Day 5 of our Germany Trip, Saturday the 9th

Its Saturday morning and we are had our first cup of coffee. Breakfast was  fresh rolls, cold cuts, fruit and cheese. There was also peanut butter on the table. I think they got it because they know I like it.  
Norom had some work to do that morning so Ute and us went out on our own.
We took the train out to a neighborhood to walk around and see things. The central train station in Berlin has quite a history.
Berlin Central Station (German: Berlin Hauptbahnhof, listen), is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It began full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, and until it opened as a main line station, it was a stop on the Berlin S-Bahn suburban railway temporarily named Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Lehrter Bahnhof. The station is operated by DB Station&Service, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of twenty in Germany and four in Berlin, the others being Berlin Gesundbrunnen, Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof.
Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) opened in 1871 as the terminus of the railway linking Berlin with Lehrte, near Hanover, which later became Germany's most important east-west main line. In 1882, with the completion of the Stadtbahn (City Railway, Berlin's four-track central elevated railway line, which carries both local and main line services), just north of the station, a smaller interchange station called Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was opened to provide connections with the new line. This station later became part of the Berlin S-Bahn. In 1884, after the closure of nearby Hamburger Bahnhof (Hamburg Station), Lehrter Bahnhof became the terminus for trains to and from Hamburg.
Following heavy damage during World War II, limited services to the main station were resumed, but then suspended in 1951. In 1957, with the railways to West Berlin under the control of East Germany, Lehrter Bahnhof was demolished, but Lehrter Stadtbahnhof continued as a stop on the S-Bahn. In 1987, it was extensively renovated to commemorate Berlin's 750th anniversary. After German reunification it was decided to improve Berlin's railway network by constructing a new north-south main line, to supplement the east-west Stadtbahn. Lehrter Stadtbahnhof was considered to be the logical location for a new central station.
 

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When we got there, we found that a street market was going on. One of the first place we hit was a Turkish food stand. Bina ordered a couple fresh Turkish Flat Bread with spinach, feta cheese and freshly grated zucchini ... yummy!!!
After walking around more at this market we started our way over to another street market.
 
 
 
 










 

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The leisurely walk there was really nice.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
When we got there Bina bought a very cute frog setting in lotus position made from old silver spoons.
 
 
 
 

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After dinner we walked around some more. There was an area called Berlin’s Hackesche Höfe (Hof means courtyard)which used to be housing buildings all connected and having court yards between the buildings.
 
The complex was designed in the Jugendstil (or Art Nouveau) style by August Endel, and the first courtyard is adorned with a magnificent facade of polychrome glazed brick. The construction of this project, launched in 1906, follows a pattern of clear separation between residential areas, crafts, trade and culture, which distinguishes it from the backyards of the 19th century. 

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We did some more walking around before heading home for the evening.

 





Over all a long day with a lot of walking but it was a lot of fun!

Day 4 of our Germany Trip, Friday the 8th

We slept in a bit today before we got out and walked around for a while. We saw the section of the city where some of east west wall is.
Many city's have their status Bulls on Wall Street, horses, cows… etc. Berlin has their Bears and they are called Buddy Bears. They are all over the city.
Under this motto, the UNITED BUDDY BEARS promote living together in peace and harmony on their global tour. Around 140 Buddy Bears (each 2 m tall) represent as many countries recognized by the United Nations.
Since the first exhibition in Berlin in 2002, more than 25 million visitors world-wide have been able to admire the United Buddy Bears.
Art and Culture: Each Buddy Bear shows the individual design created by different artists on behalf of their native countries. The international artists’ different styles are joined together in one work of art, spreading zest for life. The diverse design of the Buddy Bears – always typical for the respective countries – enables the visitors to experience a journey around the globe.
The Message: The Buddy Bears stand together “hand in hand”, symbolising the future vision of a peaceful world. Each bear stands for the people of the different countries and their culture, yet not for political systems.
http://www.buddy-baer.com/united-buddy-bears/idea/overview.html

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Then we came across this place called Trabi World, which is a museum, rental and souvenirs for old time Trabant (commonly known as Trabi) cars.
 



They come in all colors and prints. You can see convoys of 4 to 6 Trabis touring the city. The lead Trabi if the guide and there’s radios between to cars to help keep everyone together.

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Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War.
The Soviet Union prompted the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop Eastern Bloc emigration westward through the Soviet border system, preventing escape across the city sector border from East Berlin to West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of east and west. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced each other at the location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961.
After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction. It is now located in the Allied Museum in the Dahlem neighborhood of Berlin.

A view of Checkpoint Charlie in 1963, from the American sector.

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After that we took a bus ride including a couple transfers out to the Berlin Botanical Gardens. We as on the second level of the bus in the first row of seats. The street we saw many shops and interesting things as we drove to the gardens.There was a couple very nice produce shops that I got a photo of one.
When we got to the garden we relaxed after the long warm bus ride and had some food and drinks at the restaurant. I had my first beer since I've been in Germany.
The gardens are amazing!



There is a series of massive green houses that are so big there’s a tropical rain forest in the largest one, including trees.
Here’s a web site for the gardens: http://www.bgbm.org/default_e.htm

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Another bus ride back into the city and some more walking. We went into a very large (and I’m told famous) shop that was nothing but chocolates, of course we got a few samples.    
For dinner we went to a Vietnamese restaurant. The food was yummy but different that Vietnamese food I’ve had in the US.

Day 3 of our Germany Trip, Thursday the 7th

By late morning we were on our way for some touring around the city of Berlin. Ute and Norom bought us a five day transit pass that also gives discounts to many sites. We took the train to the other side of town and started our site seeing.

 

We were in an area with many older large buildings. Some are museums, some government buildings. There is also at least two rivers running through the city.








We went to the DDR museum. You can check out their web site here: http://www.ddr-museum.de/en/ . The DDR Museum is the only museum which concentrates on everyday life in the GDR. We don't only show the crimes of the State Security or the border defences at the Berlin Wall but we display the life of the people in the dictatorship: Maybe you know the spreewald pