The Island and the Wall

Sunday we all slept in catching up on the time changes I’m hoping. By 1:00 we got on the train and headed into Berlin. There was only a few signs of yesterdays partiers ……Germany won the game with Portugal.

We decided to go east of Brandenberg Gate today and walked down Unter Den Linden….a main street lined with Linden trees….fragrant smells from the flowers and heart shaped leaves. Today was very sunny, with a nice breeze blowing. Our destination was Museum Island, an island with about 5 large classical buildings, housing museums, and the Berlin Dom, a very large cathedral. But just before the bridge we spotted a craft market lining the river opposite the buildings on the islands…..so we browsed the stands making out way to the tip of the island. We were just walking and exploring today not visiting the museums.

We stopped for lunch  a platter of appetizers to share…..food was good, service was slow, bathroom was free! We decided to get on the trains and go down to the East Side Gallery…..longest still standing part of the Berlin Wall….over a kilometre…..On the street side of the wall is paintings by over 100 international artists and on the water side (not the whole 1km) is graffiti art. All of it very impressive. First painted in 1990 and then restored in 2009. The area is just a little ways from where Curt lived when he was here.

                                     

I am really fascinated by large buildings…..you see a street with individual buildings yet they are all connected…..and especially on the east side large factory/warehouse buildings that are empty. And I love the transportations system….we getting really good at figuring out how to get around…..15 Euro (about $20) for the 3 of us to travel all day on a Kleingruppenkarte (group card for up to 5 people)

By this time it was about 7pm and we were getting tired and hungry, so we tried a new route home via the underground and then the train to a nice pasta dinner .
　
The River
After seeing the tour boats going up and down the Spree River we decided to find one that had English options….Our tour started at the Jannowitz Bridge near Museum Island and cruised the river to the Moltke Bridge…it was fun seeing the city from the river, we are now recognizing buildings and landmarks that we have been to ……and seeing the architecture of all the museum and galleries, new and old. Berlin some very amazing buildings.

We checked in at the Reichstag,,,, Germany’s parliament building with a glass dome where you can see views of the whole city, to see if there was a way to get in without the online registration…..no….will have to do that when we get home. Then on to the Sony building another amazing piece of architecture on the Potsdamer Platz. On our way to Checkpoint Charlie…the crossing from East to West Berlin….we went into the Topography of Terror an exhibit of the dark days of Berlin’s history from 1933-1945.…outdoor panels accounting Hitler’s rise and fall ….very well done, with photos, personal and news accounts of the period…..I will come back here later.



On our way back to the train home we stopped at the phone store for some help with the chip he bought for his phone, then supper and a little window shopping. Another full day….lots of walking and sights.