Unexpected adventures - what else :)

So it seems whatever country we visit we encounter surprises on a grand level.   Today in Berlin is the equivalent of the Super Bowl in the US.   Dortman (yellow and black)  and Wolfsburg (green) meet at the Berlin Olympic Stadium (1936).  

So when we went out to take the U Bahn (underground) and S Bahn (above ground) to take the boatride on the Spree River we encountered mobs of fans, many of whom had obviously begun their celebrating early.   The city is also full of police, local and imported. 

On top of that , tomorrow is a huge bicycle race with many streets closed.

                                   Note how full the cars are with passengers at the door

                                                      Had to take this Dortmund fan :)

                                      
                                         Finally we reached the boat dock as it began to rain.

With the amount of beer consumed before the game the local and imported police were everywhere.  The game just ended and I am glad we are safely back in our room.  Wolfsburg won 3 - 1. 



Now pictures from  our boat ride on the River Spree which was part of the dividing line between East and West Berlin. When we got on the boat it began to rain so we had to sit inside downstairs BUT in about 10 minutes the sky cleared and we were able to go up o the open deck.

                                    Pictures on the left are from the former East Berlin.

 This TV tower is the highest structure in Germany.  The East was very proud of having constructed it.  There is a restaurant at the level of the "ball".   Interestingly a nearby church cast a shadow on the silver ball in the shape of a cross which people called "The Pope's revenge".

                                                    The old next to .....

                                                                        The new

                                      The Catholic Cathedral on the East side of the Spree

     This was the largest synagogue in Europe and escaped the bombing ironically

 This (in the East) was described as the home of the  Catholic Military Bishop during the years of division. Not sure what that means.

 These memorials are scattered throughout Berlin in memory of those who died trying to escape through the Wall.

                                 Nursery school for the children of government employees.

 The World Cultural building the US gave Germany - picture taken from the water

One of the 1200 unique bridges in Berlin.  You can take a 3 hour boat ride under many of them

                    How is THAT for a railroad station!  Berlins main Haupbahnhof.  Trains come in on 4 levels.  One level for long distance North and South and another for long distance East and West.  Two more for the various local trains and subways (S bahn and U bahn)

This may be full of errors but tomorrow we will visit friends and have to get an early start to signing off .

Reichstag Building - Dome

The Reichstag is houses the German parliament and  is one of Berlin's historic landmarks. The building, is located close to the Brandenburg Gate was renovated after German reunification and now features a  glass dome.

The Dome on top of the rebuilt  Reichstag Building is made of glass and built to symbolize the reunification of Germany.  It offers a 360 degree view of Berlin.  The chamber of the Bundestag,  the German parliament, is below the Dome symbolizing that the people are above the government, as was not the case during National Socialism.

The glass dome designed to be energy efficient, is reached by climbing and then descending two steel, spiraling ramps that are reminiscent of a double helix. The ramps total 1510 ft in length.

                              View of some of the many construction projects in Berlin.

                        Main Hauptbahnhof (train station) from the top of the Dome

                                                                 Part of the UP ramp

                                    Note the solar panels. The entire roof is to be covered with them

House of world cultures  (with unusual roof - called the pregnant oyster by Berliners) located in the Tiergarten park and a direct neighbour of the Carillon  It was formerly known as the Kongresshalle or conference hall and was a gift from the United states.

                                                 The carillon in the Tiergarten

                                                  Brandenburg gate fro the top of te Dome

                                    Does this remind Bostonians of any local building ?

                                                                        From the top

                                           View of the Berlin Philharmonic from the top of the Dome

hop On Hop Off Bus (HOHO)

So yesterday we got to the first stop of the HOHO bus early and got the front seats on the top deck.  We rode the bus around its route for the 2.5 hour ride and it was an amazing mix of old and new, East and West.   A new Germany and remnants of the old, iconic sites which conjure up images of oppression and division.

(In the afternoon we visited the Reichstag Building - (more on that in another post)  and then Norbert went for a run and I went to sleep!

Connection here at our hotel is spotty so I will just post the pictures and try to describe as much as I can without grouping them as I might with better connectivity.

 One of the 2 buildings of the Berlin Philharmonic of special interest to people of Boston as the new and already much loved conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andres Nelsons, is a finalist to be the new conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic which is considered by most to be the #1 conducting position.

 A remnant of the Wall.  There are parts of it left throughout the city.  The top was rounded so no one could get a grasp on it and even grappling hooks .  The fence in front is to prevent "wall peckers"  from chipping pieces to sell.   Like pieces of the "true cross"  there are said to be enough pieces of the Wall to build three of them.

 This is  Check Point Charlie. the best known of entrances to Berlin from the West which most Westerners passed through. 

                                                         Left as a remnant of the past.

 When the Wall fell in 1989 (built in 1961) most of the buildings in the East we "Soviet Style" meaning plain rectangles of cement and cinderblock unpainted.   A massive redevelopment began in the East and now that it is near the standard of the West , building in what was the Western sector is happening on a large scale.  Also when the Capitol was moved from Bonn to Berlin, there was a huge influx of government employees requiring massive building of apartments and infrastructure.

 Most of Berlins magnificent buildings were destroyed during WWII.   A few remain.

 Public transportation is modern and efficient and bibycles are a very common means of transportation with safe separate bike lanes on all the major streets.

 The Brandenburg Gate - once an entry between East and West.  Norbert brought his dad with him when he ran the Berlin Marathon in 1998 .   An emotional journey and he got to show Norbert where they had lived which unfortunately Norbert can't find now.

 The Reichstag Building (current government) which we visited in the afternoon.  You will see pictures of the inside of the Dome in my next post.

 We plan to take one of these boat rides on the Spree River that runs through Berlin.

                 This restaurant is called Berlin - Moscow.  Wonder wht they serve?

 One of the many beautiful treed streets.  One third of Berlin is parks and water.  Solar and other conservation and environmental issues are clearly important.

 Victory tower in celebration of Prussian victories in late 1800's.   You can climb to the top but reviews say the stairs are narrow and crowded.  We opted for the Dome of the Reichstag Building for our view from the top.

 It was decided not to rebuild this church as a memorial to the destruction of Berlin during WWII.  The new one is being erected next to it.

One entrance to the Tiergarten which is considered the lungs of Berlin is 2 sq miles of treed walking and recreation. (Central Park in NYC is 1.3 square miles for comparison).  The Berlin Zoo is next to it boasting the largest collection of species in the world.  I found it disturbing that they also say that the space for the animals is deliberately small so that visitors are more likely to see them.  I have to say that after visiting Tanzania and seeing animals in the wild,  zoos in general are hard for me to see but this attitude is particularly troubling to me.