Germany Trip Part I: Berlin, Day 2

5/17

We began the morning with a trip to the Reichstag which is the German Parliament building. The glass dome which you can barely see in the picture below is accessible to the public. You can climb up the dome at no cost and get great views of the city. However even at 10:30 in the morning there was a significant line to get in so Kate and I decided against checking it out. This building was damaged by a fire in 1933 and then air raids in WWII. It wasn't until 1999 that it regained it's former status as the seat of the German Parliament.

In the Next photo you see me squinting in front of Brandenburg gate which is one of the most historic landmarks of Berlin. It was built in the late 1700s to stand as a sign of peace. It withstood many changes in Berlin, including a period where access was limited by the Berlin wall. For additional information check out the wikipedia link. The 10 cent euro coin below has the gate engraved one one side.


After seeing the Reichstag we walked through Pariser Platz and down Unter Den Linden (Under the Linden trees), one of the more famous streets in Berlin. After a few blocks I felt we may be potentially missing some sights that were a couple of blocks off of the main road. I suggested that we head down Friedrichstrasse towards a church that we could see. The church which is pictured to the left is Franzosischer Dom. It makes up part of the Gendarmenmarkt which is a very picturesque square. Central to the square is Das Konzerthaus (concert hall) and then another Deutscher Dom almost appears as a mirror image of Franzosischer Dom. There were some sidewalk tables set up in the Gendarmenmarkt making a make-shift beer garden. A musician performed some traditional music and a handful of tourists stopped to listen.

The photo below is the view across the Gendarmenmarkt towards Deutscher Dom.

The next photo shows the Concert hall from a direct vantage point. The hall can also be seen in the left hand side of the prior photo.

We continued on turning left on Franzosische Strasse so that we were parallel to Unter den linden. We headed back towards the main road after a block and came to Bebelplatz. The next picture is of Humbolt University which is across the street (Unter den Linden) from Bebelplatz. To the left was the Altes Palais which was undergoing renovations. A few of the buildings in this area seemed to be going under repair work. I took a picture of one such building (St. Hedwig's Cathedral) to show how they created a "covering" that still attempted to reflect what the building looks like.

On the right side of Bebelplatz is the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin State Opera). We could hear a male opera singer practicing inside through open windows. His vibrato echoed through the plaza and really added something the experience.

After seeing Bebelplatz we headed to St Hedwigs Kathedrale which is a Catholic church. The outside, as I mentioned previously was covered up due to renovations. The inside of the church is very modern looking due to heavy damage it sustained during the last world war.

Next we visited the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche, a Gothic church which has been converted into a museum dedicated to early 19th century sculpture. At the time I was having difficulties operating my camera without the flash. Since the flash was prohibited inside I was limited to taking a picture of the entry way which is comprised of two doors divided by an angel holding a crucifix.

The next building pictured is an awe inspiring structure called Berliner Dom. It apparently had been heavily damaged in the war. We did not go inside this church because tours cost 8 euros, and the guide claimed due to the reconstruction it was not as ornate as other churches. The massive structure still appears as though it is stained by the fires and explosions of the war.

Below the picture of Berliner Dom you can see me standing in front of the Altes Museum. At night there is actually a large red neon sign on the front of this very historic appearing structure. Such a clash of modern technology with old architecture would be heresy in the United States, and preservationists would be furious.

I snapped the picture of the mosaic at the Berliner Dom where it adorns one of the entrances of the church.

Next are Kate and I posing at a public fountain called "The Neptune Fountain". I'm trying to strike a pose with the statue. Take a minute to notice where the statue I'm looking at is not tarnished but worn. There are just so many philistines out there!

Next you can see Kate with the Fernsehturm (TV tower) behind her. It is the tallest structure in Berlin and for a fee you can ride an elevator to the top. (Again we skipped out on this.)

We needed to grab some lunch and found a small mall adjacent to Alexanderplatz. We looked through a Rossman's while there which is essentially like a CVS, albeit without the pharmacy. Pharmacies in Germany are called Apothecaries and seem less prevalent than they are in the states, and they sell medicine almost exclusively. Additionally you apparently need to buy even aspirin directly from the pharmacist. But I digress... we enjoyed looking at the various candies, soda, and bath products and comparing them to what we have available at home.

After walking around a bit we decided to get something light at a small inexpensive chain fast food place called Flammengrill. I had currywurst which is a Berlin favorite. It essentially is a sausage covered in a curry flavored ketchup, and it was a lot better than it sounds. Kate had a nice looking salami sandwich. These sandwiches appeared to be a staple at German fast food eateries.

After eating we walked around Alexanderplatz which used to be part of East Berlin. A couple of photos show the significant difference from the other parts of the city we previously visited. Alexanderplatz seemed a little less tourist oriented. It appeared to be the central shopping district for Berlin. There was an enormous mall adjacent to the plaza. Inside the mall it was very difficult to distinguish that we were in another country. Many of the stores are the same, people wear a lot of the same fashions, and American music is piped in.

Alexanderplatz was one of the most busy places we visited in Berlin, and it had a sort of edgy undercurrent to it that the rest of the city did not.

We continued walking through blocks of East Berlin. Down a side street we even found Germany's equivalent of a "Dollar store". The neighborhoods in East Berlin consist of large apartment high rises usually white or grey with pastel accents. In many ways the buildings aren't all that different from projects in U.S. cities, with the exception that the grounds tended to be nice parks and there was no feeling of unease. I'm sure things are much better now than they were twenty years ago.

Notice the picture with the "Karl Marx Allee" street sign. This particular area is famous for Soviet inspired architecture. Much of it to me seemed similar to Art-Deco architecture, albeit it gives of a more imposing, if not slightly somber presence.

Next are some photos of Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie was a crossing point between east and west Berlin. Pictured below are a warning sign, guard house, and Kate sitting on a fragment of the Berlin wall.

Next we went to Kruezberg and an adjacent area (Kate can you help me with the name?) which contained a few blocks spared from WWII bombing. It started to rain as we arrived (see picture) so we sat on a park bench under a tree, umbrella deployed. Soon we were on our way again, but not before Kate was distracted by a ice cream shop. I snapped several photos of the neighborhoods which were very attractive. The main streets were filled with cafes and shops, and the side areas were quiet and picturesque. It looked like a nice place to live, a sanctuary within the busy city.

I snapped the picture of the swinger club because it amused me. I thought I would have something witty to say about it, but right now I'm drawing a blank.

Next we headed to the longest remaining piece of the Berlin wall and we walked alongside it, admiring the murals and graffiti. This piece of the wall is now known as the "East Side Gallery". It is on the edge of a down and out neighborhood in East Berlin called Friedrichshain.

Following this we were getting hungry and we thought we'd be able to find something in Prenzlauer Berg which is a "hipster" student and youth oriented neighborhood in Berlin. The last street shot on this page provides a glimpse of this area. Unfortunately much like the rest of Berlin the neighborhood seemed to be in sleep mode for the weekend, and nothing really got our appetites going.

We had some bad luck this night because we were caught in the rain when we returned to the city center. We were looking for a Pizza place called Apostle XII, but the location that we intended to go to appeared to have become a different restaurant. Frustrated, wet, and hungry, we regrouped. Kate located an Italian restaurant in Charlottenburg. At this point it was around 9:00 pm (21:00 if you are German). The restaurant turned out to be a real good find. We sat outside on the sidewalk. The atmosphere couldn't have been better, the food was good, and we were starved. I had lasagna, Kate had spaghetti.

When we made it back to our hotel's neighborhood we picked up some candy and soda at the shops located in the S-bahn station. Thus ends our second night.

Ideally I'd have like to go into more detail, edit this better, perhaps break it up a bit, but there is just too much to cover and too little time.