Yesterday we gave Haden a reprieve and ventured out by ourselves. We are feeling very smug because we have learned how to take the 200 bus right near Haden's house in to the downtown area.
Loren wanted to go and see the restored section of the city. On our way, we passed a construction site w
The restored section called Nicklausplatz (or something like that) was a bit of a disappointment. We had expected to see old buildings and cobblestone streets. Instead, it has really been built as a tourist mecca with souvenir shops (which, by the way, were open on Sunday!! They must get a special dispensation
Our next stop was to go check out the Museum of German History. Our walk took us by some wonderful sites. In the middle of a large park, we saw this imposing statue. We think it might be
We reached the German history museum, and ended up in a new wing which we thought was the entrance to the whole museum. We found not one person who spoke English, so we wandered around and felt that we had walked in to a museum with no exhibitions! It was very odd- a beautiful space, but just stairways that led to nothing. We were about to leave when we saw some people going in to a room. We followed and found a huge photo-journalist exhibition. We bought the audio tour and wandered around seeing some very interesting photos of the war, refugees, Albert Einstein, and much more. After this, I was fading, so we asked if there was a cafe around. With motions and gestures, we figured it was outside and around the corner. Lo and behold! There was a huge German History museum with a lovely cafe. So we had a bite to eat, and Loren said he would like to return tomorrow.
Today, our last day, we split up. Haden and I wanted to go and see the Topography of Terror- where the Nazi's had their headquarters. Loren wanted to go back and see the German History Museum. We walked all the way from Haden's house to downtown, getting in to parts of East Berlin we hadn't seen.
Before going our separate ways, we stopped off at the White Trash Restaurant where Barack Obama had eaten. It is said they serve the best hamburgers in all of Berlin. It was a very weird place with a kind of Chinese dragon decor, palm trees, a picture of Elvis Presley, and a TV set that was showing Abbot and Costello movies! The entire menu was in English- and the burgers were great! Soon after, Loren went his way, and I followed Haden- who it turned out didn't know where he was going. We got on the wrong bus, then decided to walk.
Our walk took us past some interesting sites. This statute of
This is a huge sculpture in an open plaza
We came across a sign that told us we were looking at Hitler's bunker that he had built to withstand the st
He was sure it was in the vicinity of Check Point Charlie
By this time, we had been walking for quite a while. We passed a park and I adamantly said, "Haden, I'm stopping in that park for a rest!" It was then that he got out his iPhone and asked where the Topography of Terror was. Feeling confident that we now had a map to show us the way, we trudged on... back tracking...following... until finally we found it - not at all near Check Point Charlie, but right near the Reichtstag where we had been three hours ago!
The Topography of Terror is housed where the Nazi headquarters were. It was originally the
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We came home for a lovely dinner, after which we had planned to watch the Finale to Survivor. Haden gets Survivor always the day after it airs. But for some reason, it never came to his system! It would have been fun to watch it with Haden in Berlin, but it's not meant to be. Our plane leaves tomorrow. We fly Berlin to Paris and then non-stop to SF. Keep your fingers crossed that the volcanic ash doesn't interrupt our trip once again...although five more days in Berlin would be delightful!
1 comment:
You sure did have a comprehensive history lesson on your visit to Germany. Isn't this great? To try to understand what this people is about? How come they behaved as they did? The power of the police state? And the willingness to expose the ugly facts of the past? The perseverance on rebuilding all around?
Nothing is simple in life, and the Germans had to face some very complicated issues, but they are pulling through.
I know this would be a trip worth remembering always. Lucky you!
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