Finally, a chance to sit down and write a post about our trip to Berlin! The laundry has all been washed (how a family of four can go through so much clothing in 5 days is beyond me), suitcases unpacked, and now we all have colds. I'm up before the sun this morning, not able to get a whole lot of sleep between my own coughing fits, and those of the Princess and Zippy. They were able to get back to sleep, but I'm not so lucky. So, I'll tell you about our trip, instead.
We had a great time in Berlin. The weather was very nice for October, and we actually managed to fit in all of the things we wanted to do. We were there for five days, but the first and last day were mostly for traveling (it's a 6 hour train ride from where we live to Berlin). Day one, we didn't see much, other than train and subway stations. By the time we got to the hotel, unloaded the luggage, and went out to get dinner, the kids were exhausted. We turned in early that night, got a good night of sleep, and set out early the next day.
First stop was Schloss Charlottenburg, the largest palace in Berlin, built between 1695 and 1699.
It was heavily damaged during World War II, but has since been reconstructed.
The inside of the palace is a museum, filled with art, beautiful porcelain dishes, silver, Oriental vases, coins, and the crowns of a king and queen, among other things. the Princess and Zippy weren't real keen on taking the time to look at each piece, so we missed a lot, but it was still interesting.
After the museum visit, we ate lunch at Kleine Orangerie,
and had some wonderful flammkuchen. With full bellies, we headed across the street to the Ägyptisches Museum, but it turns out the museum is under construction, and the exhibits had been moved elsewhere. It was just as well, because I'm sure the kids wouldn't have been very pleased to go through another museum.
On we walked, until we reached the Siegesäule (Victory Column). This was built from 1864-1873 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian war. It's original location was across from the Reichstag building, but Hitler ordered it to be moved in 1938 to it's current location at the Großer Stern.
From the Siegesäule, we walked to the Brandenburg Gate.
The Quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate
From the Brandenburg Gate, we walked just up the street to the Reichstag building.
The line to enter the building was dreadfully long, so we were going to skip the visit to the dome atop the building. That was, until a very kind woman informed us that there was a wheelchair/stroller entrance off to the side, with no wait at all. We passed through security, and took the elevator up to the dome. Inside the dome there are walkways leading up to the top, providing us with a fabulous (though very overcast) view of the city. I'm so glad we had the chance to go up. It would have been a disappointment to have missed out on it because of the long wait to enter.
Moving on. Our next visit was the Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe).
This memorial was just opened last year, and one source I read labeled it "controversial". I can see why. The memorial is slabs of concrete at various heights, placed on a sloping surface. There are no markings or any indication as to what the symbolism is, until you go to an underground exhibit, which lists the names of those who died. I understand that the artist who created this had a specific vision in mind, but I don't really find it to be an appropriate memorial to those who lost their lives under horrific circumstances. But that's just my two cents.
From the memorial we headed for one of the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, and the Topography of Terrors.

The wall above the Topography of Terrors, and a marker showing where the wall once stood
We also visited Checkpoint Charlie, and the associated museum.
The museum was absolutely fascinating. It was so interesting to read about the ways people tried to escape from the East to the West. At the same time, it was depressing to read about the failed attempts. The area is now a tourist attraction, complete with fake US soldiers standing "guard" for tourists to have their pictures taken beside (Travis refused to stand next to them), and it's kind of tacky, but the museum has done a great job of detailing and displaying the history of the wall.
OMG, I'm such a tourist!
Wow, I guess I didn't realize just how much we covered in one day! We did a lot of walking, but we also used the U-Bahn (subway) a great deal. Since this post is already so long and picture-heavy, I'll save the next two days of our trip for another post. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip. We certainly had a great time.
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