25 - 5-25-2015 - Berlin

Monday - May 25

Full of vim and vigor we took the Metro for a few stations from our hotel to Alexander Platz, a large square, to visit the offices of the German Auto Club. We wanted to find out if they can sell is the window stickers we'll need to drive on motorways in three of the countries we'll be visiting. 

Marched up to the front door and it was locked...all dark. Perhaps it had something to do with the really light traffic? At a pastry shop nearby we learned that today is Whit Monday, the second day of Pentacost and a holiday in all of Germany. Norm and Pam briefly exchanged recriminations about who decided to not bother documenting holidays in the countries when we'd be in them to avoid just such a disturbing experience. Despite Pilot having two votes to Navigator's one vote, the matter was quietly settled out of court. We formulated Plan "B" for the rest of the day, which involved walking past the mass of stone blocks that comprise the outdoor Holocaust Memorial and over to the Brandenburg Gate. 

There we spotted a hop on/off type bus that actually had a completely open upper deck. All we had seen (and there are many firms that have them running about) had either open roofs but side glass, or were fully enclosed. Unfortunately, ours in Amsterdam was fully (glass) enclosed. So we hopped on and took the same bus for two 1.5 hour almost complete rounds of its route, with a half hour break at its home base. That happened to be at the Remembrance Church, which was left in its bombed state after WWII as a memorial. The inside however, is beautiful!  In any case, absolutely perfect weather made this conveyance a pleasure to be on as it passed all of the sights on our bucket list. Berlin showed its most pretty face, with not a festering traffic jam in sight. 

Exterior of the "old church":

Interior of the "old church" - unbelievably beautiful:

The "new church" immediately next to the "old church":

On its second round we hopped off the bus at Checkpoint Charlie since it is only four blocks from our hotel. Also, there is a large Starbucks a stone's throw from it - but a really big McDonalds is even closer, within easy spitting distance. Charlie's come down in the world since its heyday, if "heyday" is even the appropriate word. Guys who last year were probably cadging tourists at the Hollywood Walk of Fame for photo ops dressed in Superman and Batman outfits here wear Army uniforms to the same end. Plus, they are holding oversized American Flags rather than rifles. Take that, Commie. That's not to overly mock, just to observe that nothing that once was, or still is, a serious matter is immune to the human condition of commercialization. 

People were dressed in uniforms for photos:

At the Holocaust Memorial, where one is no doubt intended to contemplate that which is difficult to contemplate, the strain of doing so can be relieved with comestibles purchased from sidewalk beaneries that line one side of the site, from tall draughts and hot dogs to Coke and pizza. A really super location to munch lunch and view the blocks. Best not to dwell on the person dressed in a white bear costume dancing for change in the shadow of the Remembrance Church. We all remember in different ways.

Our tour bus took us through the Tiergarten

This was a music concert hall that collapsed a few years ago.  The is now used as a culture office building.

Regierungsviertel:

Reichstag Building:

This statue, called the Broken Chain, in city center represents the link between east and west:

We enjoyed a Starbucks while viewing the hubbub down the street at Checkpoint Charlie:

One last photo op for Pam:

We had dinner at an Italian Restaurant - pizza, pasta & beer!