Berlin: Tschuss and thanks for an awesome time . . .

Well, it's been a fabulous 3 weeks and my 2010 Vibrant Europe trip fulfilled all of my expectations. 

On my last full day in Berlin I decided to really take it easy.  Here is my familiar walk down to the U station stop. I'll miss it!

I first started my last full day in Berlin with taking Shannon's advice and checking out the farmers market in Schoenburg (located in Winterfeldtplatz). It was pretty cool. I had a nice hot toddy and checked out all the stalls. I bought a couple of socks and a little coin purse and took some photos. Thanks Shannon for the great recommendation it was fun checking out this market and it was a really welcoming neighborhood that I had not visited yet.

Next I went to check out Kunsthaus Tacheles which is a former department store turned artist studio/museum.  It is one of the most caotic, bizarre, colorful, expressive, creative, disturbed and earthy display of art that I have ever seen. At first sight you just want to turn away (actually run away) and yet you are drawn in to the courtyard to see the many sculptures and rundown old shacks and vehicles. You are drawn up the dark stairwell where the walls are covered with grafitti and art.  Sometimes I'm not sure which was which.  But when I think of the history and the freedom for artists to be able to express themselves after years of repression, I can sort of get it.

Here are a few photos . . .

 

 

I decided to have an early dinner at the family owned Thai restaurant in my neighborhood then end with a nice hot Toddy at the restaurant in the park next to my apartment. I shared a table with a mother and her son whose cheeks were so red from the cold. So cute! 

Today was a beautiful day, the sun actually came up and it warmed up a bit. So all the families were out with their children snow sledding in the park.

I once saw a video and the person making it said that Berlin is an evolving city with many faces. During my short stay here I can see why she made that statement.  Berlin is as diverse a city as say Amsterdam. I saw many faces here and I saw so many things that proves that it is a city that is continually evolving. There are old and new. There are rennovated and rebuilt. There are berliners who are as diverse as the city.  There are reminders of the past and movement towards a better future.    

I was not able to get to all of my must see's on this short trip simply because it is impossible unless you're just whizzing by snapping photos. I decided that if I didn't get to everything I will just have to come back. It was more important for me to savor my experiences.

Thank you so much Berlin for a fabulous time!  I shall remember and cherish my time here forever.

Well, it's time for me to finish packing as I have an early flight out tomorrow morning.

I want to take this time to say thank you so much to all of my blogging friends and fellow Slow Travelers for taking the time to read my blog and for all of your fantastic recommendations and travel tips and advice before and during my trip. Thank you so for your encouragements, your support and for sharing so much of your own experiences.  I could not have enjoyed the experiences I had on this trip without all of you.  And I always want to thank Pauline Kenny (founder of Slow Travel) for creating Slow Travel.  It has really changed my life. And as always, thanks so much to my family, friends and co-workers back home for all of your support and encouragements.

I can't even begin to summarize this trip, but here goes....I will remember my beautiful canal in Amsterdam and the amazing dutch architecture and windmills of Zaanse Schans. I will remember Van Gogh's Sunflowers and the very interesting museums in Amsterdam :), I will remember my contemplative moments in the Church of our Lady in Brugge, Belgium. I will remember riding my Dutch bike in Vondelpark (and luckily not crashing), I will remember the many markets that I've visited both in Amsterdam and Berlin.  And I will forever remember a young girl's words while standing in her darkened room.

In Berlin, I will remember the smile of my good samaritan hottie who helped me find my apartment when I was lost my first night.  I will remember standing by a wall that once stood to divide East and West. I will remember my 360 degree view of an amazing city. I will remember a memorial to so many who were killed. I will remember the grandeur of  the Brandenburg Gate where the celebrations took place when the wall finally came down.  Lastly, I will remember my very cool neighborhood that used to be in what was once former East Berlin.  I watched the families and children playing outside and I am thankful for this day . . .

Thank you everyone for everything.  And I am looking forward to catching up with you all when I get home. 

So now I leave you with this final live blog post from the road.  And on my long (and I mean looooong) journey back home I will think about where my next adventures will be. 

And the dream lives on . . . 

Berlin: Berlin Cathedral, Snow, and a few Hot Mulled Wine . . .

Today, nearly a foot of snow fell on Berlin but I loved it because it was warmer than yesterday and the wind wasn't so piercing.

