Over the past couple of weeks, my wife and I have done a number of guided walks in several European capitals. Holger Raschke, founder of Berlins Taiga, was easily the best of the bunch. We picked him to talk to us about life in the former E. Germany and guide us through East Berlin - the Red Metropolis, as he calls it. Holger's knowledge is encyclopaedic and personal: he grew up in Potsdam and can talk from memory about things like receiving gift parcels from relatives in the West. Where was he on the night the Wall came down? What were his parents doing? It's a very different perspective from the run-of-the-mill young tour guides used by the big companies. Along the way we also visited several places that ordinary tours don't bother with but which are spectacular, culminating in the Russian War Memorial at Treptower Park. Truly remarkable and I was humbled to have visited. Holger is personable and attentive, making sure that my 70-year old wife was comfortable at all times.