The first day of our tour was spent flying to Germany (Berlin). We arrived in Germany on day 2.

 

With all its museums and our love of history, Berlin was clearly our favorite stop on the trip. It`s easy to get around (check out Transportation), a lot of great things to see and do, good food and beer and some of the most friendly we`ve met anywhere in Europe.

 

There`s a number of pamphlets you should get to help you plan your time in Berlin. Check at your hotel, that`s where we found ours. Be sure to check and see if the information is in English.  There are two pamphlets shown in the section titled Transportation which contain the maps for the S-Bahn, U-Bahn and the Trams. There`s also one under the Museums section which describes all the best museums (82 of them) in Berlin.  Another important pamphlet (left) is one that identifies culture/cinemas/events, restaurants and sports in the area of the hotel where we stayed.  There`s a great map in the middle as well.  In fact one of the restaurants mentioned is one that we went to for a taste of Germany`s finest (it`s Germany`s oldest Beer Garden) and a number of our group stayed for dinner.

 

The map below outlines the places that we visited, where we ate and our hotel.  You can see a large version of the map by clicking on the `Berlin` link immediately under the map.  You can also get information on the individual locations by clicking on the symbol on the map.  The list above the map ties the locations together with the information and photos from our visit to each of the places.  Click on the title.  Finally, you`ll note there are also really great photos by some of our fellow travelers.  

Ok so what`s the big deal. Nothing. It`s just sort of cool that GENERALLY the Walk, Don`t Walk lights differ from East to West. They actually tried to remove all the `commie` icons from the East but politics put a stop to it

An advertising statue outside one of many stores selling items (shirts, cups, Christmas ornaments, pens, etc) throughout Berlin. 

The transportation system in Berlin is OUTSTANDING.  With one pass (see below) you can ride any of the trams, buses, trains and/or subways throughout Berlin.  In our case, there was a tram that ran in front of our hotel. 

 

Here`s a great hint.  The two tickets below both cover a single day.  The ticket on the left is for a group of up to five.  The one on the right covers one person.  Clearly, a group of 4 or five makes out well to buy the group ticket.  BTW, the ticket was available at our hotel.

The first pamphlet is for the TRAM system.  The first picture is what the cover looks like.  The second is a picture of the map that`s inside (you really won`t be able to see much in the picture so I`ve also attached a PDF version CLICK HERE).

Tram Map Picture by:

Tram Map Picture by:

S and U Bahn Map Picture by:

U + S Bahn Map Picture by:

 

Needless to say we saw the tower everywhere.  It started as a way for the East Germans to show off the might of the communists.  Now it`s a way of finding directions from most locations in downtown Berlin.

Skyline along the river with the TV Tower behind Near the Hackescher Markt Near the Neues Museum Behind the Berlin Cathedral

 

In the past we have recommended the use of Telephone Cards.  They can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Sam`s, Krogers, etc.  They are convenient, were usable at our hotel and can even be 'refilled' while you travel (there`s a phone number listed on the card which you use in conjuction with a credit card to add minutes).  

 

However, this time our card didn't work out very well.  It`s always been true that you pay a `minutes premium` when using the card in foreign countries.  In the past this has been 2 or 3 minutes.  That is, for each minute you`re on a call, your card is charged 2 or 3 minutes.  Thus a 120 minute card would get you 60 or 40 minutes of long distance calling from Europe.  Not a bad deal if you consider what you`d pay if you used a credit card.  That was the way it worked IN THE PAST.  This year the premium was 14 minutes per minute.  This means my 120 minute card gave me 8.5 minutes of long distance to the U.S..  Ouch!  I'm not sure I'd recommend using telephone cards at that rate.  Be sure to contact the issuer and find out what the premium. 

 

One more point.  In Berlin we saw a number of places where you could call the U.S. for as little as $.10 per minute.  I used one of these and it worked very well.  However, make sure you ask about the connect charge BEFORE you make a call.  While the service I used was $.10 per minute, there was an $.80 per call connect charge.  Now I spoke to my son for over ten minute for around $2 (still pretty cheap), it wasn't $.10 per minute.

From Wikipedia: Stolperstein is the German word for "stumbling block", "obstacle", or "something in the way". The artist Gunter Demnig has given this word a new meaning, that of a small, cobblestone-sized memorial for a single victim of Nazism. These memorials commemorate those deported and killed by the Nazis, mostly in Nazi concentration camps or extermination camps, including Jews, Sinti and Romani people (also called gypsies), members of the Resistance during World War II, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christians in opposition to the Nazis and the disabled. The list of cities that have stolpersteine now extends to several countries and hundreds of cities and towns.

