Advertisement
Today Ange and I hit practically all of the sights that Berlin can boast, except for the museums. We decided that museums weren't going to be quite as interesting and as we quickly found out, I had to depend on Ange for translating quite a bit of the info at the other major sights so going through entire museums would have been a bit much. However, we did exhaust our feet on this trip and the following should explain why.
The tallest building that I've ever seen is Germany's massive TV tower. It is a staggering 168 metres tall and the ball at the top is 6 stories high. Painted up with the T Mobile colors it was a giant pink and white soccer ball (the 2006 World Cup is being hosted by Germany).
We then saw the Berlin Cathedral (Dom Berlin). It's an amazing building that had to be partially re-built and re-constructed after WWII and is a huge building. The scale to which Germany builds is amazing, so just imagine what it must be like in Russia! We courageously climbed to the top of the dome and looked out at Berlin which was awesome and a bit
wet. Getting to the top of the building is creepy especially when you look down (so don't!). The tiny spiral staircase that you have to climb once you get to the top of the building itself is scary but when you get out to the top and you can actually see the detail of the statues on the roof it's soo cool and fabulous.
Next was St Hedwig's Cathedral. This smaller cathedral is really interesting and gives you a different scale in which to see German church architecture.
All over Berlin are massive plazas (great large expanses that can hold thousands--great for concerts or protests). In between the German and French cathedrals spans a great platz (plaza). Both buildings are separated by the Opera/Theatre House. A show of some sort was being filmed while we were there but nothing was recognizable and construction was being done on one of the Cathedrals.
A well known landmark of Germany for centuries and particularly as a border marker between East and West Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate stands huge and imposing.
Passing through the Brandenburg Gate we headed over to Potsdamer Platz to see the Berlin Wall, what's left of
it. The pieces that were out are eventually going to be incorporated into a building. After checking out the plaza we ran into an outdoor exhibit (since the building it is to be housed in has yet to be built due to funding) entitled 'Topography of Terror'. It is an exhibit which talks about the Nazi role in the Holocaust and the people who were for and against the Nazis concluding with info from the Nuremberg Trials. The old KGB headquarters stands directly opposite this exhibit on the other side of the largest chunk of the Berlin Wall that still exists, a building now in use by the finance ministry.
We stopped by Checkpoint Charlie, which really isn't much although it seems to have played a much greater role in history. Ange pointed out that you can tell when you're getting close to the checkpoint by the increasing number of vendors selling old Russian military hats and costumes. Its odd but true.
Desperately needing a rest and a bit of food, we went into a shopping centre and I had my Wurst experience. It was delicious, especially since sauerkraut is awesome!
By now the sun was almost
about to set so we headed over to join the massive queue of people to get into the Reichstag. Apparently the view and interior of the dome of the Reichstag (the only part that you can really go into) is most spectacular at night. The queue took forever, meaning that I think we waited in line for about an hour if not longer. Once we finally got inside it made sense why it took so very long for everyone to get in and out. The security operation of the Reichstag takes forever. First they cram you into a holding type area which is all glass, so you kinda feel like a rat in a cage. Then you have to put all bags through a scanner and you have to walk through a metal detector. It was a bit like going to the airport but instead you were headed into a government building. After finally making it through all the security stuff, we took an elevator 4 stories up to the roof. This doesn't seem like much but when the ceilings are at least 20 feet tall, 4 stories adds up quickly to a very long way up. The dome on
the top of the building is really neat, being that it's made of all glass and is outdoor so it was a bit cold, worse with the wind. There's a timeline that goes around which was interesting to look at but the best part is walking the ramp to the top of the core of the dome. It was really cool and a bit spooky as well.
After the Reichstag we headed back to the Hostel by way of wandering around a bit. Our feet were quite tired and that forced our departure eventually, but it was an awesome first look at Berlin.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.106s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 6; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0581s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb