They say everything happens for a reason, and we ended up in Berlin to get Russell the professional care and plan needed to keep wandering – although not yet!

I have made friends with the locals, negotiated a cheap price for the best room in the hotel…

While it lacks the luxury’s we are used to, I am getting to quite like my little bolt hole – at least I have light and a very comfy bed!

Kiwi improvisation is rich in our veins – foot washing in the shower – soap and stomping on clothes then rinse, towel wrap and hang around the bathroom to dry the next day. With temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius I can foot wash every day!

I buy my cold beer on the last trip home from the hospital (no fridge) 89c euro a 500ml bottle or can and my dinner!

I work in the middle of the day while Russ has a rest, best time to have good internet, and answer emails before the kiwi work day starts.

I have made friends with the receptionist (the one I mooed at) and now the owner and we are sharing fishing stories!

And in the afternoons Russ and I go out into the hospital gardens and there is always a new sight! Denise Cox you’ll love these!

Russ is doing ok, but will be in there another few days while all the test results come together and the medication kicks in! We will have some new facts to present to the kiwi medical profession when we get home….mmmm will be interesting how they handle this!

While, for me, Berlin is not a tourist destination, it has given me a new insight into the people and the way we live…and learning to live with myself – that has been a challenge!

After a few tough days,with Russ’s health, and with the amazing attention of the German medical profession, Russ is on the improve. While the boat (rivercruise) has sailed and we are not going to get to spend time in Norway, a lot of the jigsaw pieces have been put together.

And I have Russ in the garden foyer without oxygen! Drinking his McDonalds coffee and eating fried shrimps!

I have booked into my simple hotel for another three days and, all going well, Russ may be out by the weekend and we will stay put in an airBNB in Berlin for a week before heading back to Malta for our last month on the sunny side!

I spent the morning at the hospital, catching up with doctors, and Russ of course. Then back to my abode for a couple of hours work, before the afternoon coffee run to McDonald’s! Still the best coffee in the suburbs!

We did our free walking and discussed our plans moving forward, before I headed off to the supermarket to buy something healthy for my tea!

32 degrees today and the tree lined streets a welcome shade on my walk!

Salad and pork knuckles (ribs) for tea, Dave you’ll be proud of me, but can’t have another repeat of last nights cashew nuts and chocolate biscuits!

A view back at the reason we ended up in Berlin – the high rise in the middle is this fabulous Vivantes Neukölln hospital!

My daily plod back and forwards to the hospital – still clocking my 10000 steps a day and 5-6kms on foot!

We still have a bit more of Berlin to go but we are positive all will be sorted!

P.S. Beer time!

Some days are good days and some days are better, today was a good day.

Not much action from the hospital side, tests taken – no results and Russ, having been sedated, slept the afternoon away.

We have been practicing our German – so far we have; please and thank you, and every part of the day covered (good morning to good night), beer, large coffee, toilet, Russ has 1-10 sorted and I use my fingers!

A visit to the supermarket to stock up on treats and fatten Russ up! And a MCDonalds coffee were the highlights of the day!

Boris (Russ’s roomy) thought he should go home today and sat on his bed, dressed with bag packed from 8am and was still there when I left at 12.30. When I returned at 3.30, he was in his Jammies back in bed! I guess he didn’t win that one.

Helga (the evening nurse who speaks very little English) brought Russell all the left over tomatoes tonight – he is getting them trained!

So our day has been about as eventful as this upside down flowerpot….German innovation as an ashtray space!

And the warm drizzly weather is making us all sleepy, maybe and early night, not watching TV (all in German) is in order.

Thanks to everyone who is keeping in touch and giving me someone to talk to!!!’

My quiet Saturday evening with all my friends in the outside party area of my hotel. Had to consume my two beers (all I could carry) very quickly as it was extremely humid!

The thunder and lightning storm struck about 11.30pm and cleared the air for a much cooler sleep.

Breakfast (included in the cash price for this hotel) was an interesting affair; a range of luncheon sausage like meats, cheese, bread and hard boiled eggs. At least there was coffee.

Hung out with Russ in the garden for most of the morning!

The water lily flowers were all starting to open as the sun rose and the day warmed up.

