We walked around Berlin most of the day with cousin Kevin serving as our guide. He just finished a six week program in Weimar Germany and had visited Berlin during a weekend so he had a familiarity with parts of the city. Some eerie sites as below is a plaque commemorating the site of the first Nazi book burning (1933 I think) just outside the library of Humboldt University.
This building is the Reichstag which was mostly destroyed during the war. Security is tight for the building so we didn’t enter it.
For me, Checkpoint Charlie and its museum were highlights of the day. The building below is not the original building but stands on the original site. The museum was excellent as it provided a history of the Cold War pertaining to the Berlin Wall and also documented the many ways people escaped from East to West Germany.
On a lighter note, the boys enjoyed having their picture taken with a fellow dressed up as the Predator from the movie/video game series.
We went to Museum Island and only had time to visit the Pergamon Museum which was impressive. It holds collections of reconstructed Roman and Greek buildings, other art from those eras and an Islamic art collection. There are three or four other museums on Museum Island so we’ll return tomorrow to check out one or two more before heading to Prague.
What did you think of the Babylon Gate? And the code of Hammurabi?
Hi Peggy,
We loved the Pergamon, I didn’t realize it was so imposing but I think you indicated as such when you were in town. We blew it by not getting the audio guide but still spent nearly three hours looking at the exhibits. Overall, however, I wasn’t too taken by Berlin. In all fairness it is not as old of a city as Paris, London, Prague, etc. plus the city was effectively leveled during WWII. It has been a terrific trip thus far with M. Rizo, Patrick & Marlene, and others up on Saturday. Thanks for all the comments and David & Alex say “Hi!”