 

We had all just arrived in Berlin and needed a snack and some COFFEE to get us through to dinner. Nice little shop, good food and it`s immediately across from our hotel.

The day we arrived we decided the Wall was a place we couldn't miss. The East Side Gallery (named because all the art work you see below is on the east side of the wall) is the longest section of the wall that remains. It is now a gallery of art from the moving to the strange.

 

Be sure to checkout the video at the bottom of this section.  Paul took the video from inside our bus as we left Berlin for Dresden.  Note the sound track.  It`s John F. Kennedy in Berlin.  Another great choice by Nygil.

A good meal, located next to the Hackeschen Markt S-Buhn station and the tram which runs by our hotel run by as well.

The menu - our first exposure a menu in German (they also had and english version) Nope I`m not the waiter

Check Point Charlie as it appears today is NOTHING like what it was like in actual operation.  There are even `American soldier' available for pictures.  Not soldiers.  Not Americans.

 

We didn't actually visit the Check Point Charlie Museum.  It isn't recommended although there are (apparently) lots of things to look at in a VERY small building

​Look closely at the picture below.  You can clearly see that Check Point Charlie looked completely different then it does today.

The next two pictures show the path of the Wall.  Berliner Mauer is German for Berlin Wall

The Kauthaus des Westen department store (often called KaDeWe) is the often referred to as the Harrod`s of Germany. We don`t do a lot of shopping on our trips, but it`s fun to see a store like this. It truly is one of those `if they don`t have it...you don`t need it'.

 

The first picture is of an artistic display near the entrance to the store.

 

The next two pictures are examples of display cases.

Display case Picture by: Another display Picture by:

 

The next picture was particularly interesting.  Obviously there`s a market for American products.
 

 

The next two pictures are of a memorial located just outside the S-Bahn station at Wittenbergplatz (the location of the KaDeWe store).  The memorial is a list of death camps run by the Nazis in the 30`s and 40`s.  The title of the memorial reads: Sites of Horror...which we can never forget.  Germany is intent on not forgiving or forgetting.  The camps listed are locations where people were sent from this station.

Horrors Memorial Reminder Picture by: The full memorial Picture by:

 

Gendarmenmarkt is said to be one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. It was created at the end of the 17th century as a market place, the Linden Market. Frankly, not a place that I'd worry about seeing. It is, however, a great example of how an area can be rebuilt after extensive damage during WWII.

If you're into chocolate...I mean REALLY into chocolate...this is what heaven will be like.  The displays pictured below are all chocolate.  The vulcano may not look like much, but it took me seven shots to get a picture with 'lava' spouting.  This is a must see and the chocolate is a must buy! 

A chocolate Brandenburg Gate Titanic in chocolate Linda and a chocolate Reichstag Building Linda and a chocolate Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche Chocolate Vulcano (Look close for the lava at the top)

From Wikipedia: The Jewish Museum Berlin (Judisches Museum Berlin), covers two millennia of German history. It consists of two buildings. One is the old Kollegienhaus, a former courthouse, built in the 18th century. The other is a new addition specifically built for the museum. This was one of the first buildings in Berlin designed after German reunification. The museum opened to the public in 2001.

 

When you arrive at the museum you`ll be given a Museum Floor Plan. 

 

Notice the police officer in front of the building.  Germany is making it clear that there will be no incidents at building that are part of the Jewish community.  We saw the same protection at several locations.

Watching a video presentation Display Mural Admission Ticket Video display

After meeting our group for the first time, we headed out for dinner.  Great place for a group meal. 

The Reichstag Building houses the German Reichstag (Parliment). The only part of the building open to the public is the Dome. We arrived early but still had to wait about an hour. The Dome is actually a light source for the Plenary Chamber below.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn`t very good during our visit.

Front of the Building Bottom of the reflector...looking down into the plenary chamber Top of the reflector Memorial to the 96 Reichstag members of the opposition parties killed by the Nazis Memorial to the 96 Reichstag members of the opposition parties killed by the Nazis Brandenburg Gate (through the rain covered dome)

Sort of a dreary day. Too bad we didn't stay long.

 

 

A couple of things to note. First, the American embassy is located right next to the Gate (you can see the top edge in the first picture below). A full picture of the embassy is included in Jack`s Brandenberg pictures. Second the hotel shown is the one where Michael Jackson suspended his newly acquired baby over the rail.

