An Evening in Berlin...

After our tour we met up with Thomas, who Jimmy works with in the Netherlands, for beers and snacks at Brlo Brwhouse (spelled incorrectly intentionally), a gastro-brewery with a large beer garden. 

As we set off in search for somewhere for dinner, we spotted a lot of interesting things along the way including this huge mural...

…miniature humans making up a multi-story artwork...

…some colorful windows...

…and the German Museum of Technology with a plane on the roof.

Cold War Bunker Tour...

On our way to meet Jimmy for a drink, we came across Love Hate by Mia Florentine Weiss. Depending upon how you look at it, each word appears as a reflection of the other, reminding us how closely linked love and hate can be.

Our next stop was the starting point of our Berliner Unterwelten (Berlin Underworld) for a Bunkers, Subways and the Cold War Tour. Once we entered this building, photography wasn’t allowed...

…but luckily they had some great photos on their website to show highlights of our tour. First we visited a traditional bunker.

And then we walked down the street to a subway station, where I captured these two photos of their lovely bright tiles.

The next bunker was built under this subway station. The idea was that the station itself could be sealed off to protect 3,000 people until the air above would be clear. 

Since we on a public subway platform, I managed to catch this photo just before we entered this door.

It was a very informative tour; too bad I can’t remember most of the stats.

Luckily for the residents of Berlin, they never needed to use this bunker as it would have been difficult to sleep in these small bunk rooms. Apparently the plan was to keep a few subway cars within the sealed off area to be used for seating. 

There were no showers and just a small supply of loos...

…and a ridiculously small kitchen that would have been taxed with feeding everyone. Wish I could remember the incredible story about how this bunker was used to house a Spanish football team for a few nights. It was all quite fascinating!

 

The East Side Gallery...

Eventually we arrived at the East Side Gallery, a permanent open-air memorial on the longest surviving portion of the Berlin Wall. Most of the murals date back to the original artistry in 1990, a year after the fall of the Wall. 

Untitled

US Flag

It Happened in November, by a German-Iranian artist, depicts Checkpoint Charlie on the day that the wall fell showing feelings of joy, confusion and liberation. 

Berlin by Night

World’s People by a Russian artist, contains many messages and iconic sites...

…including the Brandenburg Gate and Eiffel Tower. 

Anything Open

Walls International

My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love, one of the most famous artworks in the gallery, is a reproduction of a photo of the socialist fraternal kiss between Brezhnev and Honecker. It is still a symbol for the fall of the Wall.

Ode to Joy

Graffiti is Liberty was clearly not there originally when Brandenburg Gate was first painted.

 

Walking Across Berlin...

After a breakfast of baked goods, Jimmy left for some meetings and Steve and I set off to walk across Berlin. As we passed the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, we spotted this sign showing the world’s ever-changing population...

…and this colorful bear, both part of the One World – No Hunger initiative.

In the nearby park, we spotted these spotty trees...

…and this museum with vibrant reflective windows.

Somehow seeing the giant DIE directly over the Berlin ❤ You sign wasn’t very welcoming.

Worse was the McDonald’s sign that floated above Checkpoint Charlie, the best known crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.

From there we tried following the path of the Berlin Wall, although we occasionally lost track of the markers. There were lots of interesting buildings along the way...

…but few places to grab lunch until we spotted a café across this pond in a park. Luckily it was actually pretty good as well as a lovely location. 

 

Berlin Full Moon Hash...

Luckily we had just enough time to drop off our bags at our hotel to allow Jimmy to get to his evening meeting and for Strobe and me to make it to the Berlin Full Moon Hash. 

It was a great trail that brought us to areas we normally wouldn’t have seen including running along where an outer portion of the Berlin Wall stood, but I failed to photograph any of those markers. Afterwards there was a fun circle with locals and several other visitors. 

Loved the tiles in the metro station near the run start.

Of course, we couldn’t refuse the offer of roadies. 
 

Last Bits of Prague...

After our action-packed adventure inside City Hall, we took a leisurely walk back to our hotel.

We saw some more charming streets...

…and another elaborate church.

We happened upon another creation by Czech artist David Cerny. While some folks have worried that Man Hanging Out is someone committing suicide, it is actually a fake Sigmund Freud. Created in 1996, it went on walkabout around the world before settling back on this unassuming Prague street.

We were originally supposed to catch a train to Berlin that afternoon, but the German train workers were on strike. After spending hours online investigating options to get to Berlin in time for Jimmy’s meeting starting that evening, I booked us and Steve, who was joining us for that leg of our trip, last-minute FlixBus tickets. On our walk from the tram to the station, we passed this beautiful synagogue built in 1906, but didn’t have time to pop inside. Our bus was late, but we were pleasantly surprised that it was pretty comfortable and that Steve made it in time to join us.