Buses, Beer and Belly Dancing …
After leaving the TechEd at about 1 we headed back to the hotel from whence we were determined to launch an assault on Berlin’s pleasure spots.
We started with a bus tour of the city which took in most of the sites. One of which was a stop at “Check Point Charlie” , the famous crossing point from East Berlin to West Berlin in the American Sector. I guess nothing could symbolize more the triumph of the western allies over the Soviet East than the fact that right next to the check point was a MacDonalds, actually on the eastern side of the old divide, with a Starbucks 50m further down the road! Traces of the infamous Berlin wall erected in 1961 could still be seen preserved at certain places on our route.
We hopped back on the bus only to be deposited at 5 o’clock at the furthest point from our hotel that you could get, when the tour buses stopped running for the day.
Not to be deterred we sought out the nearest German Bier Keller. Luck was with us … we found one of the best pubs I’ve ever been into. Each table had its own set of beer taps which allowed you to pour your own drinks as you wanted, whilst it recorded how much we’d decanted.
After this we hailed a cab and headed off to an Egyptian restaurant near our hotel. Kieran volunteered to do a belly dance for us so you can imagine our relief when 2 real belly dancers appeared to dance among the tables. The meal was excellent and the dancing fantastic especially as one of the dancers pulled Jon on stage to dance with her! …. [Check out the video :-D]
