Left our little villa on Lake Garda to drive into Brescia at 7:00 am. We arrived in Brescia at 8:00am meeting Gianpiero and Barbara, leaving his car in front of the train station. After a quick conversation and kisses on both cheeks, we got onto the train to Milan at 8:26 am. Arriving in Milan at 9:40, we walked through the train station to ride two long escalators down to the main ground. The Milan train station was a very modern mall with exclusive looking bill boards and designers windows. I wondered how close we were to the Spring Fashion Show that takes place there...it certainly looked like they were ready for it.
Outside the train station we found the bus to the airport...loads of people were wanting to board it. We are so glad that Gianpiero had purchased the tickets on line for us. The bus left at 10:05 am and we arrived at the airport around 11:00am...their advertisement of a 20 minute ride to airport did not hold the truth. We were thankful that our plane did not take off until 12:30. We stood in a long, long line to check into the Air Berlin flight....the young girl told us that they usually have three people working this line, but today only she and another young lady who managed to show up very late were handling the ticket processing.
After a long walk to the other side of the Terminal 1, we made it to the Gate 6A just as they were starting to load the plane at 12:05. Whew! We got into our seats and a ton of people came on after us....it was a full flight.
We arrived in Berlin just before the sky opened up and dumped a major amount of rain. We were so glad that the plane had landed before the downpour. We waited for about 45 minutes before our luggage came....the storm, only one guy unloading it, and a faulty conveyor belt led to a long waiting period. While waiting we met an American couple from New York who had been living in Berlin for a year. They were currently working at the American Embassy. They gave us all kinds of pointers about things to see and do while visiting the Capital of Germany. They directed us to the cabs saying that we should tackle the bus system on another day when we don't have to make so many changes with our luggage so we jumped into a cab and the driver took us on a little scenic tour and while driving us to our new home away from home. We arrived at the apartment of Michael and Magdalina van Esden-Tempsky around 4:00pm.
What a cute little apartment! One bed room, one bath and a pink/red kitchen with wonderful appliances...a full size refrigerator with an ice maker...my gosh, you just don't ever see that in Europe.
Anyway, we unpacked....got a call from Kristy and Brian....a wonderful Mother's Day Surprise! Larry fixed us two glasses of tea and we walked down the street to eat dinner at a local Restaurant. By 8:30, we were pretty tuckered out....falling into the bed at 9:00pm was a welcome sight....our 5:45am alarm had kicked in so we were ready for a lot of shut eye.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Beautiful sunny day! The gray clouds from our arrival had disappeared. We decided to head for the store to get some supplies. A young lady on the street directed to a full size grocery store that was on the next block. We got our things home and decided to go a for a walk. Headed down the street and just took in the sights of our new neighborhood. We were surprised how new and modern everything looked. Larry and I were expecting it to be a lot of vintage buildings....there were a few that reminded us of Budapest, but actually there were more modern new structures than old. Lilacs were in full bloom as well as the trees being out. It was just a gorgeous day.
Anyway our neighborhood had a Star Bucks, McDonald's and Subway down the street, lots of little coffee shops and places to eat, a drug store, a fruit market, and lots of Souvenir shops. Why? Our apartment was one block from Check Point Charlie, a big tourist attraction for Berlin. Check Point Charlie was one of seven places that a foreigner could enter East Berlin during th cold war. It is famous for the Russian and US tanks squaring off in '63. Nothing was fired, but at the time this could have led to a third World War. I still find it unbelievable that the communist were confining people from leaving or entering the East side of Germany....but we also know that exiting and entering Communist Russia is still the same today. We had had a heck of a time getting Visas to go into Russia last year and have heard how difficult it was for our Russian friends to leave their country.
