I placed my hand on the enormous stone pillar and wondered just what history these structures had born witness to…

When I was born, “The Wall” was already 10 years old. As I sat drinking coffee in a Berlin cafe, it was almost surreal to imagine that during my lifetime The Berlin Wall had existed, been lethally enforced and had tumbled, reuniting two halves of one of the most interesting, vibrant and progressive cities in Europe.

I’ve always had an affinity with Germany - I was born in a British Forces hospital in Rinteln. I only lived there for a few years of my early life but still, Germany calls to me. I’ve photographed bobsleigh and skeleton racing in Winterberg - I have a photographer friend who lives and works in Munich, and Cologne holds a huge photography trade show and conference - Photokina - that I’ve attended a few times.

In November last year, I had the perfect opportunity to visit Germany again, this time Berlin, an iconic city I’d never managed to visit before. Albert Watson, the world renowned photographer, was to give a gallery talk and book signing at Camera Work gallery on Kantstrasse. If you're an aficionado of photographic artwork, this is a must-visit venue. Its list of past, present and future exhibitions is a veritable who’s who of photographic royalty. But before the talk, I had exploring to do…

My hotel was just around the corner from the gallery and a short walk from Savignyplatz S Bahn station. Like most great cities in the world, Berlin’s public transport system is the best way to get to all the major sites. Conveniently you can buy a multi day pass on arrival at Schonefeld Airport. Once you’ve bought your ticket, you’ll need to get it validated by one of the little (usually) orange/red boxes as you approach your platform. Insert the ticket and once the machine has date stamped it you’re good to go on your travels. It just needs one validation for the entirety of its duration. Keep your ticket on you at all times though as inspections are frequent.

As my flight had arrived late morning I had plenty of time to get the photo-themed weekend started with a visit to the photography museum on Jebenstrasse 2. Not only does the museum have many exhibitions throughout the year, but it also holds a permanent collection of works and personal effects from Helmut Newton. I thoroughly enjoyed the different exhibitions and was quite proud of myself for resisting the temptation to spend significant amounts at the fantastic book store in the museum. I only had limited luggage space after-all and I was attending a book signing the following day…

As you head back into the centre by train you can’t miss one structure on the city skyline. Paris has the Eiffel Tower and London the Shard, whilst Berlin has the TV tower, or Fernsehturm. It’s a 368m needle-like structure with a silver ball about three quarters of the way up. Commissioned by the East German government in the 1950’s, the tower was built as a transmitter for radio and TV programmes. It was also a show of strength and technological ingenuity of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or more commonly, East Germany). The design of the tower reflected the theme of the era- the space race; the silver ball representing the Soviet satellite, Sputnik.

Buying a ticket at ground level and reserving a table, I travelled in the elevator up 207m to the Sphere Restaurant for late lunch / early dinner. If you're not hungry, there’s a viewing platform just below the restaurant, again, just buy your entry ticket at ground level and turn up at your allocated time-slot.

The Sphere Restaurant has an oddly satisfying ambiance. Its decor is a little stuck in the past, but considering when and why this tower was built, it's part of the charm. It’s not 1950’s / 60’s decor (unfortunately - how groovy would that be!) but it’s also not hipster cool, bang up to date pretentious. It’s a bit like a motorway service station, but with good, not-overpriced food, excellent beer, good mannered table service and views of the city that words couldn't do justice to. Oh and did I mention it’s a revolving restaurant! Yes, you sit at your table (book a window seat for the views and camera opportunities) and the city panorama comes round to you. If you’re canny, you’ll book around sunset and get to watch as the city has a golden blanket laid across before the city lights up for night time.

As I had a busy day ahead (and maybe just partly because I’d got a taste for German beer again), I decided it was time to head back to the hotel for a quick visit to the bar before bed. The well documented Berlin nightlife would just have to wait for another visit.

If you’ve ever stopped in chain hotels, you’ll notice that they often have a ‘busyness’ indicator for the breakfast serving times. You’ll usually see me during the early ‘quiet’ time waiting with my plate as the first batch of scrambled eggs are being placed on the warmers. When you’re in an amazing city with so much to see and so little time to see everything, lie-ins can wait.

Early morning, the trains are almost empty and there’s no panic if you need to stop and check directions or routes. Most good guide books have public transport maps included in them, but if I’m travelling in a modern city, an online Map on my phone is the simplest way to plan a route whether walking, driving or using public transport. Then it’s just a case of checking which platforms or stops I need for my route.

In a matter of just 20 minutes, I’d travelled from my hotel and was now standing almost alone in front of one of the most photographed monuments in the world. Brandenburger Tor - or The Brandenburg Gate - has witnessed both greatness and horror in equal measures. The Brandenburg Gate was completed in 1791, commissioned by Prussian King Friedrich Willhelm II as a symbol of peace. In 1806, Napoleon kidnapped Eirene, the goddess of peace who pilots the four horse chariot atop the gate. In 1815, she was returned to Berlin, renamed Victoria (goddess of victory) and given a new addition of the iron cross, wreath and Prussian eagle. In 1961 as construction began on the wall, The Brandenburg Gate was trapped in East Germany where it came to epitomise division. This continued as the Cold War stretched on for 28 years until finally the fall of the Berlin Wall happened in November 1989, when it once again became an emblem for peace and unification.

It’s one of those places in the world where you can place your hand on it and feel the history. I love that and I don’t care if I look weird standing there touching a piece of stone. To me, the ability to physically interact with our history is one of life’s special privileges and maybe more of us should make the effort to look a bit weird.

