Hello once again everyone, It's Miranda here!
These past few days have been crazy, but so much fun.
On Thursday morning we all met at the train stations with our bags (packed lightly...!) And shared excited stories that we had heard about Berlin and what we most wanted to see, trying not to think about the 7 hour train trip ahead of us.
The trains are really nice and comfortable. Much more leg room than a plane, and better to spread out with a table and everything. It feels like walking on a ship. The train goes up to around 230 km per hour, but you don't even feel it. It looks like everything is passing so slowly.
We eventually got off the train bleary eyed in Berlin. As soon as we got out, we could tell Berlin was going to be a cool city. The train station is huge, and all made out of glass and really modern.
Once we got to our hotel, everyone was pretty tired from a long day of travelling. But we got up and navigated the streets of Berlin to find our restaurant. It was a cute little Italian place, where they all say 'Beuono Sera' and 'Prego', which is a little confusing after just getting used to 'Guten Abend' and 'Bitte!' Every night the meals were really good, with three courses- no one went hungry Some highlights were Pasta with Pesto, Tirimisu, Panna Cotta, and Lasagne.
Our first day was the Gedaechtniskirche and The Story of Berlin.
We walked up the Kurfurstendamm shopping district to reach the church- the most expensive street in Europe! It was just designer shop after designer shop! Geneve and I walked into Valentino for a laugh and got followed by an assistant in there through the whole shop- I think she could tell we were Aussie tourists :)
We arrived at the church, the girls officially giddy from seeing so many pretty things, the boys rolling their eyes.
The Gedaechtniskirche was bombed in the war, and only some remains. Inside is so intricate. The roof is a fresco made out of millions of tiny, glittering tiles, like a mosaic. I could lie on the floor and stare at it all day- everywhere you look there is a new little section you didn't see before. But also if you look closely, you can see where ít has been patched up from the war.
The Bell tower is so breathtaking.
The stained glass windows are amazing. There are hundreds of little hand made windows (We counted and multiplied!). They are all blue, but some are tinged so you get a burst of red or green. It's so pretty.
Back outside, we walked to The Story of Berlin. It's a museum showing Berlin throughout history, from the prehistoric ages right through to the end of the Cold War.
First, we went inside the nuclear bomb shelter. It could house up to 3,000 people in the event of a bomb warning and attack, for 2 weeks before resources such as food and water ran out. There were no bookings, so it was first in, best dressed. It would be a horrible place to spend 2 weeks, it is all dark and cramped. The beds are all next to each other, and they are like tiny trampoline beds that are one metre wide, so for the whole two weeks, you had only one metre to yourself.
We walked through the museum, which was really well set out. It had lots of good displays and was very informative. It had some really good information on the Cold War too, including a part of the Berlin Wall.
The next day was the Museum Insel, or Museum Island, and the Berliner Dom, all in the East side of Berlin.
The Museum Insel has 5 museums on it, and we visited one that had an exhibition on the relationship between Russia and Germany, and Egyptian history. It was very interesting, with an impressive collection of Egypitian artefacts, including Queen Neferetiti's torso and head. I took so many photo's and my feet were so sore!
Next we went and had a look at the Berliner Dom. It's a very impressive building, and we admired it from the outside. Walking through East Berlin there were many buskers. I saw a guitarist, those statue people that move when you give them money, a man playing the pan flute, and a woman selling gigantic bubble wands :). On the bridge next to the domes, there were all these pad locks with writing on them. It turns out that when couples come to Berlin, they put a padlock on the bridge and throw the key in the river, so that their love never dies.
We went and had a look at the Television Tower, but we didn't go to the top.
Day three was our big walking day. First we visited the Brandenburger Tor-the Brandenburg Gate.
It was really cool to see it, because I didn't the last time I was in Berlin. During the war, the French took the statue of the horses from the top of the gate back to their country, then Germany won it back. It is meant to point straight ahead, but now it faces the French embassy in Berlin to say, 'HA HA, we got it back!'
Next we went to the Jewish Holocaust memorial, which is all these concrete blocks at different heights that you can walk through. It' designed so that each person interprets it differently. Once you are in the centre of it, the sun disappears and the blocks are clod and they tower above you. All the sound from the city disappears, and you feel alone, even though there is always someone watching you through another row. I think that is how the Jews would have felt. Cold, lost and silent.
Once you walk out the blocks get lower and everything is warm and colourful again.
We went and had a look at Hitler's bunker, which is below a carpark and an apartment block. If it wasn't for the sign, you would have no idea that it was there. That is where he and his wife Eva commited suicide, as well as a lot of their followers.
We went to the Reichstag, the German Parliament house.
We took the elevator up to the roof, to the Dome. It is made from glass and you can see the centre of Berlin, while a headset tells you what is what. It was good to find things that we had been to see. If you look down through the dome, you can see the politicians in their meetings and debates.
Checkpoint Charlie was next on our to-do-list. It was good to see where the major border crossing was, but it was loaded with tourists. It's a bit sad that there is a Mc Donalds right next to it...
We walked a bit to go and have a look at the wall, and there was a big information board where the 'Secret Police' head quarters once was. It was about who had suffered in the war and the Cold war and how. It was very sad but I read all it so that I understood Berlin's history more, because that is why we were there.
We had a fantastic trip and I would like to thank Mr.Kusch and Michelle so much for the experience!
