While I was browsing trough a (small) week’s worth of tweeting, I realize what an amazing experience this has been for me. Sure, there are areas where the Expo could use some improvement, but forgive me if I don’t focus on that part. I was like a little kid in a toy shop: a lot of interesting stuff was being told and I’ve met tons of wonderful people. I was attending a web-related conference! Abroad! Yes, that’s a big deal, at least to me it is.

I left for Berlin with the fear of not knowing what to do every evening but feel homesick. Or hang at the hotel bar on my own, getting insanely drunk (which would’ve been the case since a gin&tonic was only €4). After all, I only knew one person that would be there. But after just a few hours on day 1 it was clear I had nothing to fear. It became a week where I didn’t even find the time to write up some blogposts.

Since the expo started quite early on tuesday, I decided to head for Berlin mondaymorning. This gave me an extra day to discover the city itself. As it turned out, I could’ve used a couple of more days since I still don’t feel like I “get” the city. It has many faces and if we take a look at history, this is not surprising.

One of the places to visit is the Reichstag. The queue of people wanting to see the old seat of the German parliament was however much to long so I decided to sit down on the grass in front of the building to check the map where to go next. Appearantly, by doing that, I was blocking a Swiss artist.

A lot of people and journalists were watching Enrico Centonze as he was planting silver and gold flags in front of the Reichstag. Flags that could hold people warm since they were made of thermal blankets. Indeed, there was some kind of political/economic reasoning behind the art installation. Does it show?

You can find more pictures of my short day in Berlin on Flickr. The city left a series of impressions and it’s difficult to put a label on it. A cold city (lots of grey and concrete) with very wide streets that come to life  at night, giving a lightshow. I don’t know this city yet, I need more time. On a tourist folder I got in the hotel it says that it’s constantly changing, evolving. Perhaps I should stop trying to put my finger on it.

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