Today I decided to return to visit the interior of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral).

The Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) dates back to the 1900's.  It was heavily bombed in World War II and remained in ruins until the 1970's when renovation began.

Here is the actual front view of the Catherdral . . .

Here are some interior shots . . . It also has a beautiful big organ.   If you climb up the stairs you can have a great view below.

My traditional lit candles for some very special people . . .

Next, I wanted to check out the famous Ka De We (Kaufhaus des Westens) department store where I made a B-line for the 6th floor to find the largest food hall in Europe.

There are 30 places to eat from . . . . I ate here . . . .

 

The food this chef prepared was so delicious . . .

There are 400 types of Bread and rolls . . .

 

 

there are 1,300 types of cheese, 1,200 sausages and cold cuts, 240 dessedrts and 2,400 wines from five continents. It  was very impressive.

Next I stopped by the Gendarmenmarkt which is a delightful and historic square. They have a very beautiful Christmas Market here but you have to pay 1 euro to gain entrance to the actual market.  I decided to have a little hot toddy instead. :)

Seems like everyone stopped off in Alexanderplatz for some hot mulled wine, yummy! :)

So I decided to have another one!

Adorable . . .

These three locals were cool . . .

So after a very delicious spaghetti dish, one prosecco and two hot mulled wine I'm feeling  pretty good.  I had a fabulous day in snowy Berlin!  Great idea on the hot mulled (toddy) wine Shannon. It is a fun way to hang with the locals. :)

Berlin: My peek into Daily life here . . .

I was just commenting back to Shannon on my recent post and it inspired me to write this one. :)

I have to say that one of the things I have learned from Slow Travel and other experienced travelers is the ability to slow my travels down enough so I can experience the culture that I'm visiting. Maybe one day I can pick one place and stay there the entire three weeks of my vacation. That would be cool!

I've been sort of picking on the cold weather a lot lately, but to be honest I expected it to be cold.  I mean it is afterall December.  Of course, I had no idea until now just how cold it would be :). But you know that's just life.

I really love the apartment that I chose for my stay here in Berlin. I will definitely write a review of it when I return home. It is in a fantastic location. Not too far from the nearest U station.  There are several markets around and a variety of cafes. Just the other night I found this small hole in the wall family owned Thai restaurant and the food was pretty good. Further down the street is another popular cafe where they serve a decent pizza margarita and a nice salad, directly across from there is a cool cafe that sells pastries, coffee and sandwhiches.  And all these places are so cheap. 

There is a beautiful park just outside my window and a great view of the TV tower. Each morning while having my morning cup of coffee and breakfast, I can see joggers and just this morning in about an inch or two of snow I watched a local walk and have a friendly snow fight with her dog. It was amazing.  I've bumped into other residents in the elevator and am greeted with a friendly smile and hello.  Even putting my trash to the trash room (separating plastic, paper into their apppropriate recycle bins) have been an experience.  My apartment building is located right next to a day care center so each morning I watch moms and dads walking and riding their bikes to bring their little ones to the day care all bundled up with just their little pink faces showing.

I am enjoying visiting all the great landmarks and historical sites here in Berlin.  But I am also loving watching and yes even living daily life here.

So the cold freezing wind and the snow are both a part of daily life here and so I am going to embrace the experience more than whine about it from this point on.  I'm also going to put an extra layer on with some thicker socks that I just bought yesterday. :)  Well, I also have to be practical too. And maybe before heading back to the apartment, I will stop in the Christmas Market and Alexanderplatz to have another hot toddy drink (I love Annie's Hot toddy term for the mull wine Shannon recommended) and stand amongst the locals in the cold wind and falling snow. Yes folks, I am in Berlin and loving it!

This is this morning's view from my apartment balcony as I sip my morning coffee listening to Christmas songs . . . I feel so blessed and lucky to be able to travel the world and to see and have so many wonderful experiences. I only wish that mom & dad could've seen Europe. I'm working on Sis to come to Europe with me one day...Gosh I get so contemplative and emotional sometimes when I travel.

And so this is Christmas (War is Over) 

For weak and for strong

The rich and the poor ones

The road is so long

So happy Christmas

For black and for white

For yellow and red ones

Let's stop all the fight

A very merry Christmas

And a happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear . . . .

