Saturday 9th September 2023

Woke around 0800. Got up and made tea. Set about trying to use up the contents of the fridge…cooked a 3 egg omelette with mushrooms, peppers, and Parmesan cheese. Made a tuna mayo sandwich to take to the airport for lunch. Finished packing, ironed a shirt, and watered the plants before walking to Finsbury Park in the noonday heat…popped in to M&S to buy bottled water, then headed down to the tube. Got to T5 at Heathrow in good time…it was very hot on the tube train. 

Sat in the concourse and ate my sandwich then headed through security. Wandered round the shops, killing time. The flight was delayed by 45 minutes or so, but we eventually got on board and taxied to the queue of planes backing up on the runway. Uneventful flight…I read a little but kept nodding off. Berlin Brandenburg airport is clean and modern. Got through immigration and found my way down to the S-bahn platform…a €4 ticket gets me into the city centre. Nice roomy train with good air conditioning. Had to change at Warschauerstrasse to pick up the U-bahn…got caught up in huge crowds…not sure whether they were heading for an event, or from it…I think Germany were playing Japan this evening, funnily enough. Got the U3 line and got off at Prinzenstrasse and walked to the Yard hotel, a small modern boutique affair in Kreuzberg. Too weary to go find something to eat…besides it was gone 2130! Went for an early night…Aki was attending a gala dinner hosted by the Berlin Rowing Club…I’ll go meet her in Potsdam tomorrow…