This is really good dark beer: 
Welcome to Berlin:
I spent the Easter Holiday putzing around Berlin with four Indians (who don't celebrate Easter) and two Orthodox Christians (whose Easter is in April). We were rained on, snowed on, and literally froze--it was an absolutely fabulous weekend.We left Wroclaw Friday morning on a 6:30 am train. It was a three hour ride to the town of Poznan, Poland. Fortuneately, we were able to entertain ourselves.
It rained almost the entire time we were in Poznan, so we saw the town very quickly.
We ended up hanging out at the shopping center since it was warm and dry. It was a very strange place--I'm still not sure what this was.
We arrived at our hostel in Berlin at about midnight on Friday. Saturday morning, we caught a free walking tour, and began to see the sights.
It rained almost the entire time we were in Poznan, so we saw the town very quickly.
We ended up hanging out at the shopping center since it was warm and dry. It was a very strange place--I'm still not sure what this was.
We arrived at our hostel in Berlin at about midnight on Friday. Saturday morning, we caught a free walking tour, and began to see the sights.This is the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his kid out the window.
This is our tour guide, Pete from Ireland, with the Brandenburger Tor in the background. 
The WWII bullet holes in the Tor--they tried to patch them.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This is really weird. It doesn't look like much, but as you walk through it, the ground slopes so that the pillars tower abover you. Suddenly, you're engulfed in this sea of gray stones, and it seems like there's no way to get out. Plus it's very easy to lose people in this monument. The tour group started together, and I ended up completely alone. It was like being lost in a stone cornfield.
The parking lot over the bunker where Hitler spent his last days. There's no monument of any sort, just a small sign. Tour-guide Pete said he's had people excuse themselves from the tour to go pee on "Hitler's grave." Also, in the background are the apartment complexes that were considered the very nicest housing in East Berlin. They were located right by the wall, so they had to be pretty.
One of the few remaining buildings of Nazi architecture. One the wall of the building is a painting depicting the "ideal" of a socialist government. On the ground in front is a photo of equal dimensions showing the reality.
The first blue sky we saw in Berlin--it lasted about five minutes.
The Berlin Wall:
Dianna the Tour Guide (as you can tell, I got rather bored on the train ride home and started playing with the features on my camera):
The French Cathedral in one of the squares:
The University Library--Einstein taught here:
A monument to the 20,000 volumes from that library which were burned by the Nazis:
One of the museums on Museum Island--the Germans are very creative at naming things. About this point, we couldnt feel our feet.
The TV/Radio tower. The elevator takes you to the top at a speed of six meter-per-second.
Wine and beer at the top. 
Day 2 (Easter Sunday): An early moring ride on the tram.
Watch the boys navigate.
The Olympic Stadium where Hitler opened the 1936 Games which were dominated by Jesse Owens, and the location of the last World Cup Championship. 
I was really excited--unfortunately, this was the only building that we found was closed for Easter.
There's a huge court yard in the back that's free and open to the public--go hang out there instead.
It's way more fun.
Number 2 on the "It's Not Worth My Money" List: The Aqua Dome: 
The Omaha Zoo is so much better.
This is our tour guide, Pete from Ireland, with the Brandenburger Tor in the background. 
The WWII bullet holes in the Tor--they tried to patch them.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This is really weird. It doesn't look like much, but as you walk through it, the ground slopes so that the pillars tower abover you. Suddenly, you're engulfed in this sea of gray stones, and it seems like there's no way to get out. Plus it's very easy to lose people in this monument. The tour group started together, and I ended up completely alone. It was like being lost in a stone cornfield.
The parking lot over the bunker where Hitler spent his last days. There's no monument of any sort, just a small sign. Tour-guide Pete said he's had people excuse themselves from the tour to go pee on "Hitler's grave." Also, in the background are the apartment complexes that were considered the very nicest housing in East Berlin. They were located right by the wall, so they had to be pretty.
One of the few remaining buildings of Nazi architecture. One the wall of the building is a painting depicting the "ideal" of a socialist government. On the ground in front is a photo of equal dimensions showing the reality.
The first blue sky we saw in Berlin--it lasted about five minutes.
The Berlin Wall:
Dianna the Tour Guide (as you can tell, I got rather bored on the train ride home and started playing with the features on my camera):
The French Cathedral in one of the squares:
The University Library--Einstein taught here:
A monument to the 20,000 volumes from that library which were burned by the Nazis:
One of the museums on Museum Island--the Germans are very creative at naming things. About this point, we couldnt feel our feet.
The TV/Radio tower. The elevator takes you to the top at a speed of six meter-per-second.
Wine and beer at the top. 
Day 2 (Easter Sunday): An early moring ride on the tram.
Watch the boys navigate.
The Olympic Stadium where Hitler opened the 1936 Games which were dominated by Jesse Owens, and the location of the last World Cup Championship. 
I was really excited--unfortunately, this was the only building that we found was closed for Easter.A group shot on the way to Charlottenburg Palace:
It was a gorgeous building, unfortunately, the museum inside tops my list of "Things that Aren't Worth Paying for in Berlin."
It was a gorgeous building, unfortunately, the museum inside tops my list of "Things that Aren't Worth Paying for in Berlin."
There's a huge court yard in the back that's free and open to the public--go hang out there instead.
