It is ambitious to think I can fit a four-day weekend in Berlin into one post, but I am going to try. Berlin has been on our list for a long time, but we finally made it happen in May. We opted to drive since it was a four day weekend. It took us just over eight hours to get there...maybe closer to nine. Not so bad. After finding our apartment and figuring out the tram lines, we decided to do a little sightseeing with what we had left in the day.
Our first stop was the Neptune Fountain by the Red Town Hall.
The fountain was just a stop on our way to find the Brandenburg Gate. I'm not going to lie. It was smaller than I thought it would be. Our Cinquantenaire Park is so grand, that it makes this triumphal arch seem kind of small.
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| The Brandenburg Gate |
I love the Ampelmann. These are the East Berlin pedestrian traffic lights!
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
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| A sprawling 4.7 acres of concrete slabs are arranged in a grid pattern. The slabs are 7 ft. long and 3 ft. wide but all have varying heights with the height of the ground also changing. It felt like you were walking on waves. |
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| Not terribly appropriate for a Jewish Memorial but...I love them, so I am posting. |
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| A view of the Reichstag and US Embassy |
Our first Berlin Wall sighting near the Potsdamer Platz.
Friday morning was our Fat Tire Bike Tour of the city. This is a fantastic way to see any city...especially with kids. You ride for a while, listen to some facts, ride again, eat, facts, ride, etc. It is great for keeping them alert and paying attention.
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| Each morning, this was our breakfast stop. Chris only has eyes for that coffee! |
The tour begins! First stop....Gendarmenmarkt
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| This place is gorgeous! It has both a French and German cathedral along with an amazing concert house. |
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| How is your German?....KONZERTHAUS :) |
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| The cyclists! |
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| It was at this moment that I realized they coordinated their outfits.... |
No offense to the history department at Moline High School, but I learned more in this 10 minute commentary/chalk drawing than I learned in all of high school history. Sorry....
Berlin is eight times the size of Paris. Ridiculously big! So, when we were walking to Checkpoint Charlie and spotted our niece Julia in this massive city, there was a whole lot of screaming, giggling, and tears. We knew she arrived the same day we did, but she was a busy girl, and we were just planning to see her in Brussels. What a sweet surprise!!!
Checkpoint Charlie!
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| Thumbs up for the USA! |
The Berlin Wall
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| The guard towers are still standing. |
This may look like an ordinary parking lot, but underneath was Hitler's bunker.
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Some corridors of the bunker still exist but are not open to the public.
The site was unmarked until 2006. |
Our bike tour took us back to the Jewish Memorial.
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| When East Berlin was East Berlin, all symbols of Christianity had to be removed from that side of the city. In an effort to lure the West Berliners to East Berlin, they built this really modern TV tower. It screamed, "Look how advanced we are! Come on over here!" What they didn't realize was when the sun would shine on the tower, it made a very clear symbol of the cross. I hope you can see it on the silver ball. See! God is always there! |
The Victory Column
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| Thomas would like to be a bike tour guide when he grows up. When you couldn't find Thomas on the tour, you were sure to locate him talking to the guide or right behind him in the line of bikes. At the end of the tour, our guide gave him an "authentic" piece of the Berlin wall for asking so many good questions and being so attentive. Pretty cool! |
Lunch was at a beer garden in the Tiergarten Park, but if you are coming to Berlin for the Bavarian experience...do not! Berlin is nothing like the other parts of Germany we have visited. Head to Munich for Lederhosen and the Hofbrauhaus.
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| You can always use the TV Tower to find your way. |
The German Chancellery
The Reichstag Building
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Wikipedia says....
It was opened in 1894 and housed the Diet until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. After World War II, the building fell into disuse.
