This year we went to Germany and I was reminded of something that I read from Rick Steves: Always assume you'll go back. I tried to see the entire of country of Germany in a week. Huge mistake. In retrospect, I should have picked one place and stayed the week. Well, hindsight and all...
We made a whirlwind tour of Germany starting in Berlin. Germany has a rich political history in just the last century. There was the monarchy led by Kaiser Wilhelm II, then of course Hitler and the infamous Nazi party. After WWII, came communism and the division of the country between East and West. In 1989, the Wall came down and the country became unified.
We were intimidated by Germany because we thought there would be a serious language barrier. But almost everyone spoke English and they spoke it very well. My second thought was 'what is there to see there anyway"? Silly me. There's lots to see. I wish I'd had more time but who doesn't?
We stayed at the Hilton right in the center of the city. It was an EXCELLENT location. We could walk to most things. Berlin seemed relatively compact. We started out with the Hop on/Hop off bus tour. That's really a great way to get your bearings on a city. Plus you get an idea of what there is to see.
This is the Gendarmenmarkt which was right outside our hotel. The first building on the left is the Konzerthaus (Concert Hall). The dome on the right is the French Cathedral, which was built by the Huguenots in the 1705. There is a matching dome to the left of the concert hall called the German Cathedral which was built in 1708. The French cathedral houses a museum to the Huguenots and the German cathedral houses an exhibit on the German Parliament.
Then we stopped at the Berlinerdom. It was built in 1454 as a Catholic church. It later became a Lutheran church in 1539. Then in 1817, it became an Evangelical Protestant church.
Along the river Spree is Museum Island. The island has five museums. The Bode Museum which has Byzantine art, the Neues Museum which houses Egyptian art, the Pergamon Museum which houses the altar of Pergamon and the Ishtar Gate, the Alte Nationalgalerie which contains 19th century art and the Altes Museum (shown above) which houses the Prussian Royal Family's art collection. All the museums on the island are designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
We took a boat ride on the river Spree. The colors of the leaves were beautiful. There were deep reds along with varying shades of yellow and orange.
The blue building was known as the 'Palace of Tears'. This was the passport building where the East Germans would come and get their Visas to visit the West German side of the city. They always had to go back.
It's hard to get photos of the two of us when we travel. Sometimes, you just have to improvise. With our fabulous new iPhone 5, there's a feature that makes taking self-portraits a lot easier. Get yours today! This would be us on the boat ride.
Back on the bus, we drove by the portion of the Wall that is still standing. This portion runs along the Spree river and is about 1.3 km long. After the Wall came down, several artists came and painted murals. It's the longest mural in the world.
Marienkirche - St. Mary's Church. Built back in the 1300's, St. Mary's was originally a Catholic church. It then became Lutheran and now it's Protestant.
The Rotes Rathaus (red City Hall). It's located in Mitte (city center of Berlin) and is home to the Mayor.
Fernsehturm (Television Tower.) Built by the German Democratic Republic in the mid-1960's, this is the tallest structure in Germany.
The Neptune Fountain in Alexanderplatz was built in 1891. The four ladies represent the four rivers: Elbe, Rhine, Vistula and Oder.
Friedrichwerdersche Kirche. Built in 1701 as a Huguenot church, it now houses Neoclassical sculptures.
A break from the tour to get some lunch. There were signs all over the city for Currywurst. This particular place is across the street from our hotel. It's basically a hot dog with some kind of chili sauce. We asked for the sausage and roll and they gave us a roll and then the dish of sausage. It wasn't bad.
Back on bus, we drove by the Victory Column. The column was erected in the 1800's to commemorate the win of the Prussian's over the Dutch. It originally stood in Konigsplatz but was moved to its current location by the Nazis.
Schloss Bellvue. Built in 1786 as a summer palace for Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia. President Roman Herzog lived here while he was in office.
Schloss Charlottenburg is the largest palace in Germany and the only surviving residence dating back to the Hohenzollern family (Kaiser Wilhem II). It was built for Sophie Charlotte, the wife of King Friedrich III in the 1700's.
Another section of the Berlin Wall. Around the edges, you can see where chunks of the wall have been chiseled out by souvenir hunters.
Checkpoint Charlie. This is the border between East and West Berlin which was manned by the US Army. For a tip, you can take your photo with a real live guy dressed up in an authentic US Army uniform.
Replica of the sign that used to be at this border.
A photo of checkpoint Charlie in 1961.
Brandenburg Tor (Brandenburg Gate). This is the entrance to the Unter de Linden.
Memorial to those people killed trying to escape from East Germany. The last person was killed about six months before the wall came down.
John. The Reichstag is in the background.
You can actually go up into the dome over the Reichstag. It's free but you have to have a reservation. We booked our place in line about a month before our trip. While up here, you have a beautiful panoramic view of the city.
A view of Berlin from the top of the Reichstag. This would be the Tiergarten which is like Central Park.
The Reichstag. You can barely see the dome from this view.
This is all that's left of Hitler's bunker. It's a parking lot for some pretty nice apartment buildings. The bunker itself was destroyed in the '80s by the Soviets. There aren't any signs to tell you this marker is here. It's just a side comment in the guide book.
This is the Holocaust Memorial. It's several gray slabs of varying heights. You can walk around in here and it's kind of like a maze.
Every night, this scene was the same. One large beer and one large glass of wine.
One of the last places we stopped was the checkpoint Charlie museum. What a waste of time. The place was so crowded that you couldn't move around. There were lots of things to read if you could get close enough. One thing they did have that was really cool was a VW bug that was used to help people escape from the East. In the trunk, part of the compartment was carved out so that a person could fit. Unfortunately no pictures in the museum. (Say what?? Even the Louvre lets you take pictures!) We didn't stay long.
Instead we went back to the room to pack. The next day we were headed out to Frankfurt.
Interesting observation: These cigarette machines were in the city. I haven't seen a cigarette machine in years. Apparently, you have to swipe your ID before you can purchase the cigs.
Berlin was great. I hope we have the opportunity to come back. I think we could spend a week here just looking at museums and checking out the sights.
What's not to like about a city that produce a replica of the Reichstag carved in chocolate??
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