The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is huge!
I ordered a bratwurst, and this is the bun they chose. It frightens me that there are people in the world who thinks this makes perfect sense.
I hopped on the S-Bahn, went to East Berlin, dropped my stuff off at the hostel, and took another S-Bahn back to the Zoologischer Garten stop in West Berlin. I then got on a bus, which took me past several cool places in West Berlin.
This is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. It was bombed in WWII, but rather than rebuild, they kept the ruins standing as a memorial. To the right is the new church they built.
Are these dolphins doing a chest-bump? Maybe.
Here's the Berlin Zoo.
Write your own caption.
The headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union, a political party in Germany.
The Mexican Embassy.
The Tiergarten, a famous park.
Hmm, I should say something to transition from Tiergarten to the Victory Column. Maybe that lady outside crossing the street knows what I could use. (Get it? Phonetic pun.)
The Victory Column, built when Prussia defeated Denmark in 1864. I guess they're doing restoration on it. Lame.
Here's the Bellevue Palace, former home of the crown prince of Berlin.
The House of World Cultures (apparently nicknamed "the pregnant oyster" by residents of Berlin).
Here's the Reichstag Building, where the parliament works.
A closer look. Look how big it is!
Out front is a memorial to politicians who opposed Hitler.
Their names are inscribed on the tops of the slabs.
Across the street, near where the Berlin Wall used to be, is a memorial of East Berliners who were killed trying to cross over to West Berlin.
The Brandenberg Gate (Brandenberger Tor), a remnant of medieval Berlin.
Here's a straight-on view, looking into the Pariser Platz (the Parisian Square).
A look at the statue on top of the gate from the Platz.
What's this? I recognize that flag.
The American Embassy! U.S. Soil! I'm not allowed inside though... No visitors.
Here's the Academy of Arts.
On the other side was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the first German government-sponsored Holocaust memorial. It has 2711 stone pillars.
Here's the good old Star-Spangled Banner on the other side of the Embassy.
This is the Hotel Adlon, which has hosted Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin (the other guy with the mustache), and Michael Jackson. In fact, the second balcony up is where Michael dangled his baby, Blanket, out the window.
This street is Unter der Linden, named for -- you guessed it -- all the linden trees.
Silly linden. This rack is for bicycles, not trees.
I love the little guys on the traffic signals in Eastern Germany.
Here's where Checkpoint Charlie was at the Berlin Wall.
I got my passport stamped there.
I asked this blue bear how to get back to Unter der Linden, but he gave me a look that said, "I don't know!"
Frederick the Great.
Sir Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart
Here's the German State Opera.
This area is called Bebelplatz. Let's look in that glass window in the ground.
Empty bookshelves. It's a memorial to the Nazi book burning. What does this tell you, Dr. Henry Jones, Sr.?
"It tells me, that goose-stepping morons such as yourselves should try reading books instead of burning them."
Humboldt University, where Lenin, Stalin, and the Brothers Grimm studied.
Here's a closer view at the front of the university, in case you wanted to look at the statues.
St. Hedwig Cathedral. And yes, I'll admit that my first thought after seeing the name was, "Ooh, like the owl."
I went to a Latin Mass there on Sunday. I think the celebrant was a bishop. He had the Zuchetto (skullcap), but not a miter or crosier.
The German History Museum.
The Berlin Cathedral.
As I walked down the street, I wasn't thirsty until I saw this sign. I then had to stop, pull out my water bottle and take a drink. Darn you, cartoon duck!
The famous TV Tower in East Berlin. It was meant to be a monument to atheism achievement, as its construction coincided with the removal of crosses from all the church spires in East Berlin. However, when the sun shines on it, you can see the shape of a cross reflected in the ball, earning it the nickname "The Pope's Revenge."
Some Greek gods, perhaps, in the square outside City Hall.
Speaking of City Hall... this is it.
I'm intrigued by these figures on the side of a bridge across the Spree River (is that where the candy comes from?). They have the torsos of men, the front legs of horses, and the tails look like fish tails, except they turn into plants. Man-horse-fish-flower? Don't tell Al Gore.
Okay, that will do it for Berlin. Tchüs!
