The corridors may look narrow now – but in the event of a nuclear crisis, another row of bunk beds would be installedThe day started – as any good day should – with a visit to a nuclear bunker. Not an inactive Cold War relic or an alternative seat of government, but a living, breathing nuclear bunker, yards from the shops of the city and ready to be pressed into service at a couple of week’s notice, cramming in 3,000 Berliners to survive the apocalypse. Tours of the bunker are a highlight of The Berlin Story, an excellent, interactive museum that, like so many of the city’s sites, takes an unflinching approach to the grim periods of Berlin’s past, through wartime, division and reunification. But it’s the bunker, built in the 1970s, that stands out. Around one per cent of Berlin’s inhabitants would have cowered in shelters like this in the event of a nuclear war – piling in on a first-come first-served basis and being expected to organise themselves – deciding how to divide the food and treat the sick.Your bed – for two weeks They would have stewed in temperatures of up to 35 degrees and 90 per cent humidity, surviving on 2.5 litres of water per person, per day for washing, cooking and eating. But worse was to come … after two weeks, the air filters would pack in and the survivors would be forced out into the streets above, with no plan for their existence thereafter and little chance of survival. So, a desperate group defending for two weeks with the prospect of certain elimination ahead … that brings us neatly to ….
England – all right?
It started brightly enough, as it often does for England, with Joelon Lescott getting his unfeasibly large forehead on a corner to open the scoring. Fortunately the national hysteria was tempered nine minute later when Samir Nasri picked his spot far too easily, showing a level of technique few Englishmen could dream of. England need a rare victory against Sweden or a win over the hosts to progress. Perhaps two draws would do it, at a push. Neither possibility can be dismissed, but despite glimpses of promise from Oxlade-Chamberlain, there remain too many players in this England side who give the ball away far too easily. A good run in this competition will be no more than a sticking plaster – we continue to fall behind.
If Roy Hodgson’s looking to park the bus, let’s hope it’s a bit more robust than this Trabant
Eastern promise Looking east!
I head east tomorrow, and at the moment the Ukraine look the more capable of the co-hosts to progress, thanks to Andrei Shevchenko scoring half as many goals in six minutes as he managed in his first 30 games for Chelsea. Should add that my thoughts on this game are a bit limited by the beers I had in the Irish Pub during the England game. Took me 20 minutes to realise the Sweden were the team in blue. The Irish Pub is well worth a visit, BTW. Guinness there is cheaper than in Hong Kong. Which, admittedly, isn’t saying much.
So forward to Gdansk! By way of an early departure from Berlin’s spectacular central station. As such, not sure when the next blog will be.
Steve Dunthorne 