Russ has his lunch and felt like a nap so I grabbed a coke and headed back to my room, actually on spying the open doors of the ones being cleaned, I think I got the luxury suite! I have scoped out another hotel, I can move to, around the corner, like 10 meters, for the same price, as soon as I know how long we are staying in this area.

After a couple of hours computer work, I decided that I needed a walk….and my spirits lifted…

A familiar face! Don’t think I have ever been so happy to see a McDonald’s! Kind of like an old friend in a sea of strangers.

Wandered a bit further, knowing I would be coming back here!

So nothing leapt out at me so I u-turned back to McDonalds.

This had an English option, so was easier than talking to a human! Took me a while to navigate, but found the desired choices and a mcCoffee cappuccino for Russ and I.

Very happy with my purchases (and I must say the best coffee I’ve had in this area), Russ and I enjoyed the afternoon sunshine in the garden again. Coffee problem solved, things eventually work out.

Russ a little weary after a couple of reasonable outings so back through this fabulous foyer and back to his roommate “Boris” the Russian who speaks German!

With all shops shut on a Sunday- finding a beer for the evening may be a challenge! But have spied a pub on the other side of the road – while I never envisaged going to a pub in a foreign country, talking to no one, we will see how strong the lure is when I leave the hospital!

Goodbye central Berlin and our battles with public transport to get to Russell’s Hospital each day.

George and I ubered to my new cheap and not that cheerful hotel to leave the bags before spending the morning with Russ. I am now only a five minute walk away….

As in all hospitals in weekends it’s kinda lacking it’s usual business and as Russ is feeling better, with oxygen, we all took a walk outside and sat in the gardens.

George needed to stretch out and made the most of the warmer day….already 25 degrees.

Sue finally getting to eat, and george snapped the cute couples photograph! Russ is wearing his house shoes ( supplied by hospital as I keep forgetting to bring his jandals)

Russ’s lunch came – soup with a sausage! He said it was really nice.

We hung out until nearly 2pm, and as George was hungry and catching a bus to the airport at 2.30, we left Russ for a nap.

I was now able to check in to my room…and the promised ground floor room was 3rd floor, no air conditioning, no fridge (chucked out my cheese and ham) – no jug/cup/tea or coffee and no shower soap. Just a room with a bed! When I asked if there was somewhere I could make a coffee, the receptionist told me McDonalds (a mile away)…that’ll look good in my jammies at 7am! She did say I could have hot water, and then I had to “moo” at her so she knew I was asking about milk! George looked horrified and I was very politely told No – I could have hot water.

I walked George to the bus stop, (he is still at the airport three hours later as the plane is delayed) and returned to my 3rd floor empty room! By now the temperature was around 30 degrees, so I lay sweating like a ripening tomato in a glass hothouse for an hour.

Decided I better go in search of a snack for dinner and a drink, before coming back to Russ, we will go outside again soon, then I’ll race to my new sleeping place, and drink my two beers quickly (before they get too hot) and see what other interesting conversations I can strike up with the receptionist!

Decided to go straight to Riss this morning….but again best laid plans of mice and men!

Half way there – train transfer George and I leapt in the 2nd train for the final leg….an announcement in German and everyone got off the train! Hello, I looked around for an English speaking person to see what was going on, a multicultural society (hard choice) and after about five minutes asked the man next to me. Evidently there was police action at the next station and no one was allowed through.

Ok – so we went above ground and found the tedious 171 bus that headed to the hospital… very crowded as everyone had the same idea!

Instead of a 10 minute train ride, we had a very packed bus ride for an hour!

Coffee and snack time as the worms were biting and finally at the hospital with Russ by 10am (we had left at 8am and should have been there by 9)

Russ had had a busy morning with scans and blood tests and breakfast!

We stayed and talked to the doctor and more tests on Monday (these guys are good!)

Then about 2 we left to pack up ready for me to move close to Russ tomorrow and George heading to Greece.

We decided to find a local strip mall, toilet and op shop on the way home and had a very pleasant hour chilling in a local neighbourhood.

It was then back on the train and arriving at our area for the last time…,

Exiting the underground in our boho, hip, tagged German multicultural station for the last time.

We dropped our op shop purchases home and headed to a garden bar we had been eyeing up for the last few days.

The bus stop beer stop!

And Sue looking very relaxed with a dreadful tasting beer in hand! Please excuse the very unladylike pose 😦

We could have eaten here, but beers were dear and we had one last chance to visit our local Chinese shop

So here we are again! The best Chinese we have had!

And in our hood, apart from all the graffiti, that we are now oblivious to, this artwork on the building across the road….denoting the Berlin multicultural society that we are living in!

Tomorrow George leaves us for his boys trip and I move to my new abode only a five minute walk from Russ…no plans and plans cancelled but that’s what you get for wandering!

Today the shirts, summer dresses and colour appeared on the streets of Berlin.

George and I set of for the morning excursion, sadly a little later which allowed our selected tourist attraction to be very crowded on arrival

The three heads of government at the fall of the wall – Bush, Kohl and Gorbatschow…

Checkpoint Charlie, one of the infamous entrance gates to West Berlin, when the wall was up, under the British, American and French rule.

€3.00 to take a photo with your own phone! We avoided the trap and zoomed in in the gatehouse from a respectable distance.

In the middle of the street this sign and a very unimpressive little wooden building remains for the world to visit.

This photo taken from a wall shows what it was really like to pass from East to west.

A small piece of the wall still standing outside a souvenir shop where we bought a T’shirt for Russ!

Being continuously caught in walking tours we raced past some interesting art, George getting flustered setting a blistering pace to keep ahead…

We were close to the other big attractions on the ‘must see’ Berlin itinerary.

The Jewish memorial, from across the road, we had had our up close and personal with this sad story in Warsaw and felt a walk by was all we could manage today.

The Brandenburg Gate, 18th Century monument that marked the route from Berlin to Brandenburg.

The Reichstag building, which housed the German government up until the end of WWII.

Hot, bothered,thirsty and Hungry, it was time to go underground and train it to Russell, who had also had a busy morning with walking tests, physio and lying in his peaceful hospital bed!

He is doing Ok but with more tests scheduled tomorrow (Friday our time) he will be residing there for a few more days.

So, again, while this Northern European trip had all the elements of a once in a lifetime adventure, things have changed! We will not be river cruising on Saturday, and this trip is now cancelled! With a refund, of how much we don’t know, due back as I gave them 48 hours (just)….so the cruise ballot is off (not that I had any takers at such short notice).

I have booked into a very cute hotel for 4 nights from Saturday (breakfast included and cash only payment) The beauty of it is…only 5-10 minutes walk to Russ (with a couple of cafes on the way).

This may be extended as needed we have until the end of the month before we are due to leave Germany!

Russ is getting the best medical attention in the world, and is definitely looking brighter! George is off to Greece on Saturday and I move into the suburbs of Berlin!!

This morning saw the internet down, and after having to do a load of washing by hand in the shower late last night (as washing machine not providing any water and washing with air!), it was time to get out and about. After checking Russ had slept well and been waited on hand and foot at 8am we were out the door, bright and early….destination East Side Art Gallery, the remains of the Berlin Wall.

1.3 kilometres of wall remains from 1989, and has been painted with murals by artists from all over the world.

Images of the wall from both sides, one side with art, the other with graffiti art.

George and JFK…we all know George is not that short!

Some of the images snapped as tours started to roll in..

Bright and colourful

Powerful and…

Touching! Some amazing art in the centre of the city.

And the wall came down…and the people were one.

No wall is complete without an iron door, now laden with lovers locks.

From here, George and I decided to walk to catch a bus to Russ, laden with a list of supplies he wanted, and in search of a coffee and snack before spending the day at the hospital.

A bridge to cross

A view from the other side, still and slightly overcast…promising a much warmer day ahead.

George still hunting for those elusive shoes, a selection hanging from the rafters of the covered bridge!

It was all eyes on the roads as bikes and two wheeled machines, roared past us, at us and barely around us..quite stressful!

Finally a couple of kilometres out of the city, shopping done for Russ, we found the perfect resting place to breakfast. I might add all done by 9.30am!

