Just back from a week in Berlin. Marvelous place. I was there 11 years ago and I hardly recognised the place. NYC will take second place now for city holidays as Berlin offers all of the NYC stuff we love but is only a two hour flight away. Brilliant musuems, quirky shops and restaurants, lots of lovely, individual design-conscious neighbourhoods, coffee shops on every corner and much much cheaper than NYC. It even has things NYC doesn't...polite locals, litter free streets and much better public transport. Did I mention that it's just one hour and 50 minutes away from our local airport?