Berlin Day 3

We woke up early on Sunday and got everyone ready for church. We headed to the Tiegarten Ward which ironically was what was on the agenda for touring later in the day! We stepped in to the building and were immediately greeted by several people, some who spoken English and some who did not. They wanted to know who we were, where we came from, and if we were new move ins. Their eyes got huge as they counted all the kids and said ,"too bad you aren't moving in, you would have doubled our Primary"!  We settled into our bench and were given headsets to hear the English translation of the meeting. It was interesting to try and sing in the Hymns in German.

We started the day out at this other section of Gate in the city.  I'm not sure if it is original to the old city wall or not. 

Handsome Carter who is growing his hair out these days

Next we entered the Tiergarten Park.  It is the "Central Park of Berlin and stretches from Bahnhof Zoo to the Brandenburg Gate.  It is gorgeous!  And unfortunately filled with mosquitos.  This pituresque lamp post was at a major crossing in the park.  Mr. Old guy didn't move for the 5 minutes I waited to take a picture without him in it.  The other lamp posts in the distance are from all over the city and placed in the Tiergarten.  They are each different. 

The kids enjoyed playing Football and searching for treasures. Jakey wins for the largest treasure.

After a long walk, we exited the Tiegarten on to the street to see what all the noise was about.  They had the street totally blocked offfor  an inline skating race.  It was pretty impressive.  They went all the way up and then would circle the Victory Column and then come back down the other side.  Over and over again.  This is why they had the streets blocked off on our way to church! 

We followed the racers at our own "snail's pace" and ended up at the famous Victory Column or "Chick on a Stick" as the true Berliners refer to her. 

We entered and climbed to the top.  This mosiac tile art work on the side of the column was so colorful and beautiful. 

The view from the top was okay, but the observation deck and the narrow staircase were way crowded on the way up and down.  It was interesting to see the ariel view of the Berlin Cathedral, clock tower, Brandenburg Gate, and Reichstag. 

On our way back to the Brandenburg Gate for one last visit we ran into this lady who had the coolest giant homemade bubble wand ever. 

Some final pictures of the Brandenburg Gate.