Berlin Day 2

Today, we decided to take a boat tour along the Spree to get a different perspective of Berlin, as we heard that a boat tour is a must when in Berlin. After being told it would be a German/English speaking tour, we came to find out that the language split was hardly 50/50. What seemed to b paragraphs in German appeared to be single sentence in English, leaving us to try and decipher German to understand the words of the tour guide.

The image below is of a museum along the Spree which still shows evidence of the war as it is covered with bullet holes.


After the tour, we decided to go to another architectural masterpiece, the Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind. About a 10 minute taxi ride from where we started, this building is unmistakble with its large steel facade with slat windows.


Inside, it is yet again another powerful museum where the architecture overwhelming adds to the experience. The Holocaust Tower, a special room designed by the architect, is entered through a large, heavy steel door - inside is a void with a small window nearly 50 feet up allowing a minimal amount of light into the dark, cold concrete space. Open to individual interpretation, Libeskind described this space as a commemorative place for the victims of the Holocaust.


Continuing along our World War 2 themed day, we walked several blocks to Checkpoint Charlie - which given such historical importance was quite a disappointment to me. Not only is the area filled with consumerist junk and fake historical replicas, there are large Hewlett Packard advertisements covering the entire sides of buildings and the so called "American soldier" at the checkpoint is actually German!


Just around the corner, we found a remaining piece of the Berlin wall. Next to it, there is a partially submerged museum "Topologies of Terror" recalling the Nazi regime and German political history dating back into the early 1930s.



After ending our personal tour of Berlin and World War 2, we walked over to Potsdamer Platz, a fairly large plaza and downtown district throbbing with a mixture of lost tourists and angry locals. Finally finding some good 'ole German food, we sat down for dinner and had Haagen-Daz! It took us 2 days, but we found German food, and boy was it good!

We then decided to experience Berlin from a locals viewpoint, so we took the SBahn Underground transportation system. This dropped us off a few blocks from our hotel where we ended up for the night.