Berlin

Brandenburg Gate and myself with the Christmas tree
Murdered Jews of Europe Memorial

Trinity and I near part of Berlin Wall on Potsdamer Platz

Me representing with the city's mascot, the Bear

Berlin can be a beautiful city when the sun shines. While I was there with my family for 3 days, the sun didn’t shine much, and it was cold, but it was a great time in the nation’s capital. It was my first time in Berlin so it was good to do all the touristy things and see the sights before going back in the future to explore more of the culture and behind the scenes of the city while visiting friends who live there.

Seeing the parts of the Berlin Wall all over the place was cool, along with the strip of bricks on the ground showing where the wall had been. Most of the main sights are in former East Germany as Stalin had looked at the map and chose the best side, giving the rest to the Americans, British and French.

We had a free tour of the city given by students working for tips. Interesting idea and actually a great tour. From Hitler’s bunker, to the Murdered Jews of Europe monument it was a great tour to get our bearings of the city. The Brandenburg Gate, which is very famous was huge, but not quite as powerful looking as I had heard. Still, I had to get a photo with the gate and the Christmas tree right next to it.

We climbed to the top of the Reichstag, their capital building, which has a glass dome on top. Unfortunately the dome is open air and it was a freezing walk to the top for a great view. Checkpoint Charlie was jam packed with information on people escaping into West Germany, but it wasn’t organized the best.

Highlights include the Christmas markets, with tasty snacks and mulled wine. We had dessert at a family friend’s house and were able to try Feuerzangebowle, a hot drink that is on fire with alcohol. They poured the flaming rum over a large sugar cube and melted the sugar into the drink. Amazing, but it packed a punch with the amount of alcohol.