Berlin: Sausages, potato and surreal paintings

Our first day of real sightseeing. It started very touristy - we spend morning doing what possibly every tourist does when in Berlin:

We visited Reichstag - the Parliament building;

We walked where the Wall used to stand and paid tribute to those who died trying to cross it from the Eastern side - some of them have names engraved on white crosses at the site where they died;

We had obligatory wurst und kartoffel - sausage and potato - and this fried potato with onion and bacon bits is quickly becoming Meg's new favorite, judging how she never leaves a crumb for me to finish, as she does with any other style potato.

But then we moved off the beaten path and into the part of town called Scheunenviertel. It's a modern artists' part of town, or so claims the Lonely Planet guide book. What was impressive about this part was the discovery of numerous Hofes - courtyards, often interconnected, somewhat difficult to find from the street, but once you're through the right passage, it appears in the maze of parks, shops, cafes, playgrounds, or simply gardens.

This is one of the most famous courtyards - Hackesche Hofe, which consists of eight interconnected courtyards. The facades of this cafe-yard are more elaborate than on the street side. No wonder it's such a magnet for tourists and locals alike.

Finally, we visited a building for which one has to summon certain amount of courage. It's called Kunsthaus Tacheles, and it's slated for demolition. In the meantime it's taken over by street artists, who create and exhibit their art in dilapidated ruinous rooms. All the walls are literally covered with graffiti, and look positively scary.

We fought the urge to turn away and run, and ended up at the top floor where an artist Alex Rodin had an exhibition of paintings. For 1 euro we were allowed to photograph his extremely intricate and breathtaking work.

It left us wondering whether an artist of such talent is only there to lend his support to the campaign to save the building, or whether he really works there.