Berlin

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Today was a busy day for us as we included two excursions to our trip in and around Berlin. Our first trip was to Potsdam just on the other side of the line between West Berlin and East Germany during the Cold War. We crossed the Gleinicker Bridge near Potsdam where several spy exchanges were made and them made our way to Cecilienhof where the Potsdam Conference was held during which the decision was made by Churchill, Truman and Stalin to divide up Germany into four sectors as well as dividing Berlin the same way. This eventually led to the building of the Berlin Wall separating east from west.

After leaving Cecilienhof, we continued on to Sanssouci (without worry) Palace home to Frederick the Great. This was his summer home where he retreated to relax. He is buried here on the terrace. We spent some time walking the grounds of the palace. Our final stop was the villa (from afar) where the Wannsee Conference took place when the Nazi officials determined the fate of the Jews. We then returned to the hotel to grab some lunch before heading out in the afternoon. Having very little time for lunch we quickly stopped at an Asian restaurant nearby.

After lunch we once again climbed on a bus for a tour of Berlin's Hidden Past. Our first stop was at the Topography of Terror where there is a portion of the Berlin Wall and a history of the time in Berlin depicted along the wall. Leaving there we moved on to the recreated Checkpoint Charlie on the three areas where one could pass between the east and the west in Berlin. Our final stop was at the memorial created for the Russian Soldiers who fought against the Nazis in WWII. At one point we drove along section of the wall still standing which has been covered in a variety of murals.

Returning to the hotel we were on our own for dinner, so after a short rest, we began our walk to the Brandenburg Gate to photograph it at night. On the way, we stopped at a little stand in the mall along the Unter den LInden. We were in Germany so we had to get Bratwurst. Continuing on we made it to the gate well before dark, so we walked into the park nearby and on to the Holocaust Memorial that we did not get to see yesterday. While waiting for it to get dark we were entertained by a little band and chatted for quite a while with two young German men from Stuttgart.

After getting our pictures we made our way back to the hotel for some sleep after walking over 16,000 steps.

Tomorrow we head to Dresden,

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