Julie, I mean, Claudia, Your Cruise Director

One of the things about traveling to an "exotic" locale is that people want to come visit you, so for the past week I've been playing tour guide to a friend of mine.   Since she arrived early in the morning on an overnight flight from New York, we knew we had our work cut out to keep her awake to help mitigate any jet lag.  So off we went on a boat trip along the Spree.  Yes, I've embraced the tourist identity (well, sort of).

But we're not much for taking photos of historical buildings although we did snap a few of the Berliner Dom (Cathedral).

As well as a little scenery.

However, it was the second half of the tour, going deeper into the former East, that was far more interesting to us. 

East Side Gallery

Loved the older building sandwiched between newer ones.

Unfortunately, the tour narrative said nothing about the sights we found the most compelling - the complex squatter communities as well as the colourful graffitti.

Yeah, they probably meant me, too.

All in all, a beautiful day on the river Spree!