Not that we got ready any earlier, in fact we had a very slow morning and didn't get out the door til after 11!
View from our apartment on Rheinsbergerstrasse
Our first stop was the remainder of the wall at Bernauer Strasse, and the viewing platform there. Was kicking myself that we didn't go up the Fernsehturm today, as the weather was perfect for it - not a cloud in the sky. I could have gone back I suppose, but it would have been another 9 euro :/
New Chapel of Reconciliation, built on the location of the old church
One of the three bells they recovered before demolishing the church
Site of the Berlin Wall at Bernauerstrasse
Remnant of the Berlin Wall at Bernauerstrasse
Next we trained it to Potsdamer Platz to have a look at all the newish shops/buildings there. We stopped for lunch at a sushi place, which had an interesting variety of (mostly deep fried) dishes to choose from. Was very good, but they soured my mood about the place when they told me off for drinking from my bottle of tap water :( Bumheads. You can't *get* tap water in this country, so it's all very frustrating :(
Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Platz
Went up and had a look through the Sony store, then was going to look at the Lego place, but they wanted 14.50 *each* so decided to give that a miss. Lego is such a money-grabbing company, that it rates up there in evilness with Disney and eBay for how much I hate it (but can't escape).
Einstein at Legoland Berlin
Potsdamer Platz station
So that was all very average, so went up to the Starbucks next to the Brandenburg Gate so Stu could get an iced coffee, then we walked down to the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. It was brilliant! It's a few thousand concrete blocks stacked in a grid taking up a whole city block. The middle section dips down and the blocks there are quite tall so you can walk amongst it all. It's kind of maze-like, even though it's not a maze at all. And it's incredibly photogenic! Took lots of photos there.
Starbucks coffee and cake at the Brandenburg Gate
Poppies at the Brandenburg Gate
Horses and Carriages at the Brandenburg Gate
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
The irony of this place is the company that produced the chemical that
makes the concrete graffiti-proof is the same company that made the
gas that killed the Jews during the war....
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Stu in the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Stu in the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Reichstag over the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate over the Memorial to the Murdered
Jews of Europe
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Hopped on a train over to Alexander Platz, stopping for a beer before going to the Media Markt there. It's kinda like the electronics section of Harvey Norman except like five times the size - in this case four stories of electronic goodness. They didn't have any Eee PC batteries (or any Eee PC stuff for that matter), but we did pick up an 8gb Sony usb memory stick for 25 euro. And Stu got a little micro SD-usb dongle for 8 euro.
Berliner Pilsner under the Fernsehturm
World Clock under the Fernsehturm
Stu next to the 69999 Euro TV
So then we wandered back to our apartment, but just as we were arriving, we got a call from the owner/manager asking why we hadn't left yet, and we were all "but we booked five nights".. But it turns out we only booked four, the last day being the checkout day.. Oops! :( So we had like half an hour to not only pack up all our stuff, but also find another hotel at short notice.. Very stressful. But luckily Stu did find one, within walking distance even, so we plodded over, and it thankfully has interent, as we were planning on spending our last evening quietly doing research for our upcoming days of travel. Not that we really did that much, as it took us a while to calm down, and then we went out for dinner (to Der Imbiss again) and by the time we got back it was after 9:30.
Anyways, should have a bit of time in the morning...
Comments