DAY 31-32: BERLIN

LIFE is too short to stand in queues.

After 30 minutes of standing in one to go up to the dome of the Reichstag parliamentary building, a staff member advised us we would have another 90 minutes wait before being able to book tickets.

All tickets were booked for the morning (we had arrived almost an hour later than planned  at 8.45) and the earliest we would be able to get in once we reached the counter would be three hours after that.

That meant we would not have a chance to see the beehive-like structure and city panorama until at least 1.45, and even then all those limited places may be taken and we'd have to come back much later. All the prized sunset places had gone already. 

Of course, we should have done the smart thing and booked online even as late as last night, but we didn't because we have no internet again. That's a whole other conversation.

So we deserted the queue and went for a wander instead ... as you do in a sprawling cosmopolitan city where you can stumble upon massive monuments, memorials, museums, malls (that's probably enough alliteration), towers, gardens, churches and cathedrals at every turn.

We'd already walked for four hours after arriving at 4 yesterday, deciding to ditch the hop on, hop off bus idea this time for a stroll in the sunshine.

That then became a mission to see Alexanderplatz where we're staying in the Park Inn on Radisson (an attraction in itself with its own Panorama rooftop bar complete with deckchairs on level 37) with its neighbouring TV tower that has become a major city landmark.

Next on the agenda was the vibrant Potsdamer Platz that houses the Sony Centre and my new favourite deli called Lindner, then some remains of the Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer in German) and the Brandenburg Gate (Tor), now a symbol of freedom.

We also made time to take in the canals with major sights along the way such as the famed Berlin Cathedral that features in so many guides, and the outside of the Reichstag in the late afternoon.

From the same starting point today after the queue, we passed the Soviet Memorial down the long wide road that used to feature in the infamous Love Parade before climbing the 285 steps to the top of the Victory Column and cooling down through leafy Tiergarden.

The now cheesy Checkpoint Charlie (and I do mean cheesy with a huge McDonald's and tourists having photos taken with American "soldiers"  in uniform) was next on our hitlist of sights.

Then followed a concise, informative and surprisingly free pictorial exhibition about the Wall and various attempts at escape, plus the majestic buildings of the Gendarmenmarkt.

When it started to rain in the afternoon, sending many hundreds into the museum ticket queues, we again retreated - this time to the comfort of an undercover cafe.

Many teardrops have fallen involuntarily over the last few days as we have learned so much  about wars and walls, destruction of rights, freedoms, dignity and creativity, murder and genocide ... and walked among those who have lived it.

Yet after all Berlin has been through in its well-documented history, it seems to have found an equilibrium or balance amid its many contrasts.

Countless worksites, cranes and scaffolding are creating a new Berlin but also preserving and renovating historic Berlin.

Forward thinking and new beginnings co-exist with the need to remember the past and maintain traditions. 

The arts once again are flourishing, appealing to young and old alike.

Like us, Berlin refuses to stand still and wait its turn in a queue.

Lesson of the day: Check, check and check again any train platform changes and listen for any signs in German before the need to run like idiots across a Haupbahnhof and up two escalators to make the train you've reserved seats on to Prague.