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Approaching the Gate from the West From the West (Note the American Embassy on the right) Linda pointing out some war damage Hotel Adlon (back, right, green roof) where Michael Jackson suspended his baby Looking back (West) at the Gate Our group almost to the Gate

The Fuhrerbunker (German, literally meaning "shelter for the leader" or "the Fuhrer's shelter") was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany.

 

The place our group is standing (in the first picture below) was (during the reign of the Nazis) outside the back of the Reich Chancellery and directly on top of the Fuhrer`s bunker. The bunker is actually still there but imploded by the Russians and (later) the East Germans. 

 

Note: Germany did not acknowledge the location until as late as 2007. That`s when the sign (below) was erected. There`s a lot of good information about the bunker on Wikipedia (press the Web Site button below).

 

Finally, there's a really good depiction where the Reich Chancellery stood and the location of the Bunker on Wikimapia (click here to jump to Wikimapia).   As you move your pointer around the locations/identification of the older buildings are displayed.  The place where we are standing in the pictures below were taken just north of the larger section of the Chancellery and immediately over the top of bunker (the tiny square outlined).

Now the Finance Minstry, this is one of the few buildings built by the Nazis that remains in Berlin today. It was originally built by Herman Goring to house the Luftwaffe. The picture we are looking at was painted durng the East German Communists. It`s stiil there today because it`s a great representation of the foundation of the communist doctrine.

Jakob explaining the `Peoples` (East German) art work Nygil rooting for the Longhorns? Jakob filling us on the Air Ministry

The exhibit has been in place since 1997 with the latest update opening in 2010. The exhibit runs along two basement walls from the headquarters of the Gestapo and the headquarters for the SS (in what was the Hotel Prinz Albrecht) during the second world war.

 

The new Documentation Center was officially opened in May 2010 by Federal President Horst Kuhler on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. 

 

Finally, there is a segment of the Berlin Wall preserved as an adjunct to the Nazi history. Definately worth a visit.  Almost forgot...it`s free.

Oldest beer garden in Berlin. From their website:

Once upon a time  Beginnings often remain vague. A certain Porath is said to have started serving beer at Kastanienallee 7 in 1837. But documents show that the Kalbo family purchased the establishment in 1852 and started developing it. This is when it evolved from a beer garden and outdoor cafe into a place of all-round enjoyment and leisure.

We met at the Prater-Garten to sample some great German Beer.  Nygil was a great help as our interpreter...helpiung us with the choices and passing them back our to the waitress.  We could have decided on our own, but it`s a LOT easy with someone who speaks German.

 

Most of the group stayed for dinner.  We (Jan, Jack, Linda & Ron) moved onto Oderquelle Restaurant.

Nygil as our translator Beer and diner Figuring out what to order

 

 When the Nazis took control, they instituted a policy of Aryanization. They forced Jews to sell everything for as little as 5% of its value. The recover of property is still taking place. Vacant lots may represent property that is still in dispute. No one will build for fear that it may be owned by someone yet to make a claim. 

 

 The temple shown below is the largest Jewish Temple in Berlin. Heavily damaged during WWII it has been restored to original splendor.

 

 

 

The memorial is below ground (see the picture on the right below).  It`s bookshelves.  The last picture is the bookshelves at night.  Intriguing. 

 

 

Our final night, wee took a boat tour of Berlin.  The tour took us by the Nikolai Quarter, Museum Island, Friedrichstrabe, Government Quarter, Reichstag (seat of the German Government), Berlin Main Station, German Chancellery, House of World Cultures and back to the shipping pier.

The Pergamon is an ABSOLUTE MUST SEE. The presentation of the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate and the Market Gate of Miletus is magnificent. It`s like describing the Grand Canyon. You have to see to believe it.

Jack filled in some missing pictures at the Brandenberg Gate.

American Embassy at Brandenberg Gate Picture by: Odd couples at Brandenberg Gate Picture by:

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Nygil`s recommendation...and a good one. Great German food at a decent price.

 

 

Our first nights stay. We made a reservation for an additional night (the night prior to the start of our tour) via email. Not a big deal, just contact them for the rate and send them your credit card number. A little scary since the credit card number is sent "in the open", but it has NOT been a problem.

 

Great location.  A tram runs right in front of the hotel with a stop 100 feet to the south.  Head south on the other side of the street (the direction you head to get to the subway).  The tram stop when you're returning to the hotel from the subway is in front of the hotdog stand immediately south of the hotel.

 

Great little coffee/sweets shop right across the street.

 

No Internet service.  CHEAP (1 hour = 1,25 Euros) WIFI is available at a hotdog stand two LONG blocks to the south (NOT the hotdog stand by the tram stop).