Or as Zoe called it "Brrrlin." It was below 50F at night.
We stayed in an apartment one block inside the former East Berlin and 2 blocks from the Berlin Wall Memorial. The Wall, or "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart," as the East German government called it, ran for 90 to 100 miles (sources vary) and was actually 2 walls separated by a 100 meter "kill zone" with guard towers. How bizarre it must have been to live with the wall in a society that felt the need for such a thing.
You can see differences in architecture between the former East and West Berlin, but other than that, the city appears reintegrated/reunited. There is a lot of infrastructure work underway in Berlin (they simply close streets down to motor vehicles including trams). When you look close, much of the work is taking place along the alignments of the former wall. I don't know if this is due to the availability of real estate from the Wall's demise or a need to still integrate utilities or probably both. The War (WWII) and East Germany's subsequent existence as an Eastern Bloc nation, are still plain to see in Berlin.
We rented bicycles and pretty much wandered the whole core of the City from Grosser Tiergarten to Alexanderplatz. We rode around Museum Island and saw the edifices of the five very impressive museums, but did not visit any. We did visit the DDR Museum dedicated to life in the former east Berlin under Stazi rule.
A remnant of the Berlin Wall from the west side. I assume the damage is the result of people taking souvenirs
A restored/maintained section of the wall at the memorial
A smaller wall on the East Berlin side - a maintained section at the memorial
The "kill zone" between the walls - a maintained section at the memorial
No hands bike riding along the Spree River
Reichstag again (different camera)
Bundestag office buildings on the Spree River
Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe - post 2009 it is also the memorial for murdered Romas and homosexuals
Walking among the 2,700 columns of the memorial
Jack among the columns
Berlin Concert Hall
The German Dome (church)
The French Dome (not a church, but used by the French Church)
The radio tower at Alexanderplatz - we didn't have the patience to wait to go up
The Neptune Fountain near Alexanderplaatz
Stopping for lunch
The Rathaus (City Hall)
The Berlin Cathedral
We visited the exhibits in this building for a good hour - note the name : )
"Ampelmann" -Berlin's walk symbol - I never found and "Ampelfrau" though I understand they exist
We stayed in an apartment one block inside the former East Berlin and 2 blocks from the Berlin Wall Memorial. The Wall, or "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart," as the East German government called it, ran for 90 to 100 miles (sources vary) and was actually 2 walls separated by a 100 meter "kill zone" with guard towers. How bizarre it must have been to live with the wall in a society that felt the need for such a thing.
You can see differences in architecture between the former East and West Berlin, but other than that, the city appears reintegrated/reunited. There is a lot of infrastructure work underway in Berlin (they simply close streets down to motor vehicles including trams). When you look close, much of the work is taking place along the alignments of the former wall. I don't know if this is due to the availability of real estate from the Wall's demise or a need to still integrate utilities or probably both. The War (WWII) and East Germany's subsequent existence as an Eastern Bloc nation, are still plain to see in Berlin.
We rented bicycles and pretty much wandered the whole core of the City from Grosser Tiergarten to Alexanderplatz. We rode around Museum Island and saw the edifices of the five very impressive museums, but did not visit any. We did visit the DDR Museum dedicated to life in the former east Berlin under Stazi rule.
A remnant of the Berlin Wall from the west side. I assume the damage is the result of people taking souvenirs
A restored/maintained section of the wall at the memorial
The "kill zone" between the walls - a maintained section at the memorial
No hands bike riding along the Spree River
The Reichstag - German Bundestag (Parliament) building reconstructed after the reunification
Reichstag again (different camera)
Bundestag office buildings on the Spree River
Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe - post 2009 it is also the memorial for murdered Romas and homosexuals
Walking among the 2,700 columns of the memorial
Jack among the columns
Berlin Concert Hall
The German Dome (church)
The French Dome (not a church, but used by the French Church)
The radio tower at Alexanderplatz - we didn't have the patience to wait to go up
The Neptune Fountain near Alexanderplaatz
Stopping for lunch
The Rathaus (City Hall)
The Berlin Cathedral
"Ampelmann" -Berlin's walk symbol - I never found and "Ampelfrau" though I understand they exist
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