A Little Sightseeing...

This trip was unusual because we didn’t visit any museums or churches. However, we did manage to see several important historic sites including the Brandenburg Gate, which was built in 1791. It was heavily damaged in World War II and then left isolated by the Berlin Wall before finally being fully restored in 2002.

We also saw the Reichstag, the parliament building built in 1894. It was severely damaged by a fire in 1933 and not fully restored until 1999.

Veronica caught this cool reflection photo. She toured the building when she visited in 2012.

It’s impossible to tell in this photo, but this fellow actually had a hibachi attached to the front of his bike to warm the bretzels. Unfortunately, they looked better than they tasted.

The Holocaust Memorial...

We also walked to the Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe. Inaugurated on May 10, 2005, sixty years after the end of World War II, the memorial consists of 2,711 concrete slabs placed on a sloping field. Each slab is the same width and length, but vary in height with the tallest being over 15 feet high.

While the artist supposedly didn’t use any symbolism, the sculpture in its entirety, represents a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.

It is designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, which it definitely did. The slabs looked like coffins and it was very eerie as they seemed to grow taller as you walked through.

Checkpoint Charlie...

Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous crossing of the Berlin Wall between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War.

Previously a symbol of the Cold War, it is now a tourist attraction surrounded by a lot of tacky shops and a huge McDonald’s.

More Cool Art...

There were some incredible messages along the wall...

...as well as some incredible images.

After we finished walking the remaining standing wall, we walked along the path of the wall for approximately 5K back into the city center. Veronica took this cool reflection photo along the way.

The Berlin Wall Revisited...

Veronica first visited the East Side Gallery in April 2012 while on a school history trip.

She was excited to be photographed at the same section again, but was disappointed to see a lot of graffiti over the hands.

Lots of Photo Ops...

 There were lots of great places to stop and take photos.

The Berlin Wall...

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 and became the world’s largest canvas as artists expressed their opinions. After the wall came down in 1989, 1.3 kilometers of the wall was left intact and the East Side Gallery was started.

This break in one of the segments to allow access to the River Spree shows how thick the wall is.

I really liked the paintings surrounding this souvenir shop.

Ashlynn just couldn’t resist adding her name to the wall. Silly girl seems to think that she’ll be able to find her name if she visits again in ten years.