A Brief Visit to Berlin

On August 30, 2017, we boarded our flight to Berlin.  Our first stop was in Amsterdam where we took a connecting flight to Berlin where we arrived in the afternoon.  We had just enough time to take a taxi to our Hampton by Hilton Hotel, which was 4 months old and located in the old East German section near the famous Alexanderplatz, a huge plaza which was located pretty near some famous and interesting sites.  We checked in and then walked a few blocks to check out the plaza and surrounding area.

This Lutheran church was on one corner of the plaza.  There was also a big statue of Martin Luther as he was very much revered here.

A block or so away were these statues of Marx and Engels.  Unfortunately they left their mark on the world too.

The next morning the hotel staff was very helpful in giving us suggestions on how to take a local bus to get an overview the many of the sites in the area.  We took the bus and rode the circuit.  Then we went back to couple of the major points we wanted to see and spend more time at.
This big sign was painted on an abandoned building near our hotel so we passed by it several times.

In the distance we could see the Brandenburg Gate from our bus.  That was one of the areas we stopped at later for a more complete look around.

This was the entrance to a local zoo.  It looked very oriental and not at all like other buildings.

The place we wanted to see the most was Checkpoint Charlie.  Steve had seen this checkpoint where a few people were able to cross between East and West Berlin.  It was heavily guarded by machine gun toting Soviet soldiers 50 years ago when Steve saw it as a missionary.  Now, of course, the wall has been removed.

This station now has a U.S. Army station where people take photos. Steve thought it was ironic that McDonald's was a few feet away.  It did provide an ideal bathroom opportunity for us, however.

Steve is standing in front of a photo of what the checkpoint used to look like in the 1960's.

I am standing between two portions of the former wall.

We took this photo of each of us standing on either side of the wall.  It separated many family members and is a sad reminder of past efforts by the communist regime to keep people entrapped in their crumbling country.

This man setting cobblestones around the tree reminded us of China where we see workers doing that a lot to earn a very basic living.

The Brandenburg Gate was commissioned by Prussian king Frederick William II.  It was placed where the gate had been for the original entrance to the city and led directly to the royal City Palace. It was built from 1788-1791.  Many historical events have taken place there.  When Hitler came to power in January, 1933, his troops march through this gate.  

In June of 1963 Pres. John F. Kennedy gave a famous speech there saying "I am a Berliner" in German.  In June 1987, the 750th anniversary of Berlin, Ronald Reagan gave a famous speech there.  Over 20,000 people were personally in attendance and millions from around the world when he told Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."  The world was shocked by his boldness but it led to the destruction of the wall and the freedom for the East German citizens.

Today the Brandenburg Gate is considered not only a symbol of the tumultuous history of Eueope and Germany but also of European unit and peace.  It was amazing to see and walk through this historically significant place.  Directly to the side of the entrance is the United State Embassy pictured below.

Buses and trains of very prompt in Germany just as Steve had experienced on his mission 50 years ago.

Here is the statue of Martin Luther on the plaza and near the church with interior photos below.

This clock shows the time in major cities around the world.

Here is the map showing the division between East Berlin and West Berlin.  He stayed in our hotel which was recently built on the east side of Berlin.  A lot of new construction is taking place on the east side since it was so poor, neglected and dilapidated.

Here I am standing in front of the Hampton Inn by Hilton where we stayed in during our visit to Berlin.

                           That afternoon, we got a bus to take us to the Baunhoff or train station.

Here we are at the train station.  Above is the exterior and below is the interior.  It is a very busy, very large place.

There are lots of eating options inside the train station.  We opted to share a Bratwurst sandwich with fries.  I was surprised that it wasn't served with sauerkraut.

Out wait wasn't too long, before we were able to board our train and find our reserved seats to Rostock.  Two unrelated people, a very nice man and woman were seated across a small table from us throughout our ride.  They were going to a nearby village for the wedding of a mutual friend.  They were currently living in France and had been riding the train since early morning to arrive the night before the wedding.  Both spoke excellent English and neither was originally from France.

We don't remember the exact length of our train ride but believe it was 3-4 hours.  We arrived in Rostock and were able to catch a bus to a stop nearby our hotel before dark.  Using public transportation in a foreign country is usually a bit challenging.  I was so grateful that Steve could read and speak German if needed.

 Our hotel room was totally open to the shower and sink.  Only the toilet was private.

 Since it was dark and we didn't know the city and there were not any restaurants or stores nearby, we ate the snacks in our backpack for dinner.  This was one of those times when I was grateful I had packed some snacks.

 The next morning, we caught the bus to the train station again.  Our plan was to take the train to the port station of Warnemunde, a quaint and very popular tourist destination on the ocean, where we would board our ship for the Baltic cruise.

 When we arrived at the train station, a taxi driver made us an offer we couldn't refuse.  Instead of sitting around waiting for our train, the taxi driver took us immediately throughout the beautiful area giving us commentary and history as we drove.  Within 30 minutes, we were waiting with a small group of people to board our ship.  The driver also gave us some tips for how to board our train to Hamburg when we arrived back in Warnemunde the next weekend.  He even talked about things to see in St. Petersburg as part of our cruise experience.  We got all of that for about the same cost, $20 total, as our train tickets would have cost.  I think that it was early in the day so things were slow and he wanted to practice his English.