Days: 13 - 17
September 4th (Wed) - 8th (Sun)
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Page Index
What We Saw
•  City of Dresden
•  Frauenkirche
•  Berlin Cathedral
•  German History Museum Temporary Alternative
Where We Ate
•  Ausspanna Restaurant
Where We Stayed
•  Myer’s Hotel Berlin
•  Intercity Hotel Berlin Airport

  Overview

Day 11 (Wednesday - September 4) Baroque Dresden and Dynamic Berlin 
Our final driving day begins with a stop in the city of Dresden, where a local guide will take us on a walking tour of this delightfully Baroque city, reborn from the ashes of World War II. Its star is the inspiring Frauenkirche, destroyed in the firestorms of 1945 and rebuilt with donations from around the world. Arriving in Berlin this afternoon, we'll get oriented to our neighborhood and the city's public transportation system before free time and dinner on your own.  Moderate walking: 2–8 miles throughout the day with lots of hills, stairs, and uneven terrain. Bus: 4 hours. Sleep in Berlin.

Day 12 (Thursday - September 5) Berlin's Historic Heart 

We'll begin our day with a fascinating walking tour through the historic heart of Berlin, including Unter den Linden, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, and memorials to the earth-shaking events and sacrifices of the past century. This evening we'll have our last dinner together, sharing travel memories and toasting new friends. Prost!  Strenuous walking: 2–8 miles throughout the day with lots of hills, stairs, and uneven terrain. No bus. Sleep in Berlin.

Day 13 (Friday - September 6) Tour Over After Breakfast  
Breakfast is provided, but there are no group activities today. It's a breeze to reach Berlin's airport by shuttle, S-bahn train, bus, or taxi. You'll have easy connections to home, or on to other points in Europe. Auf Wiedersehen!

Day 13 (Friday - September 6)   On Our Own 
After our Rick Steves tour ended we have several days left.  Today we're heading over to Museum Island to visit the Berlin Cathedral and the Altes Museum.  After that we move on to the German History Museum which is just off the island and, unfortunately, only partially open.  We would have also visited the Pergamon Museum but it is completely closed until 2027.  Lucky for us we visited the Pergamon in our Europe 2010 tour (you can see the pictures there).

Day 13 + 1 (Saturday - September 7)   On Our Own 
Today we're heading back to Museum Island to take in the Neuses Museum and the Bodie Museum. this is our last site-seeing day in Berlin as we head to the Intercity Airport hotel this afternoon in preparation for our very early departure at 6:00am on Sunday.  
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  What We Saw City of Dresden
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
We've visited Dresden on our 2010 tour.  So we didn't think there was going to be any surprises for us.  Boy were we wrong.  Dresden else has change significantly.  In 2010 the Frauenkirche Dresden pretty well sat off on its own.  Having just been renovated a few years before our visit not much was built up around it.  Now the church its amongst a large number of building which house all sorts of businesses.  Stores, open air cafes, apartments, an interior shopping mall and many more. Wow! What a change. But as Bryan pointed out not everyone is happy about the change.  Some even think its so much make believe it's almost like an amusement park.  To each there own. We thought it is great.  




 Background from Wikipedia 
Dresden is the capital city of the German state of Saxony. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany and the fourth largest by area. Dresden has a population of around 790,000 with 1.34 million inhabitants in hte greater metropolitan area.  Most of the city's population lives in the Elbe Valley.  Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its Baroque and Rococo city centre. The bombing of Dresden towards the end of World War II destroyed the entire city centre. After the war, restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the historic inner city.

   

City of Dresden
01067 Dresden
Tel: +49 351 501 501
         
 
  What We Saw Frauenkirche
Wednesday, September 4, 2024

 Background from Wikipedia 
The Frauenkirche is a Lutheran church in Dresden.  The current structure is the third church building to stand at this site. The earliest was founded as a Catholic church before being converted to Protestantism during the Reformation. It was replaced in the 18th century by a larger Baroque Lutheran building. Considered an outstanding example of Protestant sacred architecture, it featured one of the largest domes in Europe. It was originally built as a sign of the will of the citizens of Dresden to remain Protestant after their ruler had converted to Catholicism. After the destruction of the church in 1945, the remaining ruins were left for nearly half a century as a war memorial, following decisions of local East German leaders. Following the reunification of Germany, it was decided to rebuild the church, starting in 1994.

