As we made our way by shuttle to Tullamarine we exulted in the thought of travelling to the heat struck environs of Europe and leaving the dreary Melbourne winter behind. As it happened we needn’t have worried 10 degrees C in Helsinki followed by rain and 12 degrees in Berlin.

I did spot something in Finland that made me stop and stare for a minute. Moomin characters. What are they? A series of characters from children’s fiction that originated in Finland. I had read many of the books as a younger Jeffrey and they brought back memories. They are still very popular in Finland and for whatever reason also in Japan. They occupy a similar niche in the National psyche that smurfs do in Belgium.

Did promise a pic of us in front of the Brandenburg gate and here it is. Also a couple of images around Berlin. The Berlin cathedral, statue of Frederick the great, the inside of the Humboldt plaza and the tower and church.
We’re having fun working out the maze that is the Berlin public transport system. Once you get the hang of it then it all works but having underground (U), above ground (S) and tram lines (M) that meet at different places and levels presents a lot of challenges for news players. We seem to be continually coming out the wrong exit!

This morning we did a tour of the Reichstag building. If I get my terminology right the building was built when Germany had an emperor so the building is the Reichstag or Emperor’s building. It is now occupied by a democratically elected government or Bundestag. It has been rebuilt as has much of Berlin although the first insult to this building was pre-second world war in 1933 when a suspicious fire caused extensive damage. The feature of the newest rebuild is a clear dome that has a spiral walkway inside that is open to tourists and has some pretty spekky views.

The tiergarten is already preparing for the marathon. Even as early as Tuesday sections are fenced off and grandstands being constructed. It is going to be big.

That should do for now. I did an easy 8 or so kilometres this afternoon and realise I’m going to have to stretch a bit. Who would have thought 28 hours of flying might leave one a bit stiff? Another run tomorrow and out to pick up numbers tomorrow afternoon. Roll on Sunday.