When I joined the boys on a long weekend to Berlin, I expected a grey city, scarred from the second World War. What I discovered was a vibrant place, full of energy and packed with culture. Oh – and a huge range of ridiculously strong beers, alongside every type of sausage you can possibly think of…

Day one was stereotypically German. Our nominated guide (David briefly lived in Berlin) takes us to a restaurant that has a huge garden, with long tables shared by locals and tourists. It’s essentially a massive beer garden, that also offers food. Being asparagus season, we all have a suitable amount of greens that will no doubt confirm the truth of the infamous myth tomorrow morning. We also try a variety of local beers that set the tone for the trip: This is all about seeing as much of the city as possible, so that our bodies don’t even think about nurturing a hangover.

Day 2 (5 June 2010)
Berlin

I wake the following morning at a respectable time and head straight for the Fernsehturm television tower, where David tells us that the only way we’ll have time to see the many sights is if we hire bikes. It’s a perfect call as we jump on our bikes and zip from one incredible monument to another. I’m truly amazed by my first impressions. Germany’s capital is absolutely packed with things to see. There are so many stunning statues and buildings, so it’s an absolute pleasure to cycle around the wide paths and roads, in complete awe of the architecture surrounding me.

The city, considerably flattened in World War II, has retained its openness, with parks and statues placed all over the city. I start with communism at the Engels & Marx monument, and then pass a huge motorcycle parade, the Altes Museum and Berliner Dom. The Konzerthaus Berlin is a good place to stop for a well deserved beer break before passing Checkpoint Charlie, which is a strange experience: As I stand in the middle of this busy city road, I can’t help think that less than 70 years ago it was one of the most dangerous places to be in the world.

A little further east we find the large remains of the Berlin Wall on Niederkirchnerstrasse, and visit the Topographie des Terrors. It’s surreal to stand next to the wall and consider the fact that such an insignificant object could represent so much.

We travel northwest and enter the absolutely gigantic Tiergarten. The sun is in full force as we reach the Schloss Bellevue so it’s perfect timing to ride through the park amongst all the locals soaking up the glorious weather.

On our way back east, there’s a brief stop at the Soviet War Memorial (I suddenly feel quite conscious of my CCCP t-shirt, I’m wearing…) and then to the Brandenburger Tor, which is one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It’s large and impressive, but absolutely packed with tourists, so it requires a little more effort to find a unique shot.

We’ve packed so much into one day, but one of the most impressive stops was yet to come: The Holocaust-Mahnmal is enormous and is a very impressive memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. Uniquely designed, and spanning across a 19,000 square meter site, it’s impossible not to be overwhelmed. It’s yet another outstanding example of how well Berlin is remembering its past, whilst educating for the future.

After all the cycling, it’s only fair that we end the day with a well-deserved amount of food and drink!

(Congrats if you spotted the error – I’m actually crossing into the East side of the wall)

Day 3 (6 June 2010)
Berlin

There are a number of areas in Berlin where you can still see the remains of the wall. The morning starts with a quick visit to an antique market, on our way to a huge area which has been kept exactly like the wall was before it was taken down in November 1989. It’s shocking to see the photos of all the people who tried to cross it, especially a chap called Winfried Freudenberg who died in a crossing attempt in March 1989.

Looking through the crack of one wall, across the field to the high second wall, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could make it across alive, and really underlines how desperate people must have been to risk it.

It’s a slightly relaxed afternoon with some beers and some rather aimless wandering around, before we decide to visit the spectacular Treptower Park. It’s an absolutely enormous Russian monument to remember those who died in battle for Berlin in the early 1940s. With the gorgeous weather, the Germans are out in hundreds and the parks are full of people playing, eating, drinking and sunbathing.

The evening starts quite sensibly, with an Italian restaurant and a few bottles of wine. What seems like it’s going to be a rather subdued second night, turns into complete silliness when we find a punk bar which has a karaoke night. My first ever solo karaoke effort goes down pretty well; I think Kylie Minogue would have been proud. I have a crack at Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water and the local punks seem to appreciate my headbanging to the climax of the song.

However, the best moments are no doubt Max’s “I’m gonna make you bleed” line in Welcome to the Jungle, and Mark’s super-enthusiastic rendition of AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long.

It sets us up nicely to buy a bottle of whisky and enjoy the incessant ramblings of our new best friend, Herr Spargel…

Day 4 (7 June 2010)
Berlin

It’s not the most energetic of mornings, as everyone is feeling the effects of the late night. Before our afternoon flight back to London, we drag ourselves to the Fernsehturm Berlin, the famous television tower that has a rotating restaurant at the top. None of us can stomach food, so we just have coffees whilst Berlin’s cityscape spins around us. Germany’s capital has left a very strong impression on me, and there’s no doubt about it; I definitely will return.

