Today we went to free the balloon. I mean, we went for a ride on a tethered balloon which gives you a great view of Berlin, but because it’s advertised as ‘the world’s largest captive balloon’, the imagination runs wild with all sorts of pictures of protestors standing out the front marching around with placards and yelling ‘Free the balloon! No more balloons in captivity!’ Okay, maybe that was just from lack of oxygen up that high…

The evening consists of our first experience of the famous Berlin nightlife. Somewhere dark in the former east, en route to a gallery opening, I manage to find myself in somewhat urgent need of a bathroom stop and duck into what turned out to be a very dark and smoky, hard-line communist bar - wearing stiletto boots and carrying a gold handbag.

Too busting to hold out, I inch towards the loo with my bag to the wall and a slightly horrified look on my face which I hope is interpreted as ‘They’re factory boots, comrade, steel caps inside…’

The gallery opening itself is more than impressive though. It’s in an apartment complex which had been leased out to various artists who are now holding open-house exhibitions of their work. The wine is flowing, the nibblies aplenty, the dancing in full swing (albeit, only by the under-fives and over-70s), and there is even an ancient bubble machine whirring away in one corner. Oh, and the art is pretty cool too.