Berlin
On Saturday, April 26 our trip began. We took an hour's train ride away to Basel to catch our Easyjet flight to Berlin. By 9 am we were on our way to the hotel to drop our bags and head out for the day. We walked around the shopping and restaurants at Alexanderplatz. A welcoming spectator section located in the square exhibited a boot throwing competition. It was amazing, not just that they were boot throwing -- but that it appeared to actually be a league of boot throwers. Another highlight was the "Topography of Terror" or the exhibition set up on the land where the Nazi party once headquartered their Gestapo and SS powers. There is also a crumbling but still upright section of the Berlin Wall in this area too.
The next day we visited Berlin's parliament building, called the Reichstag. Only the clear dome on the roof of the Reichstag was open for visitors. After a short wait we were escorted through security more intense then at an airport to get a view of the city. The dome was architectually very interesting, especially up close. A modern twist on a very traditional building design feature.
We walked away from the Reichstag and Brandenburg Tor through a Holocaust Memorial which was constructed from 2,700 concrete slabs on a 204,000 square foot area. We got a true impression of it's size when we walked through the giant matrix design. Afterwards we made our obligatory tourist stop at "Checkpoint Charlie". This is the famous border control used by the Allies when the city was divided.
As we walked throughout the city on our 2 days there, we crossed where the Berlin Wall would have been countless times. Throughout the city they have marked the path with inlayed brick. It was amazing to see how the city was cut in half.
We had heard before arriving in Berlin that the city had been dealing with a lot of construction and was much more modern then alot of other famous European cities. My impression was that there wasn't nearly as many cranes in the skyline as there undoubtedly was a few year ago and they worked some impressive architectural features into the city landscape with all of the new construction after the fall of the wall. Overall Berlin was a pleasant surprise to both Matt and me.
A boot throwing competition at Alexanderplatz in Berlin
The cityscape of Berlin with the Fernsehturm in the background
Matt in front of a remaining section of the Berlin Wall
Topography of Terror
A sausage cart in Alexanderplatz - check out how mobile this dude is!
The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin
"Checkpoint Charlie"
A look at the Brandenburger Tor from the top of the Reichstag
The glass dome on top of the Reichstag is open to visitors for free
A view from the inside of the dome
The next day we visited Berlin's parliament building, called the Reichstag. Only the clear dome on the roof of the Reichstag was open for visitors. After a short wait we were escorted through security more intense then at an airport to get a view of the city. The dome was architectually very interesting, especially up close. A modern twist on a very traditional building design feature.
We walked away from the Reichstag and Brandenburg Tor through a Holocaust Memorial which was constructed from 2,700 concrete slabs on a 204,000 square foot area. We got a true impression of it's size when we walked through the giant matrix design. Afterwards we made our obligatory tourist stop at "Checkpoint Charlie". This is the famous border control used by the Allies when the city was divided.
As we walked throughout the city on our 2 days there, we crossed where the Berlin Wall would have been countless times. Throughout the city they have marked the path with inlayed brick. It was amazing to see how the city was cut in half.
We had heard before arriving in Berlin that the city had been dealing with a lot of construction and was much more modern then alot of other famous European cities. My impression was that there wasn't nearly as many cranes in the skyline as there undoubtedly was a few year ago and they worked some impressive architectural features into the city landscape with all of the new construction after the fall of the wall. Overall Berlin was a pleasant surprise to both Matt and me.
A boot throwing competition at Alexanderplatz in Berlin
The cityscape of Berlin with the Fernsehturm in the background
Matt in front of a remaining section of the Berlin Wall
Topography of Terror
A sausage cart in Alexanderplatz - check out how mobile this dude is!
The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin
"Checkpoint Charlie"
A look at the Brandenburger Tor from the top of the Reichstag
The glass dome on top of the Reichstag is open to visitors for free
A view from the inside of the dome
posted by Jill Nachtman at 11:55 AM
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