Fiona Davidson

Fiona is from Dunfermline and hopes to graduate in 2010 with an LLB (Hons) Scots Law Dual Qualifying in English Law.

"In January I went to Berlin.  Last May I went to Dublin, and Paris in the January.  2008 saw me visit Barcelona, Stockholm and Alicante all before June. 

No, I'm not rich.  Yes, I'm a student.  So how can I afford to go away so often? Answer: Ryanair. 

It's official: I'm addicted to ryanair.com, and who can blame me?  I paid £10 return to fly to Stockholm.  Couple that with a cheap(ish) hotel for two nights, a wee bit of spending money and hey! presto, you have yourself a fine mini-break!  Granted, some of the locales Ryanair fly to aren't the most appealing, or indeed are the airports occasionally anywhere near the "destination" (cue 2 hour bus journey), but come one people, we're students here.  Beggars cannot be choosers.

Anyway, back to Berlin.  It wins the 'coldest-place-ever-visited' prize HANDS DOWN.  Genuinely freezing.  However, despite walking around wearing the entire contents of our suitcases, Berlin was quite lovely.  My previous experience of Germany consisted of a couple of days in Munich, which I adored (if you can, go in summer and marvel at people surfing in the park).  Berlin was entirely different.  Less German, you could say.  As opposed to quaint, Germanic buildings, the centre was dominated by more grey, corporate-looking buildings; the most prominent of these being the TV Tower – its cherry on top being the rotating restaurant (perfect for a spot of tea and cake to heat you up). 

If museums and art are your thing, Berlin is the place for you.    The UNESCO World Heritage Site, Museum Island, provides the cultural hotspot with  five impressive museums to peruse.  I wish I could pretend to be the cultured being I aspire to be, however, Prussian museums just don't do it for me.  Instead, much fun can be had doing what we students do best – drinking.  Berlin's nightclubs are world-renowned for electro music, however, their impossibly strict door policies coupled with sub-zero temperatures kept us firmly in quaint little bars for the duration.  A word of advice though; be prepared to air your clothes after a night out. Berlin appears to impose no smoking ban in its bars and clubs, and when practically every Berliner chain smokes, it can be an unpleasant experience for the Brit acclimatised to a complete smoking ban. 

Nevertheless, I suppose this can be forgiven when plastic cups are distributed at closing time – a little cup of wine for the subway home takes the edge off that chill a bit. 

Lastly, make sure you avoid travelling when Britain grounds to a complete standstill during a bit of a cold snap.  As much as I enjoyed Berlin, if I see the inside of Schonefeld Airport again in my life, it'll be too soon.  A 48 hour delay is quite enough, thank you.