We get a bus to Ku-Dam again, and get a quick salad in a kind of help-yourself-restaurant called Marche. From here, we hop on the tour bus:
The tour bus is the usual affair. They talk us through various elements of Berlin... we continue along Ku Dam and then turn into the Embassy region. The most striking of these are the Italian and Japanese embassies which were donated by the Nazi's in the 1930's..... the are Seriously grandiose:
From here, we continue through some beautiful greenery. People often tell em that Berlin is one big building site... I think it's getting over this period of it's history and I'm very surprised at how green it is. There seems to be large parks and forrests very close to the centre no matter where you are.
We cross onto Potsdammer platz:
It is a very new are which has lots of cionema complex annd large modrfen bulidngs... Previously it was the No man's land between east and west, but now it has returned to being a commercial centre... The main building is the Sony building:
We drive along the line in the road where the wall once stood, and eventually drive right along a street where it is still standing:
It's a tangible part of modern history, and it feels amazing, you can imagine everything around you in black and white... How a wall can be so threatening is really strange.
This street ends in Checkpoint charlie and we get off...
Checkpoint Charlie is a tourist trap, but it;s also really cool, cos the streets are really straight in both directions, so it really gives you an idea of East and west... A photo of the last soldier on duty stands to eternally watch the other side as a reminder. It's still a border crossing, so you can get your Passport stamped. I forgot my passport. so I'll have to wait till next time(maybe in August).
Looking East is Frederichstrasse:
It looks more western than the western side of Checkpoint charlie. The buildings are all new, geometric and big. It looks like Chicago... We take a walk along here aiming for coffee...... The whole street seems to be devoted to posh shops and fashion labels.... Communism has clearly been replaced by capitalism... and we want some so we head into Q205.
There are various "Quartier's" which seems to be posh for shopping mall, the one we enter is called Q205, and the first thing we see is a Scultpture made of crushed cars(Whether they are Lada's or not, I can't tell. I take a photo for my brother:
We sit in a very posh cafe and pay lots of money for some Cafe Latte's:
Q205 eventually bleeds into Q206 and we hop in and out of various shops and stores....
When we resurface at the other end, we are famished, so we settle for a subway:
It fills a hole and gives us the energy to get back on a Bus and head to the next items on my list. I want to see the Reichstag and the Brandenburg gate.
We arrive at the Reichstag. Immediately I am amazed at how big it is... it looks like a grandiose building with all its gothic and greek influenced structure which has been made a few sizes too big.. The people on the stairs look small:
There is a glass dome in the top, which you can walk up to. Unfortunately, as with everything in the city, there is a huge queue. Given that, the Reichstag was on the East of Berlin, I would imagine there are a lot of germans who haven't had the chance to see it either. We decide not to spend 2 hours standing in a queue in the heat. I'm going to need a few trips to Berlin to do everything in the lonely planet... there is so much to do in this city.....
Just next to the Reichstag is the Brandenburg gate... we walk through the park to get to it.
In our trips on buses and general meanderings around the city, we have noticed lots of people dressed from head to foot in Turkish flags and T-shirts and hats... we assumed there was a football game or something, but once we get to the Brandenburg gate, we discover that it is Turkey Day in Berlin, so a sea of Red greets us:
On the other side of the Brandenburg gate is a huge football in preparation for the city going wild later in the year. So in my attempts to take a photo of the brandenburg gate, I am obstructed by a big celebration by a large group of immigrants to berlin and a celebration of the largest international sporting event in the world. I think this says more about Berlin than a decently composed photo of the Brandenburg gate:
We are absolutely shattered. Berlin is such a huge city, so you kind of feel like a kid did in a normal sized city. We are leg weary and our brains are tired from seeing so many things.... We are going to head back to the Centre(If Zoo station is really the centre), and get some food at the supermarket, before heading back to the flat and relaxing.
When we get to the Zoo, there's a ticket shop advertising Pearl jam's concert in September:
.... 2 buses later, we are home and enjoying a coffee on the balcony as we look out on the trees of Grunewald. It's been a packed day, and this relaxation feels great. I can't help thinking that this is the life....
After recharging my batteries, I am again in my element, chopping bits and pieces and cooking up a curry....
We settle in front of the telly and fill ourselves up on Thai while we watch Cinderella man:
Despite Russell Crowe being a bit of an arsehole, he's a good actor and pretty good at what he does. Its a good film.
After this... it's the joy of a bath. Baths are like hen's teeth in Amsterdam, so I take the chance any time I can.
....beer.....
.....bed....
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