It's way more fun.
Number 2 on the "It's Not Worth My Money" List: The Aqua Dome: The Omaha Zoo is so much better.Sunset on the TV Tower:
Riding a double-decker bus:
Yep--it's a German firetruck. 
The Brandenberger Tor in the sunlight:
The Bundestag (aka Reichstag) Building, home of the German Parliment. For the very appealing price of "free" you can wait in line, go through an excessive amount of security, and venture to the top of the dome. The whole idea is for the German people to have the ability to literally oversee the workings of thier government, and the politicians to be able to look to the top of the dome and see the people they work for. It's a cool idea, but the dome is mostly inhabited by tourist like us, who wait in a very long line.
After almost two hours, we finally made it to the front of the line.
A view of Berlin from the Bundestag:
From the top looking down:
Group shot:
We ended up spending part of Monday at the zoo. Dianna and Sorin wanted to see the bears, and I wanted to see Pandas. This statue remined me of Jody when he was little (or Chase now): 
My favorite picture of the entire trip:
The inside stair-well of the Jewish museum. The architecture of this building was really cool, and very unique. Plus the museum itself was really interesting...and the entrance fee is only 2.5 Euro. Always an added bonus.
Another part of the Jewish Museum. It was in the Holocaust display as a memorial to all those that died. Each piece was unique and it was impossible to walk across them quietly.
The German Fire Station just down the street from our hostel. I think GI Station Two needs a grafitti make-over.
The complete history of the Berlin Wall conviently located on the former site of the wall itself.
There's a slight change in the cobble stone in Potsdamer Platz to show where the Berlin wall ran through this part of the city. Even when buildining lie over the where the wall used to be located, the color of the carpet changes as a memorial to the wall. Supposedly, Berliners hope to do this around the entire city.
Riding a double-decker bus:
Yep--it's a German firetruck. 
The Brandenberger Tor in the sunlight:
The Bundestag (aka Reichstag) Building, home of the German Parliment. For the very appealing price of "free" you can wait in line, go through an excessive amount of security, and venture to the top of the dome. The whole idea is for the German people to have the ability to literally oversee the workings of thier government, and the politicians to be able to look to the top of the dome and see the people they work for. It's a cool idea, but the dome is mostly inhabited by tourist like us, who wait in a very long line.After almost two hours, we finally made it to the front of the line.
A view of Berlin from the Bundestag:
From the top looking down:
Group shot:
We ended up spending part of Monday at the zoo. Dianna and Sorin wanted to see the bears, and I wanted to see Pandas. This statue remined me of Jody when he was little (or Chase now): 
My favorite picture of the entire trip:
The inside stair-well of the Jewish museum. The architecture of this building was really cool, and very unique. Plus the museum itself was really interesting...and the entrance fee is only 2.5 Euro. Always an added bonus.
Another part of the Jewish Museum. It was in the Holocaust display as a memorial to all those that died. Each piece was unique and it was impossible to walk across them quietly.The German Fire Station just down the street from our hostel. I think GI Station Two needs a grafitti make-over. 
I even went and talked with a few of these guys, hoping they would trade me a T-shirt to bring my daddy. But, they said everything belongs to the department, not to them as individuals. So, if they gave away their things, they would be in big trouble. They also told me that there's 19 guys on a shift at this station. I asked lots of questions--I think they thought I was a little kooky.
Potsdamer Platz is a very modern area of Berlin. It sprang up after the wall went down and it's filled with very unique architecture. During the time of the wall, it was nothing but a "dead zone."
Potsdamer Platz is a very modern area of Berlin. It sprang up after the wall went down and it's filled with very unique architecture. During the time of the wall, it was nothing but a "dead zone."
The complete history of the Berlin Wall conviently located on the former site of the wall itself.
There's a slight change in the cobble stone in Potsdamer Platz to show where the Berlin wall ran through this part of the city. Even when buildining lie over the where the wall used to be located, the color of the carpet changes as a memorial to the wall. Supposedly, Berliners hope to do this around the entire city. The flags over the Checkpoint Museum (which I'm told is horrible--don't go there).
Snow on the metro steps. It was a weird cross betweeen tiny hail and snow--Sorin insisted that I take a picture of it.
And that's Berlin. Great city. Good beer. Many random bears.
I blinked in all of my pictures in front of Checkpoint Charlie, so you get Sorin instead. He looks mean, doesn't he?
The teeter-totters in Postdamer Platz. I admit it--we played on them for about five minutes.
Snow on the metro steps. It was a weird cross betweeen tiny hail and snow--Sorin insisted that I take a picture of it. And that's Berlin. Great city. Good beer. Many random bears.
1 comment:
OMG! That first bear is amazing! I want one!
“The University Library--Einstein taught here"
--how f-ing cool.
"The Olympic Stadium where Hitler opened the 1936 Games which were dominated by Jesse Owen"
--doesn't the world feel so much smaller when you standing in places like that, that you've read about in history books?
The Aqua Dome looks so freakin cool. Can I have one of those too? Admittedly, it would be boring as an attraction (especially compared to the Omaha Zoo), but how bout in my house?
I feel like if I were on that trip, there would totally be a picture of me on that Hippo like Sorin, or with him, whatever, haha.
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