Ich bin ein Berliner

I am a Berliner, or as Berliner's like to tease by saying JFK stated, "I am a jelly donut". Either way, Ich liebe Berlin! It is now one of my favorite cities even though I admit I wasn't that excited about it. Which goes to show, be careful when you make assumptions, you might miss something really interesting. It is full of interesting architecture, poignant symbolism and a couple of monuments that make you go huh? Like the memorial to the Russian soldiers that died taking Berlin. The Russians erected that monument to themselves then turned it over to the Germans when the wall fell. Gee, that was nice of 'em, considering during their occupation they were so brutal.

We only had one day, so we hit the high points, but I really want to go back and actually spend some time inside some of those high points. We started at the Jewish memorial that is next to the Brandenburg gate. This is such an interesting memorial, the number and size of the granite blocks do not symbolize anything related to the Holocaust, there is no writing or pictures, but the feelings it provokes as you walk through are very powerful. This is the image that you see walking upon it:
As you walk farther into the maze, instead of looking down upon the blocks you start to get enveloped by them to the point that it blocks out the sun and the city noise, it's a little eerie and evokes a somber feeling.


Once we came out the opposite side, the girls decided to leave a temporary mark that they were here:

Next was the Brandenburg Gate:
Then to the Reichstag, which I was the most excited to tour, but alas, Rick Steves let us down. You have to have reservations at least 1 week in advance (for security background checks) in order to enter. Darn Rick! Maybe this is a recent change. The best reason for us to go back another time. You can walk along the roof of the main building and look down into the Dome which is a view of their parliament house. So, you can watch the German politicians in action!

Right outside the Reichstag is the granite slab memorial to all the politicians that opposed Hitler, 96 of them.

At this point the girls wilted. There was some crying involved, it was super cold, we needed a break. What better reason that to duck into a Dunkin' Donut store for a donut and hot chocolate. I think you HAVE to eat a donut in Berlin. Did you know that Berliner's don't call their jelly donuts Berliners like the rest of Germany?
Next was a charming square named Gendarmenmarkt. The French Cathedral was on the right:
The Berlin Symphony concert hall in the middle:
And the German cathedral on the left:
then a charming chocolate shop on the corner with huge chocolate displays, plus it was warm inside: The Brandenburg Gate
The Reichstag:
And the Titanic:
AFTER eating chocolate and donuts we had lunch, then we walked to the Jewish History Museum. We did not go in, felt it might be too much for the girls, hopefully another time. The architecture of this building is very unique, the slashes are widows:
We ended at Checkpoint Charlie and the Museum of the Wall. There is very little left of the wall, this piece is right outside the museum:
Why, oh why, did the animal we call McDonald's get this prime real estate?? I will never understand that, well, unless I think back to the fact that one day McDonalds will rule the world, then it makes sense.
Berlin is a fascinating city, full of history. It is a city that has been hammered over and over and continues to rebuild and recover. The Museum of the Wall has huge photographs outside that are displayed as you walk down the street by Checkpoint Charlie. What a brilliant way to show history, displaying a larger than life picture of what happened right on the square it happened at.

I hope to go back before we leave, so that I can dip in and out of all the museums and monuments and really experience Berlin, inside and outside.

Go to the next post to see how Bailey did at her swim meet.