Our apartment is in the yellow building
We noticed loads of high rise construction cranes throughout Berlin. They are obviously in the upswing of improving their city....the economy appears to be moving along very well here. Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Today was a gray overcast day so after breakfast we decided to take a bike ride west toward to the Spree River. The traffic was light in front of the apartment, but it changed as we entered the intersection of mass tourists who were snapping photos of Check Point Charlie, one of the hottest sights for tourist visiting Berlin. Among the taxis, tour buses, hop on hop off buses, bicyclist, and cars...it was mass chaos getting through the area on a bicycle. Be still my heart! I am not used to navigating a bike in so much traffic....after a block it all seems to disappear! It was amazing how quiet the street got!. So on we went with our map and a plan to just keep riding till we came to the river.
The sun came out! We soon came upon the river Spree and followed it seeing lots of tour boats and tourist enjoying the walkway beside it.
We followed it till we came to the huge old building called Reichstag. It was built between 1884-1894 and currently houses the German Parliment.
When it was built it was supposed to be a good example of the prevailing optimism of the German Empire. In 1933 the main hall burned when Nazi's set it on fire. Parts were rebuilt between 1957-1972, making it a spectacular back drop for festivals and rock concerts. I'm sure the East German authorities disliked this. Between 1995-1999 more renovations occurred by adding an elliptical dome with a viewing gallery....really a sight to see... the very modern and the very old ornate blending together.
On we rode following the river through the Tergarten Park, the largest park in Berlin with 495 acres. It is massive and very beautiful.
Nice bike and walking paths with lots of trees as well as statues and memorials along the way.
We were heading to the Siegessaule or Triumphal Column which is surrounded by a circle or roundabout. Traffic was very busy here. This statue was built in 1864 to commemorate the victory in the Prusso-Danish War. The Column used to sit in front of the Reichstag; however, the Nazi's moved it to its present location in 1938. It has a small observation tower at the top.
We also biked to the German President's House. Quite a swanky joint...built in 1786 for the Prussian Prince August Ferdinand until 1861. It was refurbished to be a museum, a hotel for the Nazi's, and then finally the president's home. It was gorgeous! The only guard in sight was a female. So different from the so many guards at the White House.
We also passed the ruins of a train station that took over 50,000 Jews out of Berlin. None were thought to have survived. Berliners alike used this station to travel throughout Europe during WWII; however, the Jews stood apart from the travelers because they wore the yellow star on their clothing.
We had a great picnic lunch in a tiny park while black clouds formed over head and then we raced back to our comfortable little apartment, beating a drizzle of rain. Although Larry and I prefer the quiet country life, we are starting to fall in love with Berlin.... So many great things to see and enjoy.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
What an absolutely beautiful day! The high is suppose to be 77. After breakfast we headed out on the bikes east of the city down to Unter den Linden, the most famous street in Berlin. Riding the bikes in Berlin is a fabulous experience. Better than going underground in the metro and quicker than walking. You can see so many things along the way...like the integration of the old, old buildings with the modern day architecture. Larry and I were very surprised at how modern Berlin is. We were expecting it to be like Vienna or Budapest...all the buildings being old and ornate. This is not so in Berlin. Due to the massive destruction during the WWII, very modern architecture was everywhere with a few older building scattered about.
We also got to view the 2013 Outdoor Exhibit that commemorated the 80th Anniversary of the Nazis' accession. The exhibit displayed Berliner's that were forced to leave or were murdered during the Nazi's take over. These people enriched Berlin helping it to reach global fame.
Today we were heading to the Fersehturm, the tallest structure in Berlin. The locals refer to it as the toothpick.
Along the way we saw the Neptune Fountain (1886),
Alexanderplatz ( a huge shopping square and meeting point of the metro), German History Museum, and
We also went to Museum Island, where the first settlements of Berlin appeared in in the 13th century. Many museums are here along with the Berliner Dom, a cathedral built between 1747 and 1750 originally and reconstructed in 1894 to 1905. It's organ contains 7,200 pipes.
