Madrid-Travel

[goats]

We've spoke before, im well acquainted with Mr Moore lol. He hasn't changed a bit and whilst im a family man now, he'll know all the good spots for sure ....still keeps his nose to the ground

My memory….lol…yeah we have sometime ago….not seen him for a while. There’s talk of a trip over this year……

[jon1959]

Els Quatre Gats still going?

Of course but its definitely for tourists these days, still worth a visit though

Madrid is definitely worth a visit, Valencia isnt that great to be honest, better places up north or down south

Els4Gats used to be amazing - we first went there in the mid/late 80s when it was more locals than foreign tourists.

I still use my 4 Gats beer mug on special occasions!

els 4 gats beer mug.jpg

[Tuerto]

Els4Gats used to be amazing - we first went there in the mid/late 80s when it was more locals than foreign tourists.

I still use my 4 Gats beer mug on special occasions!

els 4 gats beer mug.jpg

Kin'Ell Jon, your pad looks like a traditional Spanish Bar.

[jon1959]

Kin'Ell Jon, your pad looks like a traditional Spanish Bar.

OK, confession time: that is not my pad and not my mug - unfortunately - but I've got a mug just like it in my kitchen (which looks nothing like a late 19th century Catalan bar and restaurant).

Seriously though, if you are ever in Barcelona look in at Els4Gats - just off Las Ramblas.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

OK, confession time: that is not my pad and not my mug - unfortunately - but I've got a mug just like it in my kitchen (which looks nothing like a late 19th century Catalan bar and restaurant).

Seriously though, if you are ever in Barcelona look in at Els4Gats - just off Las Ramblas.

I'll give it a whirl as I'm off that way in July.

[OurManFlint II]

Anyone interested in Barcelona during the Spanish War should do the Nick Lloyd walking tour.

https://thespanishcivilwar.com/

[goats]

OK, confession time: that is not my pad and not my mug - unfortunately - but I've got a mug just like it in my kitchen (which looks nothing like a late 19th century Catalan bar and restaurant).

Seriously though, if you are ever in Barcelona look in at Els4Gats - just off Las Ramblas.

It’s a bit of fun going there, first went 20 years ago….think it’s a bit of a tourist trap nowadays. Better places around for sure

[Des Parrot]

Very much depends on your interests. If the Nazi period is your main interest then Topography of Terror, the Berlin Bunker and a tour of Tempelhof Airport are worth doing. The Holocaust memorial near the Brandenburg Gate is very moving - especially the exhibition underneath.

If it is the Cold War and the wall then the Wall Museum on Bernauer Strasse, the Palace of Tears at Friedrichstrasse Station - this was one of the few places where East Germans could cross in West Germany and you can still see the doors they used to go through. The East Side Gallery is a bit disappointing. It is at one of the few remaining bits of wall left and has the famous painting of Honecker and Brezhnev kissing. Much of where the wall stood is marked by a line of cobbles in the road/pavement - easily seen in front of the Brandenburg Gate and down to Potsdamer Platz. The DDR museum is small, but excellent and shows life as it was in East Germany until the wall came down - it was a planned economy without a real plan. The Checkpoint Charlie museum is a commercial one and pretty good. Checkpoint Charlie itself is a bit disappointing, because it is not the original building.

If you are into technology the German Technical Museum is brilliant. For general German history the national museum is excellent as are all the museums on Museum Island. If you are into Egyptology then the famous bust of Nefertiti is in the Neus museum.

Just wandering round Berlin is good as well - such as walking from the Brandenburg Gate along Unter den Linden to AlexanderPlatz. The city itself is enormous and many of the sites are quite a long way apart. However the public transport is brilliant. One thing that is interesting is that the trams are only in what was old East Berlin. West Berlin ripped them all up. The centre of what was West Berlin is mainly along the Ku'Damm which is a couple of miles from the Brandenburg Gate. Most of the best things to see are in what was East Berlin.

It’s just wow. Helped by the stunning weather. Started with the compulsory open top bus tour, then have gone back to see individual sights. 24 hours in, 48 to go. Lap 2 tomorrow. Large beers, large portions, large prices.

Walked into an Irish pub (for a cool drink you understand) by check point Charlie and was served by a guy from Cardiff!

[tforturton]

Very much depends on your interests. If the Nazi period is your main interest then Topography of Terror, the Berlin Bunker and a tour of Tempelhof Airport are worth doing. The Holocaust memorial near the Brandenburg Gate is very moving - especially the exhibition underneath.

If it is the Cold War and the wall then the Wall Museum on Bernauer Strasse, the Palace of Tears at Friedrichstrasse Station - this was one of the few places where East Germans could cross in West Germany and you can still see the doors they used to go through. The East Side Gallery is a bit disappointing. It is at one of the few remaining bits of wall left and has the famous painting of Honecker and Brezhnev kissing. Much of where the wall stood is marked by a line of cobbles in the road/pavement - easily seen in front of the Brandenburg Gate and down to Potsdamer Platz. The DDR museum is small, but excellent and shows life as it was in East Germany until the wall came down - it was a planned economy without a real plan. The Checkpoint Charlie museum is a commercial one and pretty good. Checkpoint Charlie itself is a bit disappointing, because it is not the original building.

If you are into technology the German Technical Museum is brilliant. For general German history the national museum is excellent as are all the museums on Museum Island. If you are into Egyptology then the famous bust of Nefertiti is in the Neus museum.

Just wandering round Berlin is good as well - such as walking from the Brandenburg Gate along Unter den Linden to AlexanderPlatz. The city itself is enormous and many of the sites are quite a long way apart. However the public transport is brilliant. One thing that is interesting is that the trams are only in what was old East Berlin. West Berlin ripped them all up. The centre of what was West Berlin is mainly along the Ku'Damm which is a couple of miles from the Brandenburg Gate. Most of the best things to see are in what was East Berlin.

Also do the Stasi Prison museum (Hohenschonhausen - out in the suburbs), visit the Reichstag (make sure you go up into the dome), see Marx and Engels in the park, go up the TV Tower, and check out the Ramones Museum (really). And don't forget the site of the Fuhrer Bunker (now a car park). I loved Berlin - we were there for a week, and it wasn't long enough.

[Des Parrot]

To counter all of the superb things about Berlin.

The negatives. The whole place is a building site, too many roadworks, too many traffic lights, resulting in massive traffic jams, graffiti everywhere, loads of litter and heaving with tourists.

On balance the positives outweigh the negatives thousand to one.