It was still very dark in Norfolk when I set off on Tuesday to reach Berlin by mid-morning. As this was a short trip, I was travelling light. With just a rucksack on my back and my passport in my pocket, I felt strangely free and excited. I’m very lucky to have a job like this.
It didn’t take long, though, before my high spirits were taken down a peg or two. It quickly turned out to be one of those mornings despite the allure of international travel. Nonetheless, at the end of the journey lay a day in the German capital that would lead me through one of its most beautiful train stations and towards a challenging conversation about Berlin’s past and my own.