(Lyrics by John Lennon)

Berlin: Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, Reichstag, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe . . .

The Brandenburg Gate is probably Berlin's most recognizable sight.  It was originally called the "Friedenstor" (Gate of Peace).  It is the only surviving Berlin City gate and was designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans in 1791.  It was intended to resemble the Acropolis in Athens.  Today, it symbolizes reunification, after dividing East and West Berlin for decades. I remember watching coverage of this structure during the reunification celebrations and it was surreal to see it up close.  I am taking this photograph from the very large Pariser Platz.

To the left of the Gate (in the next street block) you will find the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe  (Wikipedia), which was designed by American architect Peter Eisenman. 

You can walk through the memorial where it starts with small pieces then as you walk towards the middle the stones rise higher and higher and the cobblestoned path changes height as well.  There are 2,700 pillars honoring Jews killed by the Nazis.  Walking through this maze like structure was an experience to remember.

Next, I walked over on the opposite side of the Brandenburg Gate to the Reichstag which is the seat of the German Parliament.  It was constructed in 1884 and 1894 and has had a turbulant history.  Fire broke out in the building in 1933 destroying most of it.  A lot of it was also destroyed when bombing took place and it was not used from 1933 to 1999.  After the runification of Germany took place the Reichstag was once again the seat of the German parliament.  The famous Glass Dome  was the design of British architect Sir Norman Foster.  Fellow blogging friend, Sandra, visited the Reichstag on a business trip to Berlin and highly recommended it. 

Unfortunately for me the Dome and the building was closed and access near to the building was closed off with barriers and a police presence.  When I went to ask the information people about it they said that the building is currently closed with no date of when it will be re-opened due to a Terror alert.  That's really such a shame that we still live in a time where we have to worry about such senseless acts of violence and only a block away from a memorial that reminds us of the hate and senseless violence of our past. Will we ever learn?  I sure do continue to hope so.

I asked if I can still take photos of the exterior and he said that was fine and so here is the wonderful exterior photos of the Reichstag.  You can sort of see the police presence.

Here's a wider view of this amazing building.

I then visited very briefly the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) (Sacred Destinations), which dates back to the early 1900's.  It was heavily bombed in WWII and remained in ruins until it was renovated in the 1970's.  Unfortunately, I just saw the outside of the Church but plan to return to see the interior hopefully tomorrow. Why, because I made the mistake of thinking it was closed but in reality I was entering from the wrong side. oops!

Next I visited the famous "Checkpoint Charlie" and Checkpoint Charlie Museum.  Checkpoint Charlie at 43-45 Friedrichstrasse was the only checkpoint through which foreigners could pass between East and West Berlin.  The checkpoint gets its name from checkpoint number three (as in the military code of Alpha for one, Bravo for two and Charlie for three). 

Here is the famous sign telling you that you are leaving the American sector in different languages.

I also visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum (12.50 euros) which had an extensive collection of news articles and saved memorabilia of the history of the wall and the many stories of successful and some unsuccessful escapes. It was interesting to see how creative some of the escapees were. There were secret compartments built into a VW for example. There was a lady that hid in these two connecting suitcases and there were tunnels dug and one man planes built to escape into West Germany.  

The past two days have been overwhelming at times but so interesting to see  everything first hand and to experience such deep emotions while seeing them.
 
Today was snowing lightly which wasn't bad at all. What was bad was the bitter cold wind. It was so windy that this life perserver was flapping in the wind.  It is so cold that the little pond in the park near my apartment is solid ice.  I need to warm up so I'm back out in the cold to Alexanderplatz to try some hot mulled wine (tip from Shannon). I wonder if that is similar to those hot wine drinks I liked in the Czech Republic.  I like the idea that it is a hot drink because I could sure use one.

To stay warm, I've been ducking into stores (like Maya said she did when she visited Berlin during the middle of December) just to warm up.  For me, however, I always start browsing and end up buying something.

I'm really getting the hang of the public transport in Berlin. It sort of reminds me of Paris and London's Undergound.  Here are some photos of the Alexanderplatz underground station.

 

Well, here I go again...

Berlin: A commercial break . . .

Today looks and feels a lot colder than yesterday. I have more to blog on the sights I've seen so far and will be seeing today, but felt like having a commercial break this morning.

