Berlin Day 2

We Started out Day 2 in Berlin at the Hauptbahnhof and plans to do the Self Guided Tour carefully outlined in the Rick Steves Germany book. We were most excited about this day because so many of the most famous buildings and monuments were on the tour route.

First Stop: The Reichstag

The Reichstag is the German Parliament Building-the Heart of German Democracy. It has a complicated history. In 1933 it almost burned down. The Nazi's who were highly influencing the German political scene blamed it on a Communist plot. It was a lucky break for the Nazis who were able to gain more support. During the last days of WWII Stalin ordered his troops to take the Reichstag from the Nazis. 1500 Nazi soldiers made there last stand here. After fierce fighting on this roof top the Reichstag fell to the Red Army. To celebrate it 101st Birthday, the building was rebuilt by British architect Lord Norman Foster into the new parliamentary home of the Bundestag (Germany's lower house, similar to the US House of Representatives). To many Germans, the proud resurrection of the Reichstag symbolizes the end of a terrible chapter in their country's history. (Rick Steves pg. 563 2011)

Dem Deutschen Volke "To the German People"

The glass cupola rises 155 feet above the ground. Inside the dome, a cone of 360 mirrors reflects natural light into the legislative chamber below. Lit form inside at nightime, this gives Berlin a nightlight. We were very BUMMED that we could not go inside and climb the cupola. You have to have a reservation days in advance so that they can run background checks on everyone who enters. We understood because of its crazy past, but it was sure dissapointing.

Frische Brezel Bike now that's something you don't see everyday! 

Let us in!! We want to tour the building and clim the Cupola.  We promise were not dangerous in any way, just a little rowdy! 

Back side views of the Cupola and Reichstag

Next we walked over to the Brandenburg Gate.....it was so exciting!  We had perfect weather. They were having an appreciation ceremony for the Polizei....and a race of some sort that ended right in front of the Gate so it was pretty crowded.  But still so amazing.  I could not believe how cool and big this gate is! 

The historic Brandenburg Gate (1791) was the grandest-and is the last survivor of 14 gates in Berlin's old city wall (this one led to the neighboring city of Brandenburg).  The gate was the symbol of Prussian Berlin...and later the symbol of a divided Berlin.  It is crowned by a majestic four-horse chariot with the Goddess of Peace at the reins.  Napoleon took this statue to the Louvre in Paris in 1806.  After the Prussians defeated Napoleon and got it back (1813), she was remaned the Goddess of Victory.  (Rick Steves pg. 570)

After all this sight seeing....we had worked up a bit of an appetite.  They had a lot of vendors and lots of food in conjuction with the Polizei celebration, so we took advantage and tried some different things.  Hanna and I got sauteed mushrooms and garlic toast, Josh and the other boys got vursts and brotchen and Jared tried some shishkabobs/ pork and potatoes. 

Josh and Megan are such cute friends! 

Next we walked to The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

This is the first formal German Government-sponsered Holocauset memorial.  The pillars are made of hollow concrete, each chemically coated for easy removal of graffiti.  (Ironically, the chemical coating was developed by a subsidiary of the former IG Farben group-the company infamous for supplying the Zyklon B gas used in Nazi death camps.)  Talk about a change in Mission Statements for that company....funny. 

The idea is to ponder the Holocaust while walking between all the rows of the 2,711 gravestone-like pillars.  That's exactly what our 11 children did....they pondered the Holocaust while running and playing a very LOUD game of Sardines.  Make sure when you visit someday to not run or jump from pillar to pillar or a security guard will yell to you in German to get off! 

As we walked by the back side of the US Embassy, we had to stop for a picture with the Berlin bear dressed like the Statue of Liberty!

Next on our walking tour was a stroll down UNTER DEN LINDEN STREET

Named centuries ago for its thousand linden trees, this was the most elegant street of Prussian Berlin before Hitler's time, and the main drag of East Berlin after his reign.  Hitler replaced the trees-many 250 years old-with Nazi flags.  Popular discontent actually drove him to replant linden trees. 

Cutie kids with a "Seiff" stuffed bear (elite German brand) outside of an expensive toy boutique on the Unter Den Linden

The pedestrian crossing guys look different in Berlin.  They have become an iconic symbol of Berlin and the tourism industry has gone crazy over these little dudes.  They are really cute I must admit!  (History down below)

“The Ampelmännchen, which in German means the little traffic light man is the symbolic person shown on traffic lights at pedestrian crossings in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR - EAST Germany). Prior to the German reunification in 1990, the two German states had different forms for the Ampelmännchen, with a generic human figure in West Germany, and a generally male figure wearing a hat in the east.

The Ampelmännchen is a beloved symbol in Eastern Germany, "enjoying the privileged status of being one of the few features of communist East Germany to have survived the end of the Iron Curtain with his popularity unscathed." After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Ampelmännchen became a popular souvenir item in the tourism business.

There are three Ampelmännchen variations in modern-day Germany – the old East German version, the old West German version, and a pan-German Ampelmännchen that was introduced in 1992. Each German state holds the rights for which version to use. The Ampelmännchen on several traffic lights in Erfurt were changed through manipulation of the template, showing Ampelmännchen carrying backpacks or cameras. In 2004, Joachim Roßberg invented the female counterpart to the Ampelmännchen, the Ampelfrau, which was installed on some traffic lights in Zwickau and Dresden.” --(Wikipedia)

An equistrian statue of Frederick  "The Great" former Prussian King, (1740-1786) kept culture and business sections of Berlin separate.  He wanted the Culture close to his palace and business further out by the city walls. 

Further down on the Unter Der Linden is the Bebelplatz Square where they have this glass window in the center.  A bunch of empty bookshelves line the floor below -memoralizing the notorious Nazi book burning.  It was on this square in 1933 that staff and students from the university threw 20,000 newly forbidden books (like Einstein's) into a huge bonfire on the orders of the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.  A plaque nearby has this quote displayed from the German Poet, Heinrich Heine.  In 1820 he wrote:  "Where they burn books, at the end they also burn people."  (How's that for foreshadowing?)  The Nazi's despised Heine because he was Jewish before he converted to Christianity.  A century later, his books were among the first to go up in flames on this spot.  Oh and sorry fellow tourists.....if you came to see this COLE wanted a front row seat. 

Every once in awhile I have the "Oh my Gosh, I live in Germany" thought enter my mind.  While staring at this cobblestone ground in the square that is what I was thinking! 

Tourist troopers....all smiles and fun! 

On this square we also checked out the round, Catholic St. Hedwig’s Church – nicknamed the “upside-down teacup”. It was built by the pragmatic Frederick the Great to encourage the integration of Catholic Silesians after his empire annexed their region in 1742.. When asked what the church should look like, Frederick literally took a Silesian teacup and slammed it upside-down on the table. Like all Catholic churches in Berlin, St. Hedwig’s is not on the street, but stuck in a kind of back lot indicating inferiority to Protestant churches.  (Rick Steve's pg. 578)

We stopped and watched this syrian Protest parading down Unter Der Linden.....can you spy the street sign? 

One of our last big stops was Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom)

This was my personal favorite stop of the day.  The large area where the Cathedral sits is called Museum Island.  The one below is named the "New Museum" where they have an Egyptian Collection.  This is definitely a favorite spot on a nice sunny day for locals and tourists to relax, read, and picnic. 

We took off our shoes, the kids ran around (sorry everyone trying to relax or sleep), and the little boys got to get out of their strollers.  Oh and we had another snack about the 10 th of the day! 

Dieter loved relaxing at the Cathedral! 

Tag it is! 

This cathedral was so pituresque

After sitting on the lawn we came over here to let the kids run around and eat our Ice-Cream purchased from a very grumpy vendor. 

Berlin's Clock Tower.....a parting shot for the day.  What an amazing day!  After going back to the apartment and getting pizza at a nearby restaruant, we put the kids to bed and the grown-ups headed back downtown for some night strolls.  It is sure nice to have big kids that can stay behind and babysit. 

We came back to the Brandenburg gate to get some night shots, and hear some amazing violin music performed in front of the gate.  It was a great night with a light breeze.  Perfect!  We also got a few last pictures of the Reichstag with the lit up cupola before hitting the subway back to the apartment.