This school reunion doesn’t start off too well. Andy (who I’ve seen once in eight years) arrives at Gatwick and finds his ticket is for the Friday flight, not today’s (Thursday). A £75 upgrade, some wine and beer and a ridiculously short flight to Germany later, we’re wandering around Köln trying to find the tourist attractions.

Where. The. Hell. Are. They.

It could be the awful weather, but this city (bar the excellent Dom, which holds the largest free-swinging bell in the world) isn’t particularly inviting for the snappy happy tourist.

Of course, this trip was never really about photography, but all about experiencing some German culture… drinking.

Day 2 (4 April 2008)
Köln, Wuppertal

I can’t even kid myself that this holiday is about photography any more. Today I meet with Moritz, the German exchange student I last saw in 1997. Moritz gives Andy, Mark and me a mini-tour of Wuppertal before showing us where to buy pizza. He kindly then shows us the direction to a bar…

Things go a bit foggy as the night progresses and fortunately the camera brings back all the memories, so it turns out to be a photography trip after all!

I really must get it into my head why 7am flights are so cheap. It sounds like a good idea to arrive early in Frankfurt for the Bank Holiday, but three hours sleep and a cloud-filled sky don’t motivate me to do too much exploring on the first day. Nonetheless, my first impressions of “Bankfurt” are positive. Despite the number of skyscrapers, it has retained a “small town” feel to it and the old town (completely destroyed in March 1944) has been rebuilt exactly as it stood before the Allied bombings.

The 200m tall “Main Tower” is not the tallest building in Frankfurt, but it does give an impressive view of the rest of the city and I watch the sunset amongst a comical line of photographers with shutters snapping every few seconds.

6th May 2007 – Frankfurt

A good night’s sleep prepares me for a long day of walking. Frankfurt is not a large city, but the banks of the Main River make for pleasant strolls and there’s photography fodder everywhere I turn.

The Jewish Cemetery is frighteningly moving. Unlike the one in Warsaw which is just an enormous mass of graves, in Frankfurt there is a long wall with tiny plaques representing each person who was exported and killed in the Second World War. Each name, date of birth, date and place of death is a shocking reminder of what happened just 60 years ago. The Jewish History museum is disappointing, but again the large wall of named casualties can’t help but hit home.

Now you’d think it’s relatively easy to find a Frankfurter in Frankfurt. In the same way you’d expect to find Cheshire cheese in Cheshire, or a tasty curry in Madras, or even a decent game of poker in Texas… I really thought there would be frankfurters everywhere but I was wrong; not a sausage!

The sun takes its toll and the next stop is a 1000 year old tower that has been converted into a bar! The speciality is cocktails and it’s a suitable way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon!

There’s an area south of the Main called Sachsenhausen which reminds me of Dublin’s Temple Bar. It’s full of character during the day, but later in the evening it’s full of beer guzzlers and doesn’t have the same appeal.

The last stop is back in the old town and I finally find my long sought after meal. Along with a huge beer, the frankfurter goes down a treat. Tomorrow I’m going home and my journey is complete!

I guess it is since I’ve got into photography (about three years ago) that I’ve started looking around a little more and it allows me to take in the scenery. Throughout those three years, I’ve always had one place in the back of my mind that I knew I had to visit. Finally, just a fortnight ago, I made it to Iceland…

It was an incredible risk going in January. The four hours of sunshine a day and the possibility of constant rain and poor visibility could have spelt disaster. Fortunately, luck was on our side (again!) and apart from the odd bit of snow and rain in the mountains, the weather was pretty good.

I loved every minute of the trip and the photo opportunities were absolutely everywhere. Some highlights included standing on the edge of a volcano, climbing a glacier, walking behind a huge waterfall and navigating through geysers! The best part (to my surprise) was going to the Blue Lagoon. I really expected it to be touristy and over-crowded, but we decided to go on a night visit and the whole place was practically empty. To go for a swim when the weather was minus three degrees was unbelievable! As the lagoon is heated naturally, different parts are hotter than others, so we swam around with mud on our faces, trying to avoid any areas which were above 45 degrees! To top it off, it was the clearest night of the holiday and the stars and moon were clearly visible.

With such clear skies, I was counting on seeing the Northern Lights. However, this is one thing that I guess I’ll have to keep waiting for (and another excuse to go back to a Scandinavian country!)

My other trip was a one-night stop in Hamburg. I’ve only ever been to Germany as a young child and I thought it would be a nice change for New Year’s Eve to spend it abroad. I can’t say I was overly impressed with the city, but nothing could top the German countdown to 2006: “Drei! Zwei! Eins..!” It felt like I was on the frontline going into battle!

Regarding a chosen charity for the London Marathon in April, I’ve decided to run for The Parkinson’s Disease Society; it means a lot to me because of the history of the disease in my family. The money is put towards finding the cause and a cure, as well as helping those through it. I’ve registered on the following website: www.justgiving.com/carlobezoari, which allows people to sponsor me directly through the internet. I’m grateful for any donations!