On our own in Berlin
Trip Start
Apr 30, 1999
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Trip End
May 30, 1999
Berlin, Germany
Sunday, May 16, 1999
We start in old (West) Berlin and see a monument from the Franco-Prussian War and the Avenue to the Brandenburg Gate. There was an old church here which served as some kind of monument to war heroes. It was bombed and partially destroyed during the War and has remained in that state as the people apparently enjoyed the irony - a house of worship for war heroes destoyed because of more war. We pass by the Parliament House and cross thru the Brandenburg Gate into East Berlin.
We stop by Checkpoint Charlie and another moment next to one of the few remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall. In another Plaza we walk across, there were French and German churches built facing each other and an orchestra building too. We continue along to another square where infamous book burnings occured so many years ago. In this square there is now an underground monument built; at the surface there is just a 4'x4' window looking down into a huge white room, full of empty white bookshelves. All around us is the Library, the first Catholic church built in Berlin and Humbolt University - where Einstein studied. We head over to Museum Island - home to 3 major museums, including Pergammon - and end our tour in the new city center. Here there is an amazingly tall tower with a huge faceted sphere at the top, which was built back when Germany was divided by the East Germans to show 'how great they were'. As some locals tell is, the irony is that when the sun shines a cross appears on the face of the sphere.
Our tour guide is wrapping things up and a random (possibly homeless) dude trots by and clocks our guide on the back of his head with his case then walked off swearing what I imagined were German obscenities. Was only funny as noone was hurt (too badly). We finished off our day with a bit of shopping then take the S-bahn back for a little dinner at Hard Rock - yes, we are tourist dorks but it's just nice to have a casula dinner and drinks without feeling rushed. They didn't have my shot glass in stock but promised to ship the one I paid for (which they did). And mad props to our waiter for hooking us up with posters and actually shipping my glass (was waiting for me when I finally got home)... not to mention for being fun and mocking Amy and I for our "traditional American names." We decided to sit in the Tiergarten (a Central Park like garden in the city) while we wait for our train. Once the sun sets, it gets too cold so we head back to the trains to wait for our next train for our next destination.
