Berlin

The afternoon of the 26th we headed out from Hamburg to Berlin. There we met up with Rachel and Emily after doing laundry. They had just headed through Barcelona, Italy, and Vienna. The first night we wandered around the west end of the city where we knew that our walking tour wouldn't be going. It ended up being more of a commercial area and most places were closed after 8 pm, so there wasn't a ton to see. We then headed over to the Tiergarten, a very expansive park in the middle of the city; similar to Central Park in NYC.

Anders, Emily, and Rachel on the train over to the west side of Berlin

Berlin Victory Column, which stands in the middle of Platz der Repulik. 

Statues around Platz der Republik

The next day we had a lot of time to explore the city. First in the morning we went to the Museum Island, which has four old museums and one church on it.

A model of the Museum Island

Berliner Dom

We had a few hours in the morning before our scheduled walking tour, so we spent time in the National History museum. I found it very interesting to get a broader view of Germany going back centuries. There was an interactive display charting the movements of different tribes in Europe and how the Roman Empire expanded north and receded. What especially struck me was how new the Germany as we know it today really is. It was only fully united in the 1870s after the Prussian Wars; before that it had been for the most part a lot of city states.

At 1:30 pm we found our way back to the Museum Island to meet up with the walking tour group. Our guide was really good and he tried to give as broad a picture of German history. The tour was also rather somber, however, as much of it focused on the Nazis, WWII, and the Cold War. For good reason, too.

Neue Wache, or New Guard House. It was originally built as a house for the troops of the crown prince of Prussia. Then it was dedicated after WWI as a memorial for the fallen of war. During Soviet occupation it became a memorial for the "Victims of Facism and Militarism". Finally, the above statue was installed under the Occulus and it became dedicated to the "Victims of War and Tyranny". The statue shows a mother holding her dying son (a soldier) in her arms.

Checkpoint Charlie

A view of the edge of the Wall

Our Australian tour guide. Behind him, the Berlin Wall.

A view inside the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Outside the memorial. It's just plain slabs of stone, but it leaves an impact. Things don't feel quite right - the stones are all offset from one another, uneven, and at different heights. Inside one feels isolated, as one quick turn cuts you off from your friends.

A quick dinner after the tour

Panorama outside the Holocaust memorial

Brandenburg Gate in the evening

The Soviet memorial for the Battle of Berlin

The Soviet memorial has two decommissioned tanks in the front and artillery.

Humboldt University

After a long day of touring we called it quits. The next day our group split up; Rachel and Emily went off to London and Anders headed down to Munich. I would enjoy going back to Berlin - a day and a half wasn't enough time to see the city. Apparently it has more museums than any other city in Europe, too. It will have to wait, unfortunately. Alone with only two days left to Vienna, I took a day train to Prague.