Cable Car ride Across the Rhine River

The sun began peaking thru right as we crossed the Rhine.  There was a beautiful view up top of the river, Dom, and the entire area.  Once we got to the other side we wandered through the park, eventually making our way back by crossing over the train bridge.

Walking Along the Rhine River

Since our hotel was only a couple blocks from the river, we spent a bunch of time walking along the river.  The view from there were gorgeous, and the bridges looked amazing. 

Dom Cathedral

This Cathedral could be seen from almost every point in the city, since it's huge.  We climbed the 510 stairs up to the top, fighting our way past people on the single staircase that people took up and down.

Jason's Dreams Come True at the Media Park

Jason was determined to find this media park, when he saw it listed on the map.  It wasn't all that interesting, mainly just some high tech buildings and a movie theater.  BUT, as you can tell from the smile on his face, it certainly made Jason's day.

Train from Cologne to Hamburg and then Hamburg to Berlin

Spending time on a train is actually something we look forward to, since it's quite lulling to be on it.  I love sitting by the window and looking out onto the countryside, while Jason usually spends his time watching shows or playing his PSP.

Exploring Hamburg Inside and Out

We literally spent 6 hours combing the town, since this was our only full day we'd have here.  We circled around city hall, down to the port area, around to St. George, behind the central train station, down a bunch of pedestrian streets, eventually ending up at our hotel in the early evening.  Jason even found some socks that he'd been on the hunt for!

Internet Connection Search

When the connection at the Radisson stopped working, we literally were on a hunt to find somewhere that had a working connection.  We ended up at SIDE Hotel, a very cool place.  We spent the $15 for each of our computers for the connection, which we turned into the Radisson to reimburse us.  Believe it or not, the Radisson didn't hassle us about the charge, and Jason even convinced them to include free breakfast for us for our trouble.

Neue Synagauge, Berlin

Although we weren't able to go inside, since it was Shabbat, we viewed the beautiful temple from outside.  During Kristallnacht (9 November, 1938) the Neue Synagoge was set ablaze. During World War II it was heavily damaged . The ruins of the building were finally demolished in 1958 . It was not until the collapse of the Berlin Wall that reconstruction began. In May 1995, the synagogue was partly revived.

Roaming Around Town and Following the Spree River

WE have thoroughly gotten mixed around in this city on more than one occasion (seems to be me more than Jason).  However, since our hotel is located directly on the Spree River, we've tried to use that as a guide to get back.

Berlin Dom Cathedral and the Botero Sculptures

This area is a central part of the city, with a lot of people wandering around.  We were lucky to catch this Fernando Botero exhibit on the grass area in front of the Dom.  By coincidence, the same day we viewed these sculptures, there was a special on BBC talking about the life and accomplishments of Botero.

The Reichstag

Jason was hoping to see Helen Murkle here in the German parliament building near the Brandenburg gate, but apparently she doesn't work on Sunday mornings at 9am.  We considered for about a second waiting in the hour long line to get into the glass dome, but the freezing weather got us out of that mood!

Brandenburger Gate

This gate is the entrance to the Tiergarten Park, as well is located centrally in the city. 

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

A recently opened (spring 2005) gigantic abstract artwork covering an entire block near the Brandenburg Gate, including an underground museum with extensive details on the Holocaust and the Jews who died during it. The blocks start out at ground level on the outer edges of the memorial, and then grow taller towards the middle, where the ground also slopes downwards. It was a very moving and powerful experience being here, only 100 yards from where Hitler's Chanclery used to be located.

The Museum of the Murdered Jews of Europe

Although we've been to many Holocaust memorials and musuems, they are always shocking and moving at the same time.  The Holocaust is an important piece of this city's history, that I'm glad Germany is open to putting on display for all to see.

Siegessaule aka The Victory Column

We walked all the way from our hotel here.  The Victory Column (German: Siegessäule (help·info)) is a famous sight in Berlin. Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian war, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873 Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870/1871), giving the statue a new purpose.

Stroll through Tiergarten Park

We spent a couple hours walking thru this park, until we eventually came to the Europa Center (shopping center where everything was closed since it was Sunday!)  The park was stunning, with all the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees.

Check Point Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to a crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War, located at the junction of Friedrichstraße with Zimmerstraße and Mauerstraße (which coincidentally means 'Wall Street'). It is in the Friedrichstadt neighborhood, which was divided by the Berlin Wall.

The Jewish Museum

This multi-story museum was quite an extensive exhibit of Jewish history in Germany.  It was interesting walking thru here, although we felt like it wasn't organized in the most cohesive way.

Remains of The Berlin Wall

This is of course a must see while in Berlin.  It was intersting to see what sort of things we're written on the wall.