Berlin, Germany, Day one
Stuffing our backpacks full once again, we went with Jase and Grace (and Ruby) into town to catch the airport shuttle bus. Finally arriving at Malpensa airport, we then wasted more of our lives lining up for EasyJet. Thankfully, after a quick flight, we ended up, baggage and all, in Berlin, where we were met by Esko, Katie’s cousins partner. Esko drove us back to their place (saving us another long bus ride) and we were able to relax for a while.
Later that night, Esko was performing with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, for who he plays bass, and offered us tickets to come along. We jumped at the chance and, after passing a concert/rally for the German instance of the Pirate Party (there are elections coming up soon), ended up sitting directly behind the 100+ piece orchestra, close enough to read the music! The program was three pieces, firstly by Alban Berg, then Paul Dessau and finally Dmitri Schostakovich’s fourth symphony, which I was really looking forward to. It was a great concert and the pieces were very powerful, particularly at close range!
We joined Esko for a drink after the concert and then headed to a Greek restaurant for dinner before catching a taxi home again. Not a bad first night in Berlin at all!
