Berlin, germany

---

June 7, 8, 9, 2008

BERLIN, Germany

After a short drive Saturday morning from Prague we arrived to a beautiful day in Berlin. Again the drive was great, on good highways, and through some more beautiful country side. We were talking today about all the scenery we have seen and for both of us the scenery around the Austrian Alps and Munich ( Bavaria ) is the most interesting we have seen so far. On this whirlwind adventure we have seen a lot ( we mean A LOT !!! ) of very beautiful places and they all have their own special character.

We took the local TRAM in Berlin from our hotel to city center and some general snooping around. The tram is great and the station stop is literally accross the street from the hotel. 10 minutes to city center. Nice city with too much shopping as usual.

It is very obvious, immediately, that this is a completely different city from our Bavarian and Bohemian travels with very few old buildings and a very modern look. Most of the old stuff was destroyed in the Second World War, and some has been rebuilt to the old look.

People have been living here for 800 years or so officially but most of the history of Berlin is a very recent couple of hundred years. We took the city tour bus and spent the day visiting various sites around town including the remains of “The Wall” and “ Checkpoint Charly”, and a large palace, Charlottenbug Palace, that was one of the homes of the last reigning Prussians.

The tour included an hour on a river boat that gives you a good look at the city from the water side. The water being the River Spree. A good day with great weather and lots to see. We found the city to be a little less interesting because, for us, it is for the most part another modern city. There is a big difference from Munich to Berlin in regards to being clean. Berlin has some work to do in this regard. It just seemed that there was a lot of paper and trash laying around. Not “ dirty or unhealthy” but not as well maintained as Munich's streets.

Our last day in Berlin was quiet with a short visit to downtown and the afternoon “doing chores”. Travelling like this requires a “day off” every now and then to do the wash, relax and take it easy.

We enjoyed Berlin but it is a completely different visit than we had in Munich, Bavaria and Bohemia. The relics and history from the wall and the cold war, as well as the World Wars history, is a big part of what they have to offer and it is very interesting.

Tuesday morning we are driving west to Hannover.

---