Playing at paparazzi

... so, we're sheltering from a sudden heavy rain shower, standing under the S-Bahn viaduct, and wondering why there are so many police motorcyclists and police cars around.

Our Mr German-friend asks a policeman and, the next thing I know, I'm click-clicking away to capture this far from brilliant, but of the moment, picture of a car carrying the Crown Prince of Japan, who's just visited the Pergamon museum. Mrs German-friend gives him a wave and, looking straight at her, he waves back.

All apart from that unexpected turn of events, we've had a great day, visiting the Alte Nationale Gallery - including wonderful paintings by Casper David Friedrich, one of my favourite romantic painters. Most were new to me; a couple I recognised from seeing reproductions.

Wandered around parts of East Berlin that are still under renovation and offer depressing glimpses of what that side of the city was like before The Wall came down.

More tasty German food inside us and Austrian cooking this evening. Even tireder feet than yesterday, but there is just sooo much to see, and tomorrow is our last day! Can't believe how quickly the time's going.

Oh, and two other cars that vied for blip-fame today were a fantastic new Bentley - absolute state-of-the-art model - that we looked at in a huge car show room in the middle of Berlin, and a car standing upside down on the steps of the old Postfuhramt building (former post distribution centre, where they also used to keep the horses to pull the post carts). The building is now used for exhibitions. Not sure what the car's significance was, but it was another interesting sight as we moseyed around. (Of course, it might just have been an example of the worst parking ever?!)

Enough blithering on - I'm ready to fall into bed!