Germany 2025

One year on from our last foray to the Fatherland, we were on a plane to Berlin, en route to the Uckermark region where my mother-in-law lives. As our flight wasn't due to land until early evening, we arranged to stay the night at Nicole's cousin's place on the outskirts of the capital city. The flight ran to schedule and we left our car at a large parking facility just off the M8. A shuttle bus took us to the terminal building. Two hours later, Madeleine picked us up at Berlin Airport and we had a good night's sleep, although Tofi the cat did pay us a visit in the middle of the night. What a perfect start to our holiday!

The next day, we ate a vegan breakfast and took the suburban train (S-Bahn) from Adlershof into the city centre. The main station (Hauptbahnhof) has several retail floors and was opened in 2006. We encountered one of the Berlin Buddy Bears - colourful life sized fibreglass artworks that symbolise tolerance and understanding. Around 500 examples are dotted around the city. Trains of all shapes and sizes come and go 24/7 at the Hauptbahnhof. We jumped on a tram outside the entrance and went a couple of stops along to the Natural History Museum, where we had booked a 10-11am time slot. The charge worked out at around £10 per head, which was fine. Museums in Germany (both large and small) are almost never free. We were travelling on a Berlin-Brandenburg ticket which offers travel on all modes of transport across the two states, for up to five people. The €35 price tag was probably slightly dearer than the total cost of the individual journey legs, but we had the flexibility to jump on and off the system without any hassle. The museum dates from 1889 and is currently undergoing a long-term renovation project. The upper galleries are currently off-limits and two thirds of the building remain basically unchanged since 1945. The vast collection encompasses a wide range of specimens and two famous exhibits confront you as you stroll into the impressive entrance hall. The Giraffatitan skeleton is the largest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world and the assembled bones stretch up to the roof, reaching a height of 13 metres. The remains were unearthed in modern-day Tanzania. Fitting the entire display in a single camera frame is practically impossible. Also prominently featured is the Archaeopteryx - a fossil of a very early bird ancestor with reptile characteristics that lived around 150 million years ago. Discovered in 1875 near Eichstätt (Bavaria), this particular specimen is the most complete example of its type and arguably the best known fossil across the globe. We proceeded into the System Earth gallery. A large globe in the centre of the hall shows animations and film sequences on topics such as plate tectonics, volcanoes, the impact of asteroids and meteorites, mountain formation and the atmosphere. These themes are discussed more extensively in island displays around the room. More dinosaur action presented itself in the shape of Tristan Otto (pictured below) - one of the few Tyrannosaurus Rex skeletons outside North America. A mere 66 million years old! The original skull is displayed in a separate display case, allowing visitors to view the detail up close. Around the corner, the massive "Wet Collection" sits within a rectangular glass-walled room. Visitors can explore all four sides and the high shelves house endless specimens preserved inside jars. The water/alcohol mixture prevents decay. Moving on, I passed by giant creepy-crawly models, including a house fly, common flea and a fearsome spider.