6 hours at Incheon Airport

With a stopover of more than 6 hours, Incheon International Airport has plenty of entertainment on offer. From photo opportunities with a 'Royal Prince and Princess and Army' to a robot packing and unpacking its suitcase, there is plenty to keep one occupied, even when extremely sleepy....they have a small number of beds as well. Moving walkways talk to you as you get on, taxi buggies play classical music as they go, and moving paintings on LED screen of traditional Korean landscapes greet you on arrival.

Beautiful flowers everywhere

The airport is very busy but so super efficient

Kladno in Czech Republic: Final Stop

Leaving Berlin on a rather quiet Sunday made it easier to drive out of the city. Shops aren't open on Sunday so there isn't much activity around mid morning. The autobahns also make driving easier bypassing towns and Dresden right up to the Czech border. The only thing German autobahns lack is a rest stop that has food, petrol and a loo. They do have car and truck parking and loo stops if you have your own flask of coffee. Even the stop before the border only had a shed to purchase a driving vignette for the Czech Republic. As a consequence, the first petrol station/cafe over the border was absolutely packed with people, cars and semi trailers.

For our final night in Europe we are staying in Kladno, not far from Prague Airport. It has its own town square with old cathedral, town hall, fountain and cobblestoned streets as well as a large and very modern shopping mall opened on a Sunday.

Town Square in Kladno, Czech Republic

Surrounding streets

Our overnight stay is at the Hoffmann Art Deco Hotel. It is a lovely old gentlemens residence with manicured gardens and designed with an Art Deco style.

Hoffmann Art Deco Hotel in Kladno

Lobby

Gardens and outside eating area

Street Art of the East Side Gallery

On our second day of exploring Berlin, we got another day rail pass and headed for Warschauer Station in Friedrichshain. This area along the Spree River has the longest section of the Berlin Wall that has been covered with street art. 118 artists from 21 countries created artworks that commented on political changes in 1989/90. So, in a sense, it is an open air gallery open 24/7 and with no charge to view the art. The painted wall stretches for 1.3 km which makes it the longest open air gallery in the world.  Much restoration has been done on some of the works while others have become obliterated with graffiti by others wanting to leave their mark.

Popular and controversial image by Dmitri Vrubles of Breshnev kissing Honecker called 'Fraternal Kiss' with someone else's added comment.

Iconic image used in many forms of souvenirs from shops around Berlin

Getting to the wall involved changes in transport as the railway line we were taking had track maintenance just like home. The railway bus dropped us not far from the Berlin Wall but the neighbourhood also has a far bit of street art - in fact everywhere in Berlin there seems to be graffiti/ tags that haven't been removed. On the sides of tall buildings are huge murals, one by Portuguese artist Victor Ash of a giant astronaut (largest stencil art work in the world) and another one by Belguim artist Roa of giant rats in his characteristic black and white drawn-like style.

Alighting from the railway bus was this market stall (currently not in use)

On the wall next to the market stall was this mural

To cross over the Spree River we walked across the two storey Oberbaumbrucke where cars go across the lower level and trains across the top. The bridge was the checkpoint between East and West Germany during the Cold War.

Walking across the Oberbaumbrucke 

View of the Spree River from the bridge

Massive sculpture further up the river

More examples of the East Side Gallery

A chrome pillar in the Mercedes Benz dealership across the road provided a mirror reflection of the Berlin Wall

On our way back to the hotel we decided to circumnavigate the city centre by train ending up at the Berlin Zoo.

Berlin Zoo's Elephant Gate

Part of the Berlin Zoo

Across the road is Kaiser-Wilhelm Cedachtmis Kirche, partially destroyed during WWII by a bomb dropped by British aircraft. It is a poignant reminder of the war and despite undergoing restoration, it is decaying because of the vibrations from the huge amount of traffic that passes through the shopping district. Short of funds to restore it, the church has become a tourist attraction.

Further along the shopping district of Kurfürstendamm is a smaller version of Kathe Wohlfardt Christmas Shop, the original flagship store is in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Christmas Shop with handcrafted decorations

The street of our hotel and the main shopping precinct in this part of Berlin

Souvenirs and items bought, now time to find space in the suitcase and head for home

Room at the Holiday Inn Express West Berlin

Brandenburg Gate on Bastille Day

As we hopped on and off the U Bahn and the S Bahn City railway, our last port of call for the day was the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. This is another tourist mecca with crowds of people everywhere. Little did we know at the time, but the French Embassy that is directly next door to the Brandenburg Gate had a major function on because of Bastille Day. Dignitaries were arriving one after another in a long queue of black limousines. Gendarmes were out the front greeting guests but the German police presence was not obvious.

Outside the French Embassy

French sailors or musicians dressed up to look like them were playing bagpipes

No matter what is happening, there is always a protestor

Brandenburg Gate

Cyclists lined up in front of the gate, reason unknown

Top of the gate

In all the hustle and bustle of the location of the Brandeburg Gate, this room seemed very apt

Old fashioned wind up music player minus the real monkey

Reichstag

Front view of the Reichstag

Berliner Furnsentrum - Television Tower from the Brandenburg Gate

U Bahn building at Wittenburg Platz station outside KaDeWe

Buddy Bears are a main feature in Berlin. The idea of masters students from Berlin University, the street art installation reflects the heraldic bear of Berlin. This one was found near the hotel.