Building murals, and graffiti yet again a feature of our journey, we duly caught the bus and arrived at the hospital around 11am, just in time to move Russ from his private en-suite room to a shared room, which is still private as no roommate has appeared all day.

We chatted for a couple of hours, Russ ate his carrot soup (that’s what you get for telling them you want vegetarian meals) and the team of specialists are working hard at getting Russ back on his feet… More tests tomorrow and decision day as to whether we can get on our river cruise on Saturday!

If not, we can gift to a lucky couple for a mere €50 euros each…..let me know if you are in Berlin and want to go into the ballot if we can’t make it!

We left Russ for a couple of hours and went for a walk, then back to the hospital for the afternoon. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the last couple of days…Russ is doing good and very positive we will carry on!

Life throws us curveballs – and Russ has had a difficult few days with his breathing – enough is enough, with the help of our Airbnb host we found the name of the hospital to go to.

Only a short Uber ride away. No long wait and with the ease of our Maltese ID and emergency medical cards, we were in the Triage within 30 minutes. The doctor was really great, but not a lung specialist, however he got all the necessary tests done; xrays, bloods etc and gave Russ a hit of oxygen and relaxants so that he could entertain everyone with his tractor snores while snoozing.

While all this was happening George and I took a walk –

Along the river, and graffitied streets of the local area, which our taxi driver had told us was very popular with tourists and students.

Evidence of the good times are these beer bottle tops embedded in the tar on the cobbled streets.

Into the town area, and graffiti and…

More graffiti and…

More graffiti, it sort of grows on you and becomes quite a part of the urbanscape.

We stumbled on a Turkish street market, which was fun, full of food aromas, George had to sample some of the local cuisine.

Fabric and sewing accessories were certainly the popular stalls, the Berliners must still sew a lot.

Dogs (waiting patiently) and their owners (and bikes) all out in the crowds.

And not to be forgotten there was more street art…

And truck art…

Even the vehicles are decorated with local talent.

We returned to the hospital after the designed 90 minutes allocated to find out Russ was being transferred to a specialist hospital to be assessed by a pulmonologist….which, to look at the positives, we can have a new set of eyes on the situation…

I travelled with Russ in the ambulance(only one passenger allowed)…miles away from where we are staying…George headed home to collect some supplies for Russ and navigate the train system to Russ’s new abode for the next couple of nights. (drunks and homeless people keeping him entertained)

Never get a bloke to do a women’s job! George duly appeared with all the supplies – undies/socks/t-shirt – but the dirty ones that need washing! Oops.

Russ has just seen a specialist – and she has a plan – in the meantime Russ has his en-suite room with a view and George and I are baching in the slums.

Last night in Warsaw, hot sunny Sunday evening and we followed the crowds heading to the riverfront….

It was buzzing with bars, food stalls, bikes and people relaxing and soaking up the sun.

We enjoyed our last beer in Warsaw at a sandbar on the riverfront – no one we know in this snap but enjoying the evening.

This morning was an early start, and our last cheap taxi ride ($10.00 NZ) to the airport at 6.30am!

Plane on time, but at the other end our checked baggage had gone “missing” and it was over an hour before it appeared (I think it came on the next flight) our new Airbnb host was very patient and Russ a bit weary today, but we finally made it….we are right in the middle of the city, and apartment quite cute, but I will reserve my opinion of the area for now.

Russ was pleased to lie flat, and George and I went off in search of supplies from Lidl….

Back to do a bit of work catch up and then George and I left our resting Russ, again, heading for the mall in search of elusive shoes…for George. It is really chilly here and Birkenstock sandals were swapped out with Russ’s sketchers for the walk.

First chilly impressions, lots of bikes, battling with traffic and locked up everywhere.

A grey old river day, and very noisy trains.

Construction abounds – super large cranes, and big glass buildings going up… lots and lots of graffiti and homeless and quite grubby.

The mall however, for my shopaholic friends, was five stories high, about two blocks and every level had several parts… too weary to look too hard and only looking for shoes for George’s feet – not many size 47’s even here in Germany.

Tomorrow will be a new day and hopefully summer is following us, Russ feels better and we can go exploring!