Hi - I'm catching up. Last weekend, we took a brief trip to Berlin where we visited with friends Dave and Heidi from Tucson. They were there visiting their son and his family, who live in Wedding, a suburb. We arrived early Sunday morning and left Tuesday afternoon, and spent 3 days of intensive site-seeing!
We flew into Berlin Tegel airport on a Lufthansa flight. It was nice to be in a small airport that didn't involve lines or miles to find a taxi. It was a short drive to our Hotel de France (ironic). We connected with Heidi and Dave, had a short walk to a nearby park, and then shifted into full tourist mode. We took the U-bann #U6 directly to
Friedrichstraße exit. We walked to Unter der Linden and down to the Brandenburg Gate. We crossed the now nonexistent wall from East to West Berlin, had a beer in the Tiergarten, and took in a late lunch at the cafe on top of the Reichstag.
I had the "meat salad" which was basically sliced luncheon meat with cucumber relish in a jar, and Berliner Wiess - beer with raspberry syrup, which I liked. Afterwards, we climbed the dome ramp for great views all directions. We had a warm sunny day, which made it even better!
We made our way to Potsdamer Platz in the evening. This area (I'm told) was once the heart of Berlin - the "Times Square" of Berlin. It was also the site of Hitler's Berlin bunker and was leveled at the end of WWII. It was in the East Berlin sector and never rebuilt. In the years since reunification, the area has been rebuilt into a modern center for business and night life. We had a beer (yes, another beer) as the day ended and lights came on - it is a pretty impressive area.
On our way to Potsdamer Platz, we passed the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a stark, impressive field of granite blocks that gradually change height until you find yourself walking through a maze. Berlin has a number of reminders of the recent past - memorials to war victims, museums depicting the crimes of Nazi Germany, crosses to commemorate those killed trying to cross from East to West Berlin, etc. Overall, it seems that Germany has taken ownership for its past and made a serious effort to insure that things are not forgotten. At the same time, it is moving forward. Construction projects are all over. The city mixes old with new quite nicely (in my opinion). It's clean and well organized. A bit of a contrast to Paris, where "new" is generally frowned upon.
The second day was grey and rainy. We went to a small museum called The Berlin Story - it steps through history from the medieval days of Berlin's origin to current times. It was fun - I learned that I don't really know much about Germany or Eastern Europe's past. We also toured an active bomb shelter, originally completed in 1973 in case of nuclear attack. The shelter was intended for 3600 people, packed in like sardines! Bunks basically fill the entire area. Food, water, etc. is intended to support those in the shelter for 40 days - then off you go! I think I'd prefer to take my chances above as opposed to prolonging the inevitable...
We saw a number of churches - Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (which consist of both a historic bombed tower and modern buildings), Marienkirche (St. Marys), and Nicolai-Kirche (St. Nicolas). We went to Alexanderplatz and saw the TV Tower, constructed by East Germany and the tallest structure around (2nd tallest in Europe I think). I enjoyed my first currywurst and Berliner Pils (although, I decided I prefer my wurst without curry and sauce).
On our last day, we saw Checkpoint Charlie, visited what was Gestapo and SS Headquarters (complete with open air museum that provided a record of terror imposed in Berlin from early 1900's to 1989 and the collapse of East Germany). We rounded off the day with a canal tour. This provided commentary and sights from near Nikolaikircheplatz, past the Domkirche (Berlin Cathedral), and the many museums on Museum Island. We went on to the theater area, then past the Riechstag and government buildings, and along the Teirgarten, and back. We concluded our visit with a bratwurst and sauerkraut meal, then back to Hotel de France and on to the airport. Arrived back a CDG, took the Air France bus to Charles de Gaulle - Étoile, and then walked home. In bed by 11PM! Great to be with friends and see Berlin!
Auf Wiedersehen
I had the "meat salad" which was basically sliced luncheon meat with cucumber relish in a jar, and Berliner Wiess - beer with raspberry syrup, which I liked. Afterwards, we climbed the dome ramp for great views all directions. We had a warm sunny day, which made it even better! 
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