bErLiN

I think the best word to describe Berlin is: "cool." This is definitely the New York City of Europe. There is something for everyone here. Berlin has a really cool attitude to it, which is definitely a result of its unique and rocky history. I spent most of my time in the area called Mitte. It is in the former Communist east side of Berlin. The area was littered with great cafes, funky art galleries, different types of bars and tons of shops. Berlin is a truly massive city but between the subway, bus and tram I managed to cover the whole thing with ease. Also, I have seemed to notice a pattern in the weather on this trip. Everytime I arrive in a city it is warm and beautiful and then within a day or two it rains and becomes cold. This has occured in Munich, Prague and now here. It hasn't been too bad but it definitely takes some of the fun out of sightseeing.

There has been a revision to my itenerary. I needed to find another city to fill help fill my remaining time in Europe so I decided to head to London for 5 days. I fly out from Hamburg on Tuesday and then fly into Amsterdam from London on Sunday. I am really excited about this and I'm actually going to be there for the massive celebration of the Queens birthday. Of course, I have chosen to go to the most expensive city in Europe at the point in my trip where my bank account is running thin. My credit card has now become "worry about it later money". I should be fine though and I definitelty won't let it worry me. I'm on vacation after all.

Unfortunately the end is in sight and while I hate to leave here, I definitely miss everyone back home. After Amsterdam I hit Bruges and then fly out of Brussles on the 21st.

Hope everyone is doing great. I love all your comments so please keep them coming.

I have attached some pics of Berlin- hope you enjoy.



The Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Inside the Memorial. It was a really interesting experience as you walk around inside. You feel almost alone and a little lost as you wander between the various sized columns.

The Reichstag.

The Brandenburg Gate

The Altes Museum which includes the famous Bust of Queen Nefertiti.

A stretch of the remaining Wall. Behind it is the remains of the former SS Headquarters where the Holocaust was planned and organized. It is now an outdoor exhibit called the Topography of Terror. The exhibit explains the history of the Nazi regime and the logistics of the Holocaust and its effects. It was very interesting.

The TV Tower. (Locals call it the "big asparagus")

Bugatti Veyron - Starting at only $1.1 million. (Inspiration to keep my GPA up.)

The Berlin Cathedral built in 1451.


The Ishtar Gate from Babylon. It was originally built in 575 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II. (This gate is 47 feet high and 100 feeet wide. There is much more to the gate than this picture shows.)

The Market Gate Miletus in the Pergamon Museum. (This thing is 17m high and completely indoors.)

The foot from Monty Python.

The Pergamon Alter in the Pergamon Museum. (They pretty much took the whole thing from Grecce and reassembled it in the Museum.)

Checkpoint Charlie. (The biggest tourist trap in Germany. The locals call it Disneyland because it is completely fake.)

Inside of the Konzerthaus where the Berlin Symphony plays.

The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. (We bombed it in WW2 and the remains became a memorial after the war. A very cool modern church was built around the remains.)

Longest stretch of the remaining Berlin Wall. It is a long open air art gallery now called the East Gallery.

Painter at the East Gallery

More East Gallery

The Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz. It is basically a group of skyscrapers with a canopy covering the area between them. (It's supposed to look like Mt. Fuji)

The Subway

A really nice courtyard in the Hackescher Hof

The French Church

The Jewish Museum (It is completely covered in zinc and shaped like a lightning bolt almost.)