Waking up to the cooing of this Wood Pigeon just outside our window began another perfect day in Berlin. Made to measure weather, two great museums, one mega tourist stop, great food, lots of walking…you get the picture.

A highlight for me was “Urban Nation” a graffiti museum with a free exhibition. This was particularly poignant for me as I have spent many hours removing graffiti from my own city. This exhibit shows me how to up my game of graffiti removal.

I came away from this exhibit with a new appreciation for the amazing artistic talent embodied in the hundreds of graffiti artists around the world who often work in breach of the law and under difficult conditions. I was most intrigued by the displays of spray paint can lids and markers all set out to rival a Pantone color display.

Graffiti overload best describes the effect when heading into the washrooms.

Even the sink was cleverly disguised amidst the eye-popping imagery.

If you want to see more graffiti shots you can check out the album HERE.

How many remember “Checkpoint Charlie” from the sixties? My friend Earl described going there in 1966 and crossing through the checkpoint with much difficulty and seeing very harsh living conditions. Cathy and her family also crossed “Checkpoint Charlie” in 1969 and returned with similar stories of hardship. Today all remnants of hardship and warfare are replaced by selfie snapping tourists and a fake boarder crossing manned by actors skilled in the art of separating tourists from their euros.