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Berlin
The Tower Friday 3 July 2015
After a very hot day yesterday and experiencing Berlin public transport at its worst we were now ready for anything. One thing we were not ready for was an even hotter day. Yesterday's 30 degrees was mild compared to the 35 degrees today. As brave Kiwis say, "The show must go on". The Intrepid Duo dressed appropriately and headed off into the heat of the day.
Yesterday was quite a learning curve when it came to understanding the public transport system of Berlin. The purchase of the day ticket was a breeze. Working out the U-bahn, S-bahn, tram and bus takes some sorting out. What direction are we going? Where is the station? What exit do we take? Today will be better.
Our first destination is Alexanderplatz. That's easy, just one train change. We emerge into a furnace of hot concrete peering up at the Berlin tower. Too hot for loitering. Where is the Galleria Kaufhof? Can't loiter. As the heat starts to get the better of us we find our quarry and in we go. Air conditioning!! We'll stay here a while. This is the day a very serious purchase needs to be
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Cruising the River Spree. made. Now the hard decision - which one. This large department store has a very reasonably price cafeteria. What a good place to make an important decision.
With full stomachs it is back downstairs to that all important display counter. The lovely sales assistant, who says all the right complimentary comments, was there waiting for us. Hand over cash and card and that important purchase is completed.
Next stop, the museums. We chose the Pergamon Museum for today. This, we hope, will complete our Turkish tour of four years ago. We are persuaded to purchase a 3-day museum pass because that is the same price as visiting the two museums we want to visit. Also we get free audio guide. This decision will come back to haunt us tomorrow. There are some outstanding archeological pieces: gateways, mosaic floors, many carved artifacts, and plaster casts of original items still to be seen in their original position. Many of the pieces come from Turkey and what is now Iran and Iraq. Four years ago we questioned the need to remove these items from their original home. Now we thank the archeologists for their efforts. Today groups of people are systematically
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The colonnade leading to the museums on Museum Island. destroying similar artifacts. One item is missing, an altar piece from Pergamon, the one piece we wanted to see. Another day.
How much more can the body take. The temperature continues to rise so time to head back to the hotel. We have fingers crossed that there are no delays on our line. The ice creams at the end of the line are more than delicious on this day. We eat them in a very public place. We can see passing shoppers drooling as they pass us. We savour every morsel.
With shopping in hand we successfully complete the final 10 minute walk back to our hotel. It has been a hot day and we survived. Sleep came easily this night. Tomorrow is a BIG day.
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Galeria Kaufhof is a shopping center