Berlin - Part Eins

The theme for Berlin was COLD. We were cold, it rained and it was windy but we had a very nice time. I think we would have had a better time if the weather was a little warmer or drier. We were interested in how we would like Berlin since we had heard mixed reviews from others. My conclusion was that I liked it but I could see how others might not. It is a big city and very modern – you aren’t going to turn every corner and see some cool old building. Old buildings don’t exist in many parts of Berlin due to WWII. What struck me the most was how much construction has happened in Berlin in my lifetime and really in the last 20 years since the Berlin Wall came down. This is was Potsdamer Platz looked like in 1950 after the war and it belonged to East Berlin.

This is what it looks like now

So back to my recap. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and made it to our hotel after a few train and subway transfers. We checked in then took the subway into the heart of Berlin – called Mitte. We walked to the Brandenburg Gate and saw the spot where the Berlin Wall once stood. We walked over to the Reichstag but it was too cold to stand in line to go to its dome (plus the dome was closed for cleaning) so we wandered down the street to the Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is interesting and artsy (just 2700 concrete blocks) – under the memorial is the museum about the Jews that were murdered- it was interesting. It was getting late so we wandered to Potsdamer Platz (which is very confusing) and saw some Wall sections and then ate dinner at a great Asian place in the mall – ordering was an adventure but we finally got there!

Brandenburg Gate

Holocaust Memorial

Berlin Wall Marker - it used to run down this street between the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate

Day Two included a late wake up and more rain so we headed to the museum island. We saw the Deuthscher Dom and Frazosischer Dom on the way then ended up at the famous Pergamon Museum. After waiting in the line in the rain we finally made it inside and were in awe. The museum focuses on classic Greek, Roman, Babylonian and Islamic art, which includes some massive pieces. The first being the Pergamon Altar which is HUGE then there is the Market Gate of Miletus which is HUGE and the zenith was the Ishtar Gate which is HUGE and pretty amazing. The rest of the collection is nice as well J After lunch and some leisurely window shopping we headed to Checkpoint Charlie – we toured the museum there, which was super crowded but very informative. We spent quite a while there, it was interesting to learn more about the history of the wall and all the things that people did to escape East Germany. We then headed to dinner in the Scheunenviertel part of town, which was more “hip” and we found a nice place to get a beer and schnitzel, which we were craving! More to come on the rest of our Berlin stay.

Checkpoint Charlie