Berlin day 4: Poor but sexy

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Friday

<> is the slogan for Berlin. Even though the city is 61 billion euros in debt, they continue to build and renovate all over. The Germans have done an amazing job remembering their past and making it known to the world (many museums and memorials are free). They embrace their terrible history and in turn make the facts accessible to all, so as to not forget the past.

Real quick i want to mention a little on the public transportation. It's ridiculously easy to use. The S-bahn (above ground train) and the U-bahn were reliable and quick. We bought a City Tour Pass which allowed us to use the trains, trams, and buses for 5 days. Unlike Paris, no one ever really checked our ticket. There was no place to enter the ticket when you got on the trains--all you had to do was validate it. Buses ran every 5 minutes or so. At the stop there was even an electronic sign telling you when the next bus would arrive! Some bus stops even had a terminal with FREE internet access! Loved it.

Today’s tour with Mike was the Third Reich & Nazi Tour. We learned all about the rise & fall of Hitler and the Nazis. Again, there was way too much information to include here, but it was very informative. It’s really amazing to see how fast the Nazi party came to power in Germany. Hitler’s plan to make Berlin, or Germania rather, into the “capital of the world” was incredible. We got to see the only place in Germany where the Swastika symbol is legally displayed (on the flooring of an old Nazi building, now a memorial museum for the resistance movement). Also, we were showed the building were much of the movie Valkyrie was filmed (about Von Stauffenberg’s assassination attempt on Hitler). We did a lot of walking today, but we were sad to end our tour.

We had a very nice dinner at Lubitsch down the street. Viennes Schnitzel for me and rumpsteak for Viv. We had big plans for that night (including another trip to East Berlin, the Turkish quarter, as well as some shopping), but we ended up taking a really long nap (until 6 the next morning, woops). Berlin was an amazing city. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, even wish I had a few more days here. The hotel was really nice, people were friendly, and an overall amazing experience. Saturday morning we have to be up early for our train to Praha!

Goodbye Euro, goodbye Western Europe…

Some final stats for Berlin:

Days: 4.5 days (4 nights)
Steps: ~38,605
Distance walked: ~20.72 miles

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Additional photos below

Photos: 16, Displayed: 16

Photos

Double Decker Bus
Not a special tourist bus, just a regular city bus

Berlin Wall
Taken in 1989 right before the wall came down.

Soviet War Memorial
Built on the center axis of where Germania was supposed to be

Stauffenberg's letter
in his office

Guard that car!
the last guard tower of its kind left in the city

Inside the guard tower
someone had ripped open the door (not me!) and i stuck my camera inside

Old & New
this building has some original materials from before the war (bullet holes) and some brand new material

Chinese Restaurant
Right in the corner of where Hitler's Chancellory used to be... I wonder what he'd think of that