 

Frauenkirche
Neumarkt
01067 Dresden, Germany
Tel: +49 351 65606100
      
 
 
  Where We Ate Ausspanna Restaurant
Thursday, September 5, 2024
This was our last meal together as a group.  The food was actually quite good.  Remember this is a rather small resturant (we filled up every seat) to be serving 8 meals  But they pulled it off without any issues.

Of course we all taked about what we each had done on one of our last days and also reflected on the trip as a whole.  I believe everyne agreed it had been a great trip and were sorry to see it end (although it will be very nice to get home).

When we finished eating, Bryan asked for comments from the group about the trip, all the standard, what you liked, what you didn't like, etc.  It was universally positive.  Many told of the places and/or the things they liked the best.  Several amusing stories which helped us all remember all the great memories from the past two weeks.  Sort of sad to see the tour end but all greatful for the wonderful time it runed out to be.

We also made it clear to Bryan how much we apprecited his leadership in making the tour so successful and how lucky we were to have someone so knowledgable about the sites we visited and how they fit into Germany's past (through many history talks), their present and even Germany's future.  Bryan is obviously proud of Germany. 

 

 

Ausspanna Restaurant
Kastanienallee 65
10119 Berlin, Germnay
Tel: 030 44305199
      
 
  What We Saw Berlin Cathedral
Friday, September 6, 2024
We've seen a number of churches & cathedrals on this trip and while this is indeed another, it's worth a stop. Like so many other buildings in Berlin it was destroyed in WWII and has risen from the ashes. BTW they say they have an barrier free entry...but not really. We range the bell but gave up when there wasn't an answer. The steps leading in weren't that bad. 


 Background from Wikipedia 
Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) is a monumental German Protestant church and dynastic tomb on the Museum Island in central Berlin. Having its origins as a castle chapel for the Berlin Palace, several structures have served to house the church since the 15th century. The present collegiate church was built from 1894 to 1905. The building is the largest Protestant church in Germany and one of the most important dynastic tombs in Europe. In addition to church services, the cathedral is used for state ceremonies, concerts and other events.

In 1940, the blast waves of Allied bombing blew away part of the windows. On 24 May 1944, a bomb of combustible liquids entered the roof lantern of the dome. The fire could not be extinguished at that unreachable section of the dome. So the lantern burnt and collapsed into the main floor. Between 1949 and 1953, a temporary roof was built to enclose the building. In 1975, reconstruction started, simplifying the building's original design and demolishing the north wing,

 

Berlin Cathedral
Am Lustgarten
10178 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 30 20269136
      
 
  What We Saw German History Museum Temporary Alternative
Friday, September 6, 2024
Since the German History Museum is closed for renovation, they have set up an alternative presentation (in an adjoining building) called Roads Not Taken.  They set up a bunch of galleries on the -1 floor (Yup -1 is correct).  In each of the galleries they presented what had actually taken place during 14 key moments in German history (starting with 1989 and going backwards to 1848) followed by some suggested possibilities of what could have happened if things had gone in a different direction.  Not sure you can actually go back and do "what ifs" at key points in history and then predict with any accuracy how the world would have changed as a result. But it does point up how close things came to being different.  If only...!  Definitely worth seeing. 

Oh yeah. One more thing. They also do an audio presentation via your cellphone. It's FREE. You log in to the local wifi and then go to a website (via a QR code) they've set up so you can hear what's being presented in each of the galleries. One of the pictures below shows a number on the floor which is the one you to enter into the website for the audio presentation for that particular gallery. 
 



So these two pics are of a sign post you pass on the way out.  When you enter the exhibit you're given a sticker to ware, to show you've paid.  Clearly these people saw no value holding on to theirs.



 Background from Wikipedia 
The German Historical Museum is devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans". The museum is located in the 17th century Zeughaus[a] (armory) on the Unter den Linden, just across the Spree from Museum Island. The museum was founded on 28 October 1987, on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin; it was inaugurated in the Reichstag building in former West Berlin.

 

German History Museum Temporary Alternative
Unter den Linden 2
(Back behind)
10117 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 30 203040
      
 
 
  Where We Stayed Myer’s Hotel Berlin


Myer’s Hotel Berlin
Metzer Str. 26
10405 Berlin
Tel: +49 (30) 440 14 - 0
FAX: +49 (30) 440 14 - 104
         
 
 
  Where We Stayed Intercity Hotel Berlin Airport
We decided to spent our final night in Berlin at one of the airport hotels.  Our flight in the morning was scheduled for 6:00am so we wanted to be close.


 

Intercity Hotel Berlin Airport
BER Terminal 1+2
Willy-Brandt-Platz 5
12529 Schönefeld Deutschland
   
 
 
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