club and a little way beyond, before heading for the sunlit verandah. 

There were very few people braving the water. It didn't look particularly attractive. There has been rain recently and the colour of the surf was more reflective of run off than the blue sky. We watched one surfer battle his way to the only decent break as he was swept southward toward the river mouth. We're not sure if he made it, the swell was reasonably large and the colour made it difficult to pick him out. They are a breed a part, surfers. You couldn't have paid me to go out there. At least he wasn't on his own, there was already one brave boardie out there. The other side of the surf club, a long boarder headed out for a couple of attempts at riding the swell. He was gone by the time we were heading for home.

Given the recent storms the beach probably wasn't shown at its best, there was a very small strip of sand most of which was covered with drift wood, well, drift logs and trees. It was unusual, there was very little rubbish on the high tide line - aside from the wood.

Back at the villa, we decided it would be a last day of rest and relaxation before we returned home. So it was an afternoon on the sun-soaked verandah, listening to the sounds of the golfers, sipping champagne, reading and chatting. Sometimes holidays aren't about being on the go.

Dinner was delivered to our villa. Spanner crab and apple for entrée. Fresh and tasty. Followed up by beef brisket and a dessert I can't remember. It all sounded good but I wouldn't rave about it. Despite that, we would definitely return, it is a very well appointed unit in a spot that encourages relaxation. I might even dust off the golf clubs after 8 years and have a hit.

And that's about it for this break. We are about to hit the road and return to the city. Time for one last similarity between Mollymook and Budapest.

Similarity #10 Budapest has the Tip Top Bar, a roof top bar with great views. Mollymook has a roof top bar at Bannister's Pavillon. Once again, I haven't tried either. The TripAdvisor reviews for both are pretty solid.

Until next time ... assuming there is a next time in a Covid world.