The ruined building was made safe against the elements and partially refurbished in the 1960s, but no attempt at full restoration was made until after German reunification on 3 October 1990, when it underwent a reconstruction led by architect Norman Foster. After its completion in 1999, it once again became the meeting place of the German parliament: the modern Bundestag. |
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| Bike Tour Champion! |
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| Have no fear Berlin! The Vastines are here! |
The Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz
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| Our guide was giving the history of the Brandenburg gate, but said most people were more interested in the hotel behind us.... |
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| Because...this is where Michael Jackson dangled his baby (Blanket) over the railing. There was a resounding...AHHH...from the group. The guide said that is when everyone starts to pay attention again. :) |
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| If we were listening correctly, it is the window with the blinds closed. First row of balconies and second from the right. |
Altes Museum - A part of Museum Island
The Berliner Dom
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| Very Impressive! |
The River Spree
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| Behind Gendarmenmarkt on the way to dinner. |
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| Crazy kids! |
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| Staci D. I found your personalized plates. |
Mauerpark "Wall Park" was close to our apartment, so we decided to take a walk over there after dinner. Maybe not such a good idea on a Friday night. Didn't seem appropriate to have our kids there. Perhaps a sunny Saturday morning stroll would have been a better choice. We were not there long!
Mauerpark was probably a better choice than our apartment. What a dump! Don't believe everything you see on Airbnb!
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| Would YOU wash dishes and let them dry in here?? I think not. |
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| Kids, keep your shoes on! |
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| We stayed out of the apartment as much as possible. From now on, it is hotels with 24 hour front desk service! |
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| The Ampelmann once again. |
Alexanderplatz
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| We were probably on our way to Dunkin' Donuts. :) |
The Topography of Terror Museum
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| Up close and personal with the wall. |
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| The day before, we enjoyed ice cream on the grass between the Berliner Dom and Altes Museum. This is what it looked like under Hitler's rule. |
When you have had your fill of history, Berlin has an AMAZING mall!
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| Not something I thought we would do, but it was a nice stop. |
The East Side Gallery
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| A 1.3 km stretch of the Berlin Wall |
The highlight of Allison's trip was the Five Seconds of Summer concert. Several months ago, tickets went on sale. Their concert in Brussels was to be held the same week as her school field trip. She was devastated. Tickets were still available in Berlin. Well, we always wanted to see Berlin, and it was a four day weekend, so tickets were booked. When was the last time your parents took you to another country to see your favorite band? For me...NEVER! For her...TWICE! She saw One Direction in London. Seriously, life is good for this girl!
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| Ladies, put down your phones and have a listen. They are pretty good. |
Sunday morning was our tour of the Reichstag Building. We were up and out of the apartment bright and early...much to the children's dismay! They wanted to sleep!
Russian soldiers wrote on the walls of the building. Much of it still remains even after the building has been completely restored.
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| Now |
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| Then |
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| The dark, horizontal line marks where the Berlin Wall passed by the Reichstag. |
A piece of art in the lower level of the Reichstag is dedicated to all elected Parliamentary members from 1919-1999, including Adolf Hitler.
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| The box with his name on it has been defaced. |
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| A photo of the renovations. Note the CAT tractor. :) |
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| Sitting in where it all happens! I couldn't help but notice the obnoxious purple seats and thinking someone should be fired for that decision. Turns out, it is a one of a kind color that can only be used in this building. Lucky them! Ha! |
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| On the rooftop to see the dome! |
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| Berlin from above. Always building and changing as you can see from the cranes! |
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| There we are! |
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| Making their way to the top. |
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| Brandenburg Gate spotting |
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There they go....separated and no longer speaking to each other. Time to head home.
Keeping it real.... |
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| One last stop! |
The 7-8 hour drive home turned into an 11 hour drive home. What a nightmare. A holiday weekend with six lanes of traffic merging down into two lanes is never good.
Even the gas station was a disaster!
You know what that means...Gas station food for dinner due to a lack of places to stop along the way!
That concludes our weekend in Berlin. It is a fabulous city and did not disappoint! Thank you Five Seconds of Summer for touring in Berlin, so we could visit. ;)
Until next time,
Wendy
