Over the weekend I claimed my birthday present, which was a trip to Berlin. Not only to see the city but to spend time with Paddy (Daisy’s eldest brother) and his girlfriend Kelly.

We took the train from Aarhus, via Hamburg, which took about six hours.

It was a chance to rediscover what is great about train travel. Particularly when compared with flying.

We took far too much stuff, as we discovered when we re-packed to come home, but we didn’t have to worry about putting 100ml liquids into 20cm x 20cm clear plastic bags. Or removing our shoes, belts and loose change before setting off.

Danish trains are big, comfortable and inexpensive. A seat in second class is not only bigger but better designed than anything First Class in the UK. We sat back and watched the Scooby Doo repeatable rural, flat landscape go by.

Hamburg was a pleasant shock on a Thursday afternoon. Big, bustling and very definitely un-Danish.

The first thing that struck us was how multi-cultural it was. And relatively beard-free.

The central station at Berlin was an even greater shock. An absolutely huge, multi-storey station, complete with shops and restaurants. An amazing glass and steel structure that shouts ‘adventure’ when you arrive there.

Paddy and Kelly were great hosts and we crammed so much into our trip, including the Brandenburg Gate, Norman Foster’s Reichstag bubble and bits of the wall. And we had the best food we’d had in six months - Vietnamese, Turkish, Thai and USA.

What an amazing place. Can’t think of a city we’ve warmed to so quickly.

It’s tiring travelling comparatively huge distances across town to do stuff - compared with Aarhus - but there is so much to do and see, it has to be done.