Berliner Dom
We pedaled on to make it to the Fersehturm arriving around noon. We found that we would have to wait over an hour to go to the top so we decided to come back on another day to avoid the line. After a great sidewalk lunch, we pedaled along the Alexanderstra seeing numerous high rise apartment buildings. We passed over the Spree and saw the lock in a distance. Pedaling on to the Orangstra we passed several parks. Berlin has numerous little parks scattered throughout the city. Lots of nice places for the residents to have for a breath of fresh air and to experience the great outdoors right in the middle of the city....Berlin appears to have very little smog. After riding bikes from the far west to the far east, the city air is clear and we have not spotted any homeless Berliners. Isn't that a wonderful thing!
Thursday, May 15, 2013
Another gorgeous, sunny, warm day in Berlin. We headed out with the bicycles heading north. Today we were going to see the remains of the iron curtain, The Berlin Wall. We rode passing the French Cathedral called Franzosischer (1705), the Konzerthaus Concert Hall (1821), and the German Cathedral called Deutscher Dom (1708). What a sight of old architecture!
French Cathedral
Concert Hall
German Cathedral
After visiting Europe so many times you begin to realize that it is all about the architecture. These places were shouting ancient! What is so amazing about Berlin is that you see the modern right beside the ancient!
On we rode over the Spree River and further north to Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer. Here we saw reminants of the old Berlin Wall. Much of it had been taken down with the iron bars still standing to show where it had once stood.
My Man the history buff...enjoying a piece of the past!
We looked at several of the displays here. This particular area was contriversial because it was part of a cementary where eastern and western Berliners had buried family members. It described how hard it was for the westerns to visit the Gravesite since the wall blocked the visits beginning in 1961. There was also a display of Berliners who had died trying to climb the wall from both directions....some to escape the east and others to visit with family in the west.
On we rode to the huge park called Mauerpark where lots of Berliners were enjoying the gorgeous day outside. This park was very natural. Tall grass, dirt path, Mauerpark was not as manicured as the Tiergarten, but it certainly was full of Berliners today soaking up the sun and enjoying the wide open spaces that can not be had in a little apartment.
After a nice picnic lunch we pedaled back down Rosenthaler Strasse through a wonderful area that was very nice....a tree lined street with very little traffic, quaint shops, comfortable little cafes....possibly our favorite street in Berlin.
We wondered across the the Spree River beside the Monbujoupark another terrific city park. Riding our bikes beside the Spree River we headed south to our apartment and the end of another perfect day.
Friday, May 17, 2013
After breakfast we took the bikes for a ride south of our apartment. We were heading to a place where an estimated 8 million visitor head in Berlin each year...The Sony Center. It was a massive modern structure that had numerous restaurants, a movie theather and some specialty shops. A large fountain was in the center as well as a huge big screen TV and glass was everywhere. We watched the window cleaners at work....they had to have a full time job with all the glass in the building. This was a great place to people watch.
Sony Center
Lego Land was next to the Sony Center...What a bunch of LEGOS!
On we rode down Potsdamer Strasse, OMG....the traffic was unbelievable. We turned west and then north heading right into the Tiergarten. The ride through here was fabulous....birds sounds and large tall trees were so much more enjoyable to the sound of horns and traffic.
Heading to the center of the park we passed the Russian Memorial
Russian Memorial
and went on to Branderburger Tor...famous for being the beginning of the where the Berlin Wall started in 1961. They made the wall very thick there....3 meters...so people actually danced on the wall here when the announcement of the wall coming down occurred. The reason it was so thick here was to stop tanks from possibly entering. The gate was beautiful. It was built in 1795, it was modeled after the Acropolis in Athens. It has been the background of many historical events....military parades, birth of the Third Reich and Hitler's ascent to power, Reagan's address to the Soviet's about dismantling the wall.
Behind the Gate was Pariser Platz. People were every where here. Lots of sidewalk entertainers were out and about. It was a great place to sit, relax, and people watch.
OH the sights!
In the evening we went for our nightly walk and ended at the Annual Cultural Festival at the end of our street. Lots of people, lots of different bands...Latin, India Sounds, Russian, and numerous others. So many little booths with crafts and ethnic foods and smells everywhere.....marijuana is legal in Berlin and the drinking age in Germany begins at 16. We returned to our cozy little apartment with a whole new respect for a wide variety of cultures.
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