Friday, May 29, 2009

Berlin in May

My first trip to Germany..... We´ve been talking about this trip for a few years now, and finally we were able to sneak in a quick weekend trip to Berlin. Not because it´s very close to Charlotte, but because I was spending the following days in England for work. Perfect timing to brush up on my history. (or basically learn it from scratch!) I was lucky enough to have Mr. Wikipedia with me on the trip, which made it 100% more interesting. What you would have thought to be just an ordinary parking lot.... actually the knocked down site of Hitler´s bunker; an ordinary plaza.... actually the site of the staged Nazi book burning. Unfortunately you won´t see pictures of many historical locations, because they were destroyed post-war. But so much history in one spot. A wonderful 3-day weekend with great sites, food, sunshine, and company!

Brandenburg Gate
Reichstag-Parliament house, one site of Berlin´s final WWII battles
the top of the dome was destroyed in the war, later re-built by Norman Foster
and a little artsy attempt by the Riches
Checkpoint Charlie- the original gate crossing between East and West Berlin before the fall of the wall. This was the entrance to the American sector.
and one of the few standing pieces of the Berlin Wall
after walking... and walking... and walking... a rest in front of the Cathedral

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