A short stroll from the Brandenburg Gate you reach the Reichstag. Home of the German parliament since 1999, this imposing building has been burned, bombed and rebuilt. British architect Baron Norman Foster designed the rebuild as we see it today and topped his design off with the iconic glass dome that visitors can walk around and take in the city views from the top. Visitors need to book ahead to tour the Reichstag and you will need to go through physical security checks before entry. On the front of the building above the six Corinthian columns are the words Dem Deutschen Volke, (To the German People). The bronze letters were added in 1916 and were cast from two French canons captured during the Napoleonic wars of 1813-15.

Walking across the sprawling lawns in front of the Reichstag and you’ll come to the German Chancellery, or Bundeskanzleramt, the modern executive offices of the head of the German Government. The building is right next to the Spree river and some of the nicest views of the building are from the river bridge side. Cross the river and you’re a stones throw from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Berlin’s central station. Before you get to the station, you can’t miss Cube Berlin. A glass fronted building in the shape of a cube where the architect has designed the frontage with sharp angular creases. I don’t know how they've managed it; I was mesmerised by its architectural brilliance. After a bit of shopping among the multitude of stores within the train station, it was time for me to head back to the hotel for a freshen up before an evening at Camera Work gallery.

Meeting your hero is always a risky proposition. We, as fans, followers and admirers, are given a glimpse into someone's life that is often a very edited version of their reality. Happily, meeting and listening to one of my photographic heroes, Albert Watson, was as gratifying and memorable as I could have hoped for.

If you don’t think you know Albert Watson, I guarantee you’ll have seen his images at some point in your life. This Scotsman moved to America in 1970 and shortly after landed his first Vogue cover. To date, he’s achieved more than 100 Vogue covers, plus numerous iconic images for Rolling Stone, Time magazine, Harpers etc. along with dozens of movie posters such as Kill Bill and Memoirs of a Geisha. I’m not kidding when I say Albert is considered a living legend in the photographic world.

It was truly enchanting to listen first hand to the stories about some of his most famous images, plus seeing many of them in glorious print while their creator was talking about them.

The evening with Albert Watson ended with a book signing and I’m now the proud owner of a signed copy of UFO to go alongside my copy of Alberts book, Maroc. Luckily, I didn’t go over my baggage allowance with the book, but it was close, very close…

That evening at the hotel bar (did I mention I quite like German beer?), I didn’t stop grinning while I enjoyed some food and drink before another early night (think big kid at Christmas). My flight home was the following evening and so I was able to get up early again and do some more exploring.

When the Berlin Wall was constructed, it didn’t, as you might imagine, just cut the city in two in a nice straight line. The wall meandered around a bit, which not only caused much human misery and heartache, but it also caused many logistical inconveniences. This included the West German operated U-Bahn, or underground train system. As the train lines had been in place many years before the bisection of Berlin, it’ll come as no surprise that some stations were off limits. Certain lines ran through stations that were now part of East Germany and so could not stop. These ‘ghost stations’ as they became known were patrolled by armed border guards to ensure no trains stopped there and no East Germans tried to access the tunnels.

One such ghost station that is once again in use is Potsdamer Platz. There are some amazing historic photographic images on the walls of the station showing it as a no go zone during the cold war. It’s also the ideal stop if you want to visit remnants of the wall itself. One of the side streets near Potsdamer Platz is Erna-Berger-Strasse where an original watch tower still stands menacingly, with its panoramic windows, searchlight and weapons loopholes. Unfortunately I was there too early in the morning, but from 11am, for a small fee you can actually climb up the ladder and experience what it was like to be one of the two border patrol guards who would man the tower for 8 hour shifts. I stood there alone in the small street and believe me, with no-one else around, it is an eerie and humbling experience.

The Berlin Wall was over 87 miles long and now only a fraction remains, preserved for historical purpose and a reminder of a time no one should wish for again. Around Berlin there are sections of the wall placed with historical images, facts and figures. Along Niederkirchnerstrasse, you’ll find a large portion of the wall preserved by the Topography of Terrors, a museum documenting the horrors of the Nazis. The museum is on the site where, during the Third Reich, the headquarters of the Secret State Police, the SS and the Reich Security Main Office were located. Interestingly, and maybe slightly less macabre, if you look down at your feet around the route of the wall, you’ll find a double row of cobblestones that track through the whole city. Discrete but poignant.

After slowly making my way down Niederkirchnerstrasse, I reached one of Berlin’s most visited tourist attractions. Now a slightly gaudy photo opportunity, Checkpoint Charlie used to be one of a very few points along the wall route that permitted visits to the other side, as long as all your documents were in order. Checkpoint Charlie was the main route used for diplomatic visits, but all temporary crossovers were strictly monitored and policed.

All too soon, my time in this fascinating city was over. I loved Berlin and I will absolutely visit again. There are so many sights I didn’t manage to see and one of the frustrating parts about travelling on the train system was seeing so many other amazing places that I just couldn't fit into my schedule. So yes, I will be back. Ich bin ein Berliner “I am a doughnut”.*

*This is actually an urban myth. President John F Kennedy said the words “Ich bin ein Berliner” in a speech in Berlin, 1963. The myth goes that the crowd of 120’000 laughed when he spoke the words, because a Berliner is also a type of doughnut. The fact is that the crowd cheered at his proclamation, they laughed when he thanked his interpreter for translating his German.