Overall View
Berlin was a real eye-opener. 26 halls, 3 floors and 10500 exhibitors. Indonesia was the partner country and certainly they made the most of it.
It opened on the 6th March with an opening ceremony that was quite magnificent. The President of the Republic of Indonesia H. E. Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gave a wonderful speech in English and the Chancellor of the Repulic of Germany, Dr Angela Merkel gave the Mayor of Berlin stick for not having their new flagship airport open on time for this prestigious event.
The dancing and singing that followed was truly wonderful. In fact the President of Indonesia wrote a song for his people to sing about saving mother earth.
He reminded us that Indonesia was made up of 17000 islands which is a huge amount of islands to visit. And its a religion friendly country!
Dr. Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Germany; H.E. Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia; Raimund Hosch, President & CEO, Messe Berlin GmbH (l.t.r)
South Africa was in hall 21 along with the rest of Africa and proudly we took up half of th entire hall. Mostly the information was in German and I was truly surprised as I thought it was an international show.
The effort that went into the building of the stands and the general overall look and feel of the show was breathtaking. Emirates Air built a structure that turned ever so slightly and you would only know that because when you exited the stand, you would not find your colleauges as they would be waiting on the other side.
Very disabled friendly, many wall maps wherever you were and it showed where you were stanidng with a big pink sticker. So you could not get lost.
We could learn from this event. Not only was there transport in all aspects but also safety. I look forward to being invited back next year!
Accommodation
Use Airbnb if you are looking for accommodation anywhere in the world
Were you there? Tell us what you think by writing to [email protected]
Everyone needs space and we knew that self catering was the way to go. So we looked on line and Airbnb was definitely the best website. Easy to use, ranked by price, self catering etc, I selected a place for $28. Free Wifi was one of the perks but Bukowe Chausee was not close! It also was up three flights of stairs! But we got fit by walking.
Busses and trains run on time and all the time so there is no need for taxis or car rental in Berlin. The trains run similar to the UK and during the day there are 6 busses and hour and on the weekend after hours there are 4. Trains run at most every 10 minutes and there is a circular line that keeps you on your toes. Last train at 1 first one at 4. So if you are partying, just stay at the club until it closes at 4 and catch a train home! 28 Euro buys you a week's pass. Be warned, the bus drivers and train personnel are MISERABLE! I tried all my German greetings and smiles and to no avail!
Transport