Musueminsel in Berlin has tons of fantastic architecture, much of which was damaged during the War but signs of which were left untouched as bullet holes in the stone reflects the city's history.
Also on Museuminsel is Berlin's largest church, the Berliner Dom. Lizzie says they don't even bother trying to clean it because it would just get dirty again so quickly. I'm not entirely sure why it makes sense to mention that here....oh well. The more you know, right?
This was another place the Gypsies like to heckle tourists. While we were sitting there one came up and asked her usual, "Speak English?" We were prepared for her this time and I said, "Nein." Thinking she would go away, I wasn't prepared for her next question, "Sprechen sie Deutche?" To which I replied, "Nein." Haha. Lizzie laughed at that. While we walked around the platz, another Gypsy asked an unsuspecting tourist and his girlfriend if they spoke English. Before he realized who asked, he said, "Yes," but then when they realized it was a Gypsy who asked, both of them turned on their heels and literally ran away! Lizzie and I got a good laugh out of that one, too!
Back to the Berliner Dom. It's gorgeous inside! There is a very different feeling one has when walking into any large European church, but it seems like most of them are large Catholic cathedrals. Berliner Dom is not a Catholic house of worship, so although it is ornately decorated inside, I didn't think it seemed to have the symbolism and mysticism of a catholic cathedral. There is no overly fanciful altar or scent of incense or even stained-glass windows. That's not to say it there isn't beautiful craftsmanship or artistry, though.
Last time Lizzie was in Berlin, she got to hear the organ play. Last time I was in Germany, we followed my mom around Trier, in the West, as she got to play the organ at numerous churches, cathedrals, and basilicas. I can only imagine if she had been with us...well, she wouldn't have been with us - she would have, by this time, already found someone from whom to get permission to play the darned thing!!
We also were able to get great views of Berlin from above, and though it was cold (yep...another day below freezing), the views were fantastic!
We descended from on high and found a little restaurant just off of Alexanderplatz, the large square seen behind us in the photo above. We shared a HUGE weiner schnitzel, lentil soup with sausage, and a side of veggies. So delicious!
The day was getting late and we had one more thing we wanted to see, but we had to get Lizzie's things from my apartment, so we headed back there. Right down the street from the Oranienburger Straße S-Bahn stop is the Neues Synagogue, which has undergone extensive repair and restoration since WWII.
I haven't been in there yet and am not sure if I will get the chance. Interesting sidenote: since the war, German police officials are stationed outside of many Jewish sites around town, including the Neues Synagogue (door in the lower right hand corner). There are still some factions in East Germany who believe Jews are lesser peoples and so the police hold their posts to ward off any potential protesters or neo-Nazi activists. The Huffington Post had an interesting feature on a Berlin woman who is doing her part to combat this.
We got Lizzie's things and had a little over an hour before she needed to be back at the Hauptbahnhof for her train back to Bielefeld. We took the S-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz, the "Times Square" of Berlin. Nothing really to write home about. We walked about a block and then crossed the street into Berlin's Tiergarten (Animal Park). It's pretty much like Central Park and though she bet otherwise, there were no wolves running around.
Smack dab in the middle of the Tiergarten is a large round-about circling a large stone pedestal called the Siegessäule, or Victory Column, or the "Chick on a Stick" (according to Rick Steves, local Berliners call her this. They don't). She was build to commemorate numerous Prussian victories and was to be a focal-point of Hitler's new Berlin Layout. Remember how I thought the statue on top of the Brandenburger Tor was backwards? Well, I think CoaS is also backwards. She faces away from the city, but I would think she should be facing the city so those within the walls could see Victory's shining face. And boy was she shining! Apparently, she had just been cleaned and polished, hence the scaffolding!
As the sun set over Berlin, shining on the Brandenburger Tor and the Soviet War Memorial, we caught a U-Bahn over to the Hbf and got Lizzie on her train.
See you next weekend, Lizzie!
Here is the entire photo set from my trip:
Eric! I love that you love Berlin. Next time you decide to go back, let me know. It is probably my favorite city.
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