Berlin
Two weeks ago I went to Berlin for a long weekend. Mostly tourism but also a little business. I stayed with an old acquaintance and native Berliner, who showed me around the non-touristy parts of Berlin and provided some historical context (as well as anecdotes about the difficulties of doing civil engineering contracting with the city government).
Berlin is great: things cost half as much as Dublin, and there’s a wider, better selection of food. The trick to the city is finding your way around. Signage is generally good but lacking at a few critical junctures. It’s long been an edgy place, so I found the fashion less conventional than in Dublin (read: less purple).
Speaking of purple, I hear purple is big these days in Russia too. Will see for myself when I go in a week (mostly business but also a bit of tourism).
See a few photos of Berlin from this trip, which might be viewed in combination with my photos from a few years ago.