First of all, I want to say this to anyone who is interested in planning a trip to the fabulous city of Berlin in the near future. If at all possible, try to plan on a minimum of a week preferrably at least two. I was very spoiled in Amsterdam knowing I had two full weeks to explore and experience the city.

I hope to see as many of my must see sights by Thursday so I can leave Friday and Saturday as fun exploration days. 

I've had great inspiration and tips on Berlin from Shannon, Sandra and Maya and they have really helped me to focus one the "experience" part of my travel. I can get so caught up on the checklist aspect of travel that I can forget about the other special moments and experiences that are a part of the travel experience.  Thanks to all my blogging friends for reminding me of this. As a result I have really enjoyed my time in Amsterdam and Belgium and I'm enjoying my time here in Berlin.  

The other day while visiting the Eastside Gallery, I stumbled into this little "yard" looking place right before the gallery. The bright colors and wonderful murals caught my attention and I walked in. I saw a couple of guys and asked them what this place was and they went on to tell me about it. It is this very cool Youth African Art Market (YAAM). When they are open they have food and sell products and have music. It was so cool listening to them describe the place and I actually enjoyed talking with them. I only wished I was here when it was open.  I asked and they said it was okay for me to take photos which I did.

 

Blogging friend, Menehune once commented to me to "leave myself open".  Sometimes I can get so caught up in getting to my checklist that I can overlook the small pleasures and surprising discoveries that can be had when traveling. I'm glad I didn't pass this place by . . . 

And now for a Hottie break ...

And a (food) break . . . I don't eat pork but I enjoy seeing how they prepare these sausage dishes at the Christmas market.

Well, that's my stop and smell the roses commercial break.  Berlin is a wonderful city to experience so many things, history and great landmarks but it is also a fascinating and excellent place to just absorb and enjoy life.

Berlin: A 360 degree view and the Berlin Wall that once divided a city . . .

I wanted to catch up blogging before I really get behind. I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to cover even a small bit of Berlin in one week. And what was I thinking when I was considering doing a day trip! I'll be lucky if I can get all my "must see's" in during my all too brief stay here. Well, enough of my whining. I consider myself lucky to even be here for a week considering this portion of my trip almost never happened.

First, I decided to take Shannon's advise and I went up the Berliner Fernsehturm for a nice 360 degree view of the City's layout. Thanks so much for your excellent advice Shannon. To the very tip of the tower is 368 meters, to the Observation deck (203 meters) and to the restaurant (207 meters). The fee is only 10.50 euros. During the winter season the tower is open 10:00 am to 10:00 pm.  There is also a revolving restaurant located above the observation deck.

And in only 40 seconds the lift brings us to the observation deck. The elevator is small but the ride is so smooth you barley notice it moving.

Here you have a fabulous 360 degree view of the City.  They also have these guides along the way just below the windows with photos numbering each landmark and a brief historical explanation.  Very cool and informative.

Then you can take photos through the large viewing windows.

 

After my introductory view of the city's layout which I really found helpful, I decided to head to the Eastside Gallery.

The Eastide Gallery is a 1.3 km stretch of the original Berlin Wall.  It is the longest remaining section still left in the City. On the west side the wall is pretty plain, except for some grafitti . . .

But on the East side of the wall is the Eastside Gallery where there are approximately 100 paintings by artists from all over the world.  This was one of those "wow" Travel moments for me.  There's so much history here and images race through my head. All the things I've read about before my trip, all the films that I've seen while growing up, I have to stand here and catch my breath awhile.  I bumped into a nice German couple from Frankfurt.  The wife was telling me that she was here in 1983 with a school group and this was the first time that she has returned.

I walked the entire length of the Gallery taking photos of each painting and then walked back to video tape some sections as well. I stood by it, I touched it and where there were breaks I looked through the gates and I still could not imagine what it was like.

Some of the paintings were very interesting . . .

Some spoke of peace . . . And how lucky for blogging friend and fellow Slow Traveler, Maya, who told me that she was here in Berlin during the time when the wall came down. What an amazing experience that must have been.  Thanks so much for sharing your experience Maya.

And some are quite famous . . .

It's against the law to deface these paintings and yet people still do it which is a shame. 

It was an incredible experience to actually see the former Berlin Wall in person. This will be an experience that I will never forget.

More to come . . .