Berlin

Hello! Going to work on one trip at a time to update everyone. First: Berlin! Me and three friends went to Berlin a couple of weeks ago for about three days. Although we did not have the best weather while we were there, we made the most of it and had a really good time. We only saw the sun for probably a total of an hour while we were there, but we decided it fit the city very well. We took a quick flight from Geneva to Berlin and spent the first day mainly walking around and getting more familiar with the city.

Here is the German Parliament building. There was a really long line to go inside so we decided it wasn't worth it to wait.

After walking around a bit, we found the Brandenburg Gate which has grown to symbolize the divided city and the German reunification. There used to be nearly 20 gates into the city center of Berlin, but this is the only one that is still standing.

The gate was built 1788 but suffered a great deal of damage during WWII and was restored from 2000-2002.

The rest of the day we walked down the main strip of the city center--Unter den Linden which reminded me a lot of Champs Elysees in Paris. We headed back for an early dinner since we were all exhausted from our early morning. (We all had to catch the 4:40am train to the airport for our 7:00 flight).

The next morning we headed to the Berliner Dom which is the Berlin Cathedral.

The dome on top was hit by an aerial bomb during the end of the war. Originally, the dome was much higher, but was scaled down during the restoration. Many of Berlin's buildings had a similar heavy, dark feeling that you can see in this church.

The inside of the cathedral was very beautiful with a lot of gold embellishment. We were able to walk to the top of the dome and get an amazing view of the city.

This is a view from the dome of Berlin's famous TV Tower at Alexanderplatz.

View of the city from the dome. You can get a sense of the general dark, eerie feelings of the city that we felt while we were there. I have never felt how recent WWII was until I visited this city. There is definitely a heavy, almost tense, feeling there and a sense that the city is still trying to recover. 

After the cathedral, we headed to the German History Museum which was really fascinating. I was most interested in the Nazi history section. They had the actual tools they used to measure noses and hair and eye color to categorize people. It was extremely disturbing and again I could not believe how recently this had all happened. They were also having a temporary exhibit on Hitler. The exhibit was really neat because it focused more on the social situation of the city at the time and the many societal and economic influences that allowed him to come to power. 

That evening we found a really yummy German restaurant where I had some pork and potatoes (which I would learn is a favorite dish among the Germans...)

The next morning we headed to the Holocaust Memorial which my friend Cassidy told me was a must. I have to admit it was one of my favorite parts of the city. 

The memorial consists of 2,711 concrete slabs all of which are different. The coolest thing about this memorial is that there was no explanation given by the artist so that each person can walk away with their own feelings and interpretation. Everything, including the number 2,711, is supposedly arbitrary. If you can tell in the picture the ground is not flat so that where ever you are in the memorial you are either walking up or down. Still haven't decided my interpretation yet. 

Across the street we found the US Embassy! We were very excited to see a little piece of home. There are these bear all around the city of Berlin, all decorated differently. Here at the embassy they had the Statue of Liberty bear! 

We then made our way to the Charlottenburg Palace which is the largest and oldest palace in Berlin and was built at the end of the 17th century. It was built for the Prussian Empress Sophie Charlotte (who is buried under the Berlin  Cathedral, which I only later made the connection).The palace was damage during the war, but has been restored and now has a large garden area.

Knowing we were quickly losing daylight, we hurried to see Checkpoint Charlie which was the crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.  

Sign entering East Berlin.  

After snapping some quick pictures we ran back on the train to go to the East Side Gallery which is the largest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall.

It has now become an international memorial for freedom since over 100 painters from all over the world were commissioned to create there own art work along the wall in 1990. It is believed to be one of the largest open-air art galleries in the world. I took so many pictures, but will share some of my favorites.

"I painted over the wall of shame so freedom is ashamed no more. Inferno ruled too many years, until the people chose the light. I put my faith in you, Berlin, and give to you my colours bright!"

"Dancing to Freedom" Lindsay this made me think of you. Below is says "No more wars. No more walls. A united world."

"Gratitude to the killed and surviving refugees. Escape is a mighty method to destabilize dominion."

I took Cassidy's advice and I made myself and my friends walk to entire gallery. I am really glad that I did because this was by far my favorite part of my Berlin trip.

After defrosting from our walk, we made our way back to our hostel, ate some more yummy German food. I think I had the pork schnitzel that night with fried potatoes.

We woke up bright and early that next morning to head to Salzburg, Austria! Which will be coming soon!

Love and miss you all lots and lots.

A Bientot!

Paige