Highlights E Europe Day 14
Highlights E Europe
Day 14 – Wednesday, day, May 12, 2010 – Berlin, Germany sightseeing Reichstag Dome, Holocaust Memorial & the Wall, Berlin by Night & Dinner
Our wake-up call at 6:15 was the street sweeper going back and forth cleaning the streets below. We are in Germany!
The local guide Ita met us at 7:40 for our trip to the Reichstag Building, the seat of the German Parliament. She gave us a little history of the years of the building and its restoration. After the unification of Germany in 1990, the capital moved from Bonn back to Berlin.
The Reichstag Building was reopened in 1999 after a lengthy restoration and this morning precisely at 8:00 the bells on the Mercedes Bell Tower near by began to chime and the doors opened for tourists.
We had to pass through a very intense security check and then we followed Eva and Ita into the elevators and to the Dome.
The circular ramp led to the top of the dome where we had a panoramic view of the whole city. Eva gave us a guide book that pointed out all of the important landmarks of the city that we could see from the top of the Reichstag Building.
At 9:00 we met our group back at the bus and headed for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and Museum. The museum was not open yet, but we were able to tour the top portion of the memorial finished in 2005 near the former site of Hitler’s bunker under his Chancellery Building.
Walking through the 2711 blocks of dark gray concrete all two meters long, but of varying heights, gave a feeling of walking through a cemetery. We only had 6 minutes to take a few photos, not enough time but…
Our next stop was to a remaining portion of the still standing Berlin Wall. Most of the wall that was built overnight and put up on August 13, 1961 has been removed.
The wall was made of prefabricated concrete, reinforced with steel rebar, and stood 12 feet tall with a rounded top and glass pieces so that people would not be able to climb over it.
The location of the wall will forever be remembered in a path that runs around the Western Sector and is flush with the road, marked with brass plaques inscribed, Berlin Wall – 1961-1989.
For the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Wall, artists were asked to paint sections of the 1.3 K wall that remains intact and is now the East Side Gallery.
After the end of the optional tour we went back to pick up those who had not gone with us. Because we finished the tour 30 minutes early, we had 30 minutes to put our rain gear away and I took photos of the buildings and areas around the hotel.
The city tour was to begin at 11:15 and with everyone on the coach, we started a bit early. We traveled around more of the city, and got off to walk through the oldest section of the city, the Nikolai District.
We stopped at Humboldt University where 29 Nobel Prize winners studied. Among them were Albert Einstein, Robert Koch, Max Planck.
Our next stop was the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of divided Berlin. Built in 1791, it is very impressive in size and a reminder now of the united Berlin.
In our sightseeing tour we noticed so many buildings that are being restored. Billions of dollars/euros are being spent to restore Germany to its past splendor.
Included in our tour of the city was the Mauer Museum known as the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. The many photos in the exhibit gave us a true appreciation of the lengths many people went to in escaping East Berlin and seeking freedom in the West.
At 1:30 we came back to the hotel, dropped off our back packs, and went for a walk around the neighborhood. We saw several cafés and full restaurants but we knew we would have a large meal this evening. Instead of dining out, we bought a few things at the grocery store and enjoyed a picnic.
At 6:30 we left for the Evening Optional Activity. Eva had told us we would not want to leave Ziko’s Grill our fantastic restaurant – and she was so right! The owner welcomed us as our bus pulled up and kept us entertained all evening.
Gennie and I sat with two of the Aussies couples, Eddie and Michele and Trevor and Judy, and Lloyd and Ann from New Zealand. All of us commented that the evening of hearty German food, wine, beer and music was a fantastic way to end our tour of Berlin.
At 9:00 amidst much moaning and groaning we reluctantly left Ziko’s and Paul drove us around both the East and West sides of the city and Eva described the illuminated landmarks of the German Capital.
Hotel: Hilton Berlin (Buffet Breakfast)
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Reichstag Building with Dome
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Eur...
Berlin Wall
Brandenburg Gate
Checkpoint Charlie
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