Berlin. The most symbolic aspect of the Cold War as a place where East met West with a wall that kept the population apart. I first visited this city sixteen years ago with James, a friend from University who I've seen much of the world with. It was a short trip, but we saw the key sights and moved on to several more European cities. Then four years ago, in the shadow of the pandemic, I visited for a second time, this time going solo. I ran the Berlin Marathon, part of the World Marathon Majors race series, at the start of a two week long journey around the country by train. I thought I was done there, but then myself and Carmen started our journey to completing the Super Half Marathons, and the Generali Berlin Half Marathon was the next one in our sights.

Starting the year with the Berlin Half Marathon would fit fairly nicely into our individual marathon training plans, with me running in Manchester, and Carmen running in London on the same day. It would slot in just after the peak of our training. I would normally plan a marathon paced half marathon for that point in training, so I'd just need to make sure I don't overdo it.

Due to the popularity of Berlin as a new Super Half that many would be wanting to complete their own Super Half journey, we had to book this almost a year in advance. I booked the accommodation near Tiergarten at the same time, but had to wait a while before flights would be available. Over the last few years I've mostly stayed in AirBNBs when travelling, but here the best options were hotels. It meant we'd be eating out each night, so would need to plan ahead and book somewhere to eat the night before the race. One place I had in mind was near Hackescher Markt as I'd eaten there a few years previous. It wasn't until much later that I realised the hotel I'd booked for this time was on the same road as where I'd stayed during my first trip, and there are numerous restaurants in the area that may be better suited. I reserved a table at MOLOS restaurant for the night before the race as it'd only be a short walk for us.

Flights not yet being available initially gave me an unusual opportunity to try and book the flights before there was demand for the flights, so I could hopefully get them at the best possible price. As we would be flying from London, there was actually very little choice: Ryanair from Stansted, or British Airways from either Heathrow or London City. My preference here was London City as it wouldn’t require paying for parking or taking an Uber. It's a quiet airport too, so it can be less stressful to use.

Sightseeing would be down to whatever Carmen wanted to see - I'd seen everything I wanted to already, and would be able to guide her to whatever she wanted. For me, photography-wise, it would be a chance to be a little more experimental with my photographs. I had a few ideas of places to suggest, some of which I felt would be a must-see. I also recommended a dessert place we'd have to try out at least once. It would also be very easy to pack for due to it being just a long weekend, and would only need a minimal amount of camera equipment.