südblock (kottbusser tor u-bahn - oranienstrasse (KW - who is Alfredo Jaar) - templehof - hein?? park - markisches museum

I spent the last day of my thirties in the best possible way. We started the day with the most amazing brunch at a cafe called südblock, right beside kottbusser tor u-bahn and I am being so specific with details because I don't want to forget and if anyone sees this who plans on coming to Berlin at anytime in the future, then you must, must have Sunday brunch here. The place is run by the community and is a buffet style. The most amazing food and a system of payment that means you pay between ?7.50 & ?12.50 - you decide the price based on how much you think the food is worth. The staff are wonderful and generous and PLEASE go if you will be here anytime.

The second part of our day included making work at NGBK - a workshop based on the current exhibition by Alfredo Jaar - this was magic and a good opportunity for us to make some work and it was a productive couple of hours. Then....

.... we eventually made it to Templehof (which appealed to my boring and ego-centric interest in things that have names a bit like mine) And it was brilliant - this is Alice having a rest on the former runway of the Templehof airport, beside the community gardens. Then....

.... we walked over to Hermanplatz through Hein.. park and found the most amazing kids playground - with pirate boats, snake slides, long wobbly rubber trampoline (which Alice ran up and down in beautifully choreographed synchronicity with a wee German girl), camels (wooden), springy aeroplane (which we all fitted in and got flown by pilot Rudy to the Jurassic period) ANd then we found some real live actual big smelly camels watching a football game. I kid you not. Then....

....we made our way back to our sleeping place and I opened a bottle of wine and eyed up some apple schnaps and decided that this was by far the best way to say good bye to my thirties.

It has been an immense decade for me and ten years ago to the day I was getting ready to say goodbye to my twenties in the other place (other than Edinburgh) that has been a very big part of my life. Trevi is in Umbria and a place in which I have been fortunate enough to have spent a lot of time. I don't think that on that evening I would have begun to have thought that in ten years time I would be sitting with the three most amazing people in the world in Berlin. I wonder where I'll be for my fiftieth...

Aaaaah - so long my 30s. You've been swell.

got to go - Alice is sticking salami on her cheeks and squealing