Last post I said we did a "loose" tour... We paid for the ship to transport us two and from Berlin. The rest was completely on our own. The train dropped us in one location and we were responsible for making our back back to the departure train. If we missed it, oh well... They leave without us. I had all the sights marked and off we went. It was a crash course into Berlin. We did not have enough time to see and do everything. I could honestly spend 2 weeks here and still feel like I've missed something. We walked all over the place and logged somewhere between 7 and 9 miles. CJ logged probably half :-) He donned the "lazy legs" and hitched rides on dad!
Happy faces on the train to Berlin. We lucked out and found a section that had 6 seats all together, 3 on each side facing each other, and enclosed. We could be as loud as we wanted!
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The architecture is stunning here!
The ever famous Check Point Charlie
I had the kids walk under the signs :-) Leaving and entering the American sector into the Soviet sector
Here is a picture of the Berlin sectors. This was one museum that I wished we would have had time for.
Fry's at the Berlin Wall. There are a few spots in the city where fragments of the wall still stand. The most popular is East Side Gallery but we did not get all the way over there. Too difficult to try and manage that.
Instead, we went to the Topography of Terrors Museum where a section of the wall still stands along with the foundations of the Nazi Regime headquarters for the Gestapo and SS.
Wall and headquarters. Along the brick foundation is a timeline depicting the rise and fall of the Nazi Regime. As we walked through it and read the information it is amazing how explicit and detailed it is. It is all in line with what the history books explain as well. I've come across a few books in my studies and the semester I was with 10th grade that are either really good or lacking so much.
It was great to experience this with the kids but at the same time I wish they could have been a bit older to actually understand what exactly they were seeing. They touched the wall and looked at me a little silly when I asked them to do it like "why is mommy making me touch this stupid wall". But I guess this will be fascinating for them to look back on when they do get older.
Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews ~ Again... Something I wish they were older for. Michael and Ash had some questions about this place and why there were concrete pillars everywhere. We delicately explained what these structures meant similarly to the way we explained the Hiroshima Memorial. The pillars stood for the 6 million Jews that were killed. Without getting into extreme detail because lets face it.. Mike will be 5 in a few weeks and Ash is 6. Do we really need to explain death camps yet, extermination, genocide?? NO! We told them that there was a bad man who used to run this country and he did a lot of bad things including killing a bunch of people, this is a memorial to all those people who are not alive anymore. Mike had follow up questions that Will handled and I walked through with Ash and CJ. Ash was sad at the death factor and actually kissed a few of the structures saying "its so sad they died". Whether or not she truly understood her own words, we will never know but she did walk quietly through the place just observing.
This long section of tall narrow structures she had questions on why they are so close. Historians have noted that the closeness represents confinement and an overall uneasy feeling. Not sure if it was designed with that in mind but as you walk through there is no order to the placement of the pillars. Some are short and some are tall. Some also note that it is a representation of the radial loss of touch with human reason because of the confusing placement.
Either way you look at it, it is an uneasy feeling walking through and knowing what these represent.
Hitler's bunker was somewhere around here but we never found it. Perhaps that is an adventure for next time and now we have another reason to go back!
Please note the three different and distinct expressions on my children's faces!
The Brandenburg Gate, One of the most famous sights in Germany and more famously known for being the East side entry and exit point between West and East Berlin. This is also the location where President Ronald Reagan gave his speech in 1987 challenging Gorbachev to "Tear Down This Wall"
The back and side views of the Reichstag Building. This was the German Parliamentary during the Weimar Republic from 1919 to 1933, then used for propaganda during the Nazi regime. During the Cold War the building was more of a ruin than anything and unused. After reconstruction and the reunification of Germany in 1990, the building again became the seat of the German Parliament.
Gorgeous building!
Ahh yes.... WE have donned the Lazy Legs!
Victory Day posters
Memorial to the Soviets
The last thing we saw was the Berlin Dome ~ The largest church in the city and serves the German Protestants. This was a must see on the list and I had to get creative to get the kids to walk from one side of Berlin to the next with minimal complaining :-)
Lots of pictures.. I know... But not everyone cooperates so we have multiple shots with the same back drop
We survived! Made it back to the train station with a minor hiccup with incompetent taxis but we made it with time to spare and grab our same train cabin.
All smiles and CJ was happy to be done with walking :-)
This is where Miss Ash enlightened us with finding "inner peace"
Port city of Warnemunde. Foggy but cool to view from the boat!
I am sure we would have enjoyed Warnemunde or Rostock but in the end, I am so glad we ventured into Berlin. It was a gamble with the kids but all in all they were amazing! A little complaining about walking but with the help of "I Spy" games and making Mike our "leader" things went of swimmingly!
Next Stop... Tallinn, Estonia
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