In Berlin!

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Hey all!

This will be a short post, as the keyboard here is really annoying and I don't have much patience for it right now. Just a quick update: Laura and I got to Berlin 2 nights ago and this is our last night. Tomorrow we head to Prague. We did a walking tour of the city yesterday and it was excellent. We saw all the major sights: the Wall, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstagg, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, the Bebelplatz (where the Nazi book-burnings took place), Museumsinsel (''Museum Island'', where 4 major museums are), and much more. There are lots of photos, but I can't post them yet from where I am. I'll try to get them up ASAP.

Anyway, all is good. It's in the low 30's here and sunny all the time. Scotalnd and Ireland were good, but this actually feels like summer.

Oh, and I've decided to extend my trip. I'm going to head to Greece for about 3 weeks at the end of August. I here they have one or two ancient ruins worth seeing.

That's all for now. Tchüss! (Bye!)

Carly xoxo

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Photos

The Brandenburg Gate
One of the most iconic monuments in Germany. During the Cold War, it served as part of the boundary between East and West Berlin. Also, Napoleon really liked the Quadriga on top, so he lopped it off and brought it to Paris. When the Germand recaptured it, they changed the goddess on top to Victoria (for victory) and her face now looks down on the French Embassy.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Consisting of more than 2,700 columns, it is actually chilling to walk through.

Memorial to the Workers' Uprising of 1952
The large building in front was originally built by Hitler to house the Luftwaffe. When the Communists took over, they turned it into the "Ministry of Ministries" and put up a massive propaganda painting depicting happy workers and smiling children. The photograph in front, of the same dimensions, is a photograph of what Communism was really like - it shows the despair on the faces of the people during the Workers' Uprising of 1952.

Checkpoint Charlie
For all it's fame, it is fairly plain. I liked this sign though. Also noteworthy is the building in the background - it was CIA headquarters during the Cold War, and stared directly across the street at KGB headquarters. Needless to say, a lot of time was spent just staring at each other.

Statue on Museum Island
Karl Friedrich Schinsel was one of Berlin's leading architects, and was obsessed with Greco-Roman statues. This one is outside the Museum of Contemporary Art. I think it's pretty cool.

Fire Guy at Zapata
We went on a pub crawl in Berlin, and the starting point was this sandlot bar behind a bombed-out department store now called Tacheles. This guy came out in a purple fireman's suit and started screaming and setting things on fire as his show. It was hilarious and slightly frightening.

The Pergamon Museum
A fantastic museum, this is the entrance hall. When you go through they've re-created the gate from Babylon. It's pretty spectacular.