DAY 6: SATURDAY 19/01/13

Up in the air about flight delays home, our length of time left in Berlin looked like it was going to be extended on the morning of our last day. Checked out by 10, we deposited our suitcases in a room at the hostel, which we were able to collect later on before the flight. We made the most of our last breakfast, which had been surprisingly generous for a hostel, with a large and varied spread even including chocolate waffles.

There were a couple of areas we still wanted to visit, and with our last few hours on Saturday we ticked off our list. Highlights are as follows:

A great space used for arts, exhibitions and installations

Nike's latest Air trainer in a concept store. There was no access inside, this is a window display at its finest.

'Do You Read Me' - a brilliant shop that stocks every magazine imaginable. Very inspiring and certainly worth a visit.

Graffiti with a twist: These figures seem to be stuck onto some sort of paper on the wall.

A restaurant boasting a slight alternative meaning to 'al fresco dining'.

'R.S.V.P.' - a beautifully simple stationary shop, featuring items almost as ornaments on their shelves.

Interesting exterior to a vintage shop.

No trip to Berlin is complete without a visit to Checkpoint Charlie.

Part of the Berlin wall.

Running out of time, with sandwiches for the airport stuffed in our bags, we returned to the hostel to pick up our luggage and catch the coach to the airport, still unsure of what time we would actually be flying. The snowfall in England meant Heathrow was struggling and hundreds of flights were cancelled. Berlin airport is tiny, so we were praying we'd be on the flight as soon as possible. Thankfully we swiftly proceeded only half an hour later than scheduled, landing in an equally snowy and below freezing London.

As exhausted as we were, Berlin had left us buzzing, visually stimulated and motivated. Reality hit though as Nottingham came into view, and our looming deadlines seemed to suddenly make themselves heard.
Oh well, work hard, play hard I suppose....

DAY 4: THURSDAY 17/01/13

We began Thursday with a visit to Bright. An urban streetwear tradeshow, it offered something a little bit different compared to the others we had seen in the previous days. Based in the centre of the city in a run down building with a layout that reminded us of a really old school, Bright oozed coolness.

The bar/food area inside Bright. A real handcrafted feel.

An incredible face chiseled into the brick wall.

Evidence of more handcrafted decoration along the stair banister.

Helping to retain the abandoned feel of the venue.

Free barbershop.

Smoking area covered with free magazines. We could hardly walk for the amount of heavy magazines we were carrying.

After Bright, we decided to squeeze in a visit to Show&Order. Based in a huge warehouse, it was disappointing how the actual tradeshow didn't seem to match the impressiveness of the venue. Ironically we were discussing how amazing the warehouse would be as a party venue, only to discover upon leaving that it was infact Tresor nightclub. 

A twisting floating cascade of letters spelling out Show&Order.

The clothing seemed to target the more mature customer, and once again there was less of an opportunity to talk one on one with brands. The styles reminded us of something that would be stocked in country town boutiques, and really did just feel a little bit stale after the buzzing atmosphere and stylishness of the previous tradeshows.

The second half of Thursday entailed a visit to the Brandenburg Gate. The freezing temperatures only allowed us to get a quick picture before retreating to a coffee shop to warm up.

After a quick browse in a couple of the main shops, we rambled back towards Alexander Platz. This was the first time during the trip that we'd had the chance to explore on foot without having the pressure to get to a show on time. We discovered a great little area full of restaurants and finally the orientation of the city seemed to make sense. 

It seemed an appropriate time to pursue our quest for a real pretzel, and we kept a look out for the best looking ones on offer as we wandered home. A particular bakery seemed to offer a good selection, and I went for a cheese and pumpkin seed version.

Appetites staved off, we continued on our walk, however the temperature was beginning to really affect us now, and we were on the look out for a taxi.

A whole shop dedicated to Germany's version of red and green traffic light men. Anyone for a bath sponge?

Becca doing what she does best with one of the many decorated bears that frequent the city.

Feeling rather heavy from all the indulgence over the past few days, we decided against dinner, and instead filled up on some snacks and dips from the nearest Netto. Berlin Fashion Week meant there were plenty of evening events. Vans was celebrating with 3 consecutive nights in a disused bath building, and we were lucky enough to grab some of the last remaining tickets to the final night featuring some amazing live music. After meeting in the hostel bar for an hour, we all headed to the 'House of Vans', receiving a steaming hot cup of jager punch on entry, which really warmed us all up.

We left House of Vans and decided to move onto Tresor - the venue we had visited the very same day as part of Show&Order. Leaving Tresor seemed like an acceptable time to try a currywurst - Berlin's delicacy - featuring a breaded frankfurter sausage covered in spicy curry sauce. Not sure its one to try again, but each to their own and all that.