johnsunter.com >> adventures - europe >> city visits 1 >> berlin 2
Weekend visiting Berlin (2/2).
The Television tower (photographed in a similar way to KW Cathedral).
Its possible to get a lift to the top, but the queue length was incompatible with a 2 day trip.
We walked through Tiergarten Berlins largest park in order to visit the Sony Centre at Potsdamer Platz.
Potsdamer Platz was literally bombed into nothing at the end of the war, and existed as a no-mans-land during the cold war.
It is amazing to see how a place can be transformed with hard work. Made me wonder what the Lebanon could look like one day ?.
Once inside the Sony Centre, we had a couple of Beers (Sarah has asked me to point out that she had Wine) and had a look around.
I configured my organizer, so we could brows the Internet (the whole area is setup for free wireless Internet).
We had a look in the Sony shop, which had prototypes of all the latest home entertainment.
Here Frank looks at the latest state of the art televisions, which we could only dream of affording.
Reichstag with the glass dome on top designed by UK architect Lord Norman Foster.
Its from here, that Hitler planned world domination.
It would have been easy to demolish it, and build a new building, for a new parliament.
Personally, I think its better to turn a symbol of tyranny into a symbol of freedom and tolerance, as the Berlin people have done.
The building across from the Reichstag is used for support staff office space and government accommodation.
Its one of the most spectacular buildings I have ever seen, and must easily be a quarter of a mile long.
Being super modern, it complements the traditional look of the Reichstag superbly.
In the early evening, we walked back to our hotel on Friedrich strasse (the excellent Anglatere hotel).
On route, we stopped for an Italian meal, which was excellent.
Frank had insisted that we visit the Egyptian museum.
I was impressed by the bust of Nefratiti.
We visited the technical museum, which had an entire wing set aside to rail travel.
Here, is a simple wooden box on wheels, which is considered to be the oldest railway in the world.
The Ka De We was shopping centre.
Its the largest shopping centre in Europe, and Sarah wanted to go there.
Unfortunately, it was closed on a Sunday, so here, she is photographed in the doorway, with the famous bears.
Sarah also wanted to visit a really famous Chocolate shop, which was built in the mid 1800's.
They had chocolate replicas of the Titanic, and various landmarks from Berlin.
Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlins most famous Palace, just a short walk from the Centre of Berlin.
Topographie des Terrors, a fascinating outdoor museum about Nazi crimes and the Nuremberg trails.
It is located on the original site of the Gestapo and SS headquarters.
I know many blame the German people for the 2nd world war and the Holocaust.
Probably wont make me popular, but I blame their leaders. I think in similar circumstances, 70 years ago, the ordinary people of the UK would have done exactly the same.
Unfortunately half the exhibits were only in German.
This is a small memorial to Holocaust victims, located next to a graveyard ransacked by the Nazi's.
If he was captured, tried and executed, Osama Bin Ladens body would not be interfered with, once a person has gone, they should be left in peace.
These were not terrorist's. They were just ordinary people who's loved ones buried them, so they might rest in peace.
Marx and Engels statue near Museum Island.
You might notice that someone has vandalised the statue with graffiti.
In Singapore, they would be flogged for doing this !.
