Berliner Weisse is my friend

Back in St Oberholz again after one heck of a day. This Berliner Weisse with rhubarb syrup (tastes much better than it sounds) is well-deserved.
Myself and my flatmate had a big day planned. We set off for Alexanderplatz, ogled at the TV Tower for a few minutes, then walked down to Museum Island for a tour of the Berliner Dom. Unfortunately it was closed until 1pm for a service; it was only noon, so we decided we had to time to go down to the Victory Column (which I am also reviewing) and then come back for our tour later.
Little did either of us anticipate just how long a walk through a historical centre can be.
Over two miles later we arrived at the Column. With the temperature settled at a balmy 28 or so degrees, we completed the final mile or so through Berlin's beautiful Tiergarten, or Game Garden in English. Having reached the Column, we explored the museum and climbed the 270-step spiral staircase to the viewing platform. The view at the top was breathtaking under such a blue sky. Before, behind and around us, Berlin was basking in the heat. We took the requisite number of tourist photographs and squeezed our way back down the stairs to begin the walk back. Something was happening in front of the Brandenburg gate. Seating stands had been erected, men were alternately singing and shouting from a large stage, and the smells of chips and curry-wurst floated in the air.
We had a brief stop in a cafe for apfelstrudel (something my flatmate had been wanting to try, and luckily we found a pretty good example) and treated ourselves to a look in Fassbender and Rausch - one of the biggest and best chocolatiers in Germany. They have a chocolate model of the Titanic, for goodness' sake.
We made it back to the Berliner Dom as the heat of the day was waning. Inside, the cathedral is magnificent: the dome itself has eight mosaic panels, each containing over 500,000 individual tiles. The dome was essentially destroyed by a liquid incendiary in WWII, funding wasn't provided for its restoration until 1975, and the final mosaic was not completed until 2002. It's a blight on the city's history that it would allow one of its most recognisable and religiously significant buildings to go unattended for so long.
The walkway along the outside of the dome provided an almost better view than that from the Victory Column. The industrial and historic centres of Berlin melted seamlessly together in front of us in an amazing collusion of old and new Berlin. Quite something to behold in the late afternoon sunlight.
From there we took a quick (and unfortunately fruitless) trip to the Philharmonie near Potsdamer-Platz to enquire about concert tickets. Probably should have realised the office would be closed at quarter to seven on a Saturday evening.
Back on a train to Warschauer-Strasse to meet up with a few others, one of whom was reviewing a burger restaurant there called Burgermeister (located in a converted public convenience). The burgers were incredibly tasty and definitely needed after so many miles on our feet.
A quick stop back to the apartment to pick up my laptop, and here I am at twenty to midnight. My beautiful, fruity Berliner Weisse is almost finished - surely a sign that it's time to call an end to a very long day. The thought of staying for another may have crossed my mind if the cafe wasn't closing in twenty minutes, and if the trains weren't stopping in just under an hour.
A large group of us are heading to a flea market at Mauerpark in Prenzlauerberg tomorrow. A small amount of money may have to be spent - well, everything will be cheap at a flea market, right?