Oklahoma and Berlin

During the week we went to see Oklahoma - Haz was keen to see the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musical - but it was really quite disappointing - the casting, choreography and singing didn't quite do the musicians justice. Then in the weekend we flew out to Berlin. We haven't done much travel to Europe for a number of reasons and this was our first trip in more than 2 months. Last time we went to Berlin we exhausted ourselves by staying at a hotel out of town, walking 2.5 kms to the railway station, biking all day on one of those Fat Tire bike trips - every day - we have never been so tired. This weekend would be different - we hired a car and stayed at the same hotel - but didn't intend to go into the city. Saturday was spent at the Spreewald Forest, south of Berlin. It is group of small settlements amongst trees all connected by an old canal system (200 or so).  We did the real touristy thing and went for a 4 hour punt ride along some of the canals and got the impression that the locals enjoyed life and had a sense of fun. There is about 50,000 people living in the area, but the area is big and quite honestly we saw only a few. This is also home to the Sorbs who have managed to keep their traditional culture, language, customs and clothing despite the inundation of tourists.The museum which at first glance looked like an outdoor farm with old equipment soon proved to be so much more interesting telling us the story of the Sorbs and life in Lehde. For many years the area has been known for its horseradish and gherkins and if our bags had been bigger a few of the jars would have flown back to Bristol with us. 



And on Sunday there was another treat in store - we went to Europe’s largest tropical holiday world. It felt a bit bizarre walking into an old airship hanger (built originally for the German company CargoLifter AG in 2000 - giant airships which would be able to transport large items of freight to inaccessible destinations around the world). However, the company responsible for the project didn't manage to get it off the ground (in fact the company went into the ground before the first prototype could be built). So, instead of aircraft we came across palm trees growing in tropical conditions, people wandering, swimming or soaking with or without clothes on and children playing in sandy beaches while parents lounge, sip cocktails, sleep or eat.