Day 2: Berlin

We started later today as we needed sleep to recover from the jet lag.  Detlev arrived at 11:00 and off we set to see one of the last sections of the Berlin wall.  Detlev, who was 17 when the wall was built in 1961, was a wealth of information about how East Germans viewed the wall and the West.  He was present also on the night of November 3rd, 1989 when the first East Germans could visit West Berlin. Here are some views of The Wall:

Mural showing the night in 1989 when the wall fell

The Trabant was the small cr ost East Germans drove.

Mural shows the years that people died trying to cross the wall

Map shows the island of West Berlin in the sea of East Germany

After returning to Alexanderplatz for a coffee break, it was off to see old Berlin along the Unter den Linden.  The best way is from the river Spree.  Here are some pictures from the cruise:

One of the Berlin train stations that survived World War II

Richard embraces the  German liberal views about beer in public

Marilyn impersonates the Walk symbol from East Berlin crossings

A view of the buildings along the River Spree

Berlin Cathedral Church

View of Reichstag's glass dome

German Chancellory (Parliment)

Berliners "beaching" along the river

Ornate 19th century bridge

Bode Museum at the end of Museum Island

Next we walked along the Unter den Linden to Checkpoint Charlie which allowed access to East Germany from the American sector.  For the pictures of Frederick the Great you will notice how people have thrown potatoes at the base of the statue.  This is not disrespect, but rather to thank him for importing potatoes to Germany to help with a famine.

Zeughaus (17th century German Historical Museum)

Statue of Frederick the Great

Potatoes at the plinth of statue

Panorama showing square with with 3 churches

Photo of Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie today

Trabants are just art now

Photo showing Brandenburg Tor in 1945 and restored

Brandenburg Tor today

Marilyn was off to see some theater while the guys continued sight seeing and got lost on the train ride home.  After some checking of maps and the GPS on my phone, we figured it out.

Rick and Carl under Brandenburg Tor

A stroll through the Tiergarten

The Reichstag viewed from the Tiergarten

Monument to Soviet soldiers who died in World War II

A Soviet T34 tank next to the monument

Plaque commemorating the spot where Reagan asked Gorbashev to "tear down this wall"