Blogs from Berlin, Berlin, Germany, Europe - page 150

Today we went on a walking tour led by a Canadian/Berliner named Brian. It was just mind-blowing! Brian really new his stuff and had many stories to tell. I can't possibly narrow six hours down but I will mention some highlights. One thing Matt and I were blown away with was standing on the site above Hitler's bunker where he was brought above ground after he killed himself. We also saw the sight of the book burnings where there was an arty memorial underground. We walked through a controversial memorial to the Jews that consisted of different levelled cement blocks. As well we looked at a memorial for the 96 men who voted against Hitler and in one way or another under Nazi rule lost their lives. Of course we saw the exsisting part of the ... read more

We awoke early to make sure we could get from the houseboat to the bus in time. Matt skilfully read the map to get us there by two trams, gotta love those things! We spent another day on the bus to arrive in Berlin at five thirty pm. We were a little upset because we had to share an eight bed dorm room (cooties!), but it turned out the rooms were immaculate and our room mates respectful! Tonight we had a cheap meal at the hostel, a snitzel and a beer and then went for a stroll to Brandenburg gate. We grabbed an ice-cream on the way yum! On the way back we found a spot of lovely green grass and looked up at the amazing surrounding buildings. We know one of them is the National ... read more

The morning got off to a stellar start with me waking up at noon, thus missing the 11am bike tour, as well as being forced to do some fashion experimentation (details reserved for friends). I did get quite a bit done though, visiting Brandenburg Tor and the Reichstag before rushing back for the 4pm bike tour. The tour was well worth the money, as history lessons in the classroom never quite impressed upon me as much as when I'm literally staring right at it. Berlin really is living history in so many ways. Some of the buildings in the Jewish corner still have their original (bullet-hole ridden) facades preserved, while an incredible amount of building is at the same time still ongoing. It actually took a moment of reflection for me to realize that where I'm ... read more

The day started out with pouring rain, so I was quite thankful that most of Berlin's major museums are rather tightly packed on Museuminsl (literally museum island). I did make the blunder of mistaking the national gallery for Pergammon Museum, and wound up in line for close to 3 hours for the wrong museum! I did get to see what all the fuss was about though: special Goya exhibit, which was quite interesting. The guy had incredibly disparate facets - his portraits and tapestries are a world away from his politically motivated drawings, which show a very active and darkly twisted imagination. My blunder did land me in line with Alexandra though, a local student studying medicine. With someone to talk to, the lineup wasn't so bad. I did finally end up in Pergammon Museum, which ... read more

Now I know why Louie 14th was the so called Sun King. Sunday was the only day left to visit Versailles. Jenee and Paul wanted to check out the Paris flea market prior to heading to the Palace. Turns out they hated the flea market. By the time they returned there was little time to even get to Versailles let alone tour it. I'd waited for Paul from Berlin to visit the castle figuring this would be a highlight to share. When we got to the palace it was crowded and extremely hot. Paul saw the queue and decided he wasnt really interested. Jenee and I had Museum passes so we could go right in. But Jenee said she wasn't interested either! I couldn't believe it. Anyway, they went off to a local cafe while I ... read more