The past 6 weeks in Berlin have been incredible! We had friends visit us, we took German language classes, we met great people, and we felt at home with Frau Kalinowski, Doreen and Emma here at Pension Knesebeck.
We explored this great city on foot, bike, bus, street car, subway, and boat. We drank coffee, wine, beer, and the best bubbly water. We ate Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Turkish, Syrian, Iraqi, and German food- all good! And we explored some great neighborhoods- many we would want to live in, like Prenzlauerburg, Kreuzburg, Mitte, and our favorite, Charlottenburg. Even after 6 weeks, there is so much more to see, so....we'll be back!
Here are some parting shots:
A wall painting showing the Berlin Skyline!
Alexanderplatz! The heart of old East Berlin- the tv tower and Alexanderplatz S-Bahn station.
The Wall is probably the most known item in all of Berlin. It defined the city for a generation! Large segments of the wall remain as a testament to the division of East and West. Much of it is graffiti, but also much of it is painted as art.
Hal and Debbie at one of the painted wall segments
The city created this symbol in the city to mark the location of the wall. You can follow the entire length of the wall.
Rich goofing off at one of the many paintings.
One of the paintings on the wall: the flood of people yearning to be free!
A long view of the East Side Gallery, the largest segment of the wall that remains.
Potsdam: the Imperial City of the Kaiser and the capital city of the State of Brandenburg
One of the great buildings of the New Palace
The New Palace
Hal, Debbie, Byron and Rich (with their audio guide) in the New Palace- it is beautiful!
Sansoucci palace- very beautiful!
Gedachtnichkirche- the bombed Cathedral remains as a memorial
The city symbol- the bear- is decorated and painted with all the iconic symbols of the city throughout Berlin.
Rich and the bear painted with the statue of the Segeseule (victory column)
Rich and Dirk with the Picasso bear
City scape from the river: left to right: dome of the cathedral, church, tv tower, with the iconic bridge in the foreground
Molecule man sculpture located in the river Spree- about 100 feet tall.
The Soviet Memorial for fallen (Soviet) soldiers. Germany signed a treaty with Russia to maintain the Soviet Memorial/gravesite for fallen soldiers. It covers 25 acres, is beautifully manicured, has lines of trees and markers with bas-relief representations of the war, all leading up to massive memorial.
The memorial is of a soviet soldier rescuing a child. This memorial is a testament to Germany keeping its treaty. The downside is it perpetuates the myth of the soviet army rescuing the civilians. the soviet army went on a rampage of rape and murder in the city of Berlin.
Burgers!!! Only Berlin would convert old rest-rooms into a burger stand:-)
Rich, Dirk, and Byron at a bear at the wall
Doreen, Emma, and Frau Kalinowski- good-bye and thank you for your hospitality
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