I have returned to Paris after a yet another whirlwind weekend. And, once again, I am in love. Berlin was fascinating and exciting on every possible level. The food was delicious (and cheap!); the history was astounding; the nightlife was awesome. My only complaint was that it was COLD, but it could have been worse.
It was unbelievable to walk around the place that was within Soviet territory in my lifetime (if only nine months of it). Germany was arguably the most significant country of the 20th century. Between the Nazi Party and the happenings of the Cold War, it certainly fills a large portion of the textbooks I've been reading for close to a decade. I can't even find words to describe how surreal it was to walk the line where the Berlin Wall once was and to stand on the grounds of what was the once SS headquarters. Incredible.
I could only be there for about 24 hours, so I know it is somewhere I have to go back to one day. Hopefully soon!
Rachel (top) in East Berlin + me in West Berlin
Checkpoint Charlie (facing West Berlin)
grounds of the building that was SS (Nazi) headquarters
(now "Topography of Terror" exhibit)
Memorial for murdered Jews
Brandenburg Gate
East Side Gallery
(murals painted by artists from all over the world on a remaining kilometer of the Berlin Wall)
One mural on the wall
A building in Munich's Marienplatz
(as far as Rachel and I got in Munich in between trains before we nearly died from exhaustion)
That's not just any building in Munich! That's the town hall, and if you had waited around a bit, you would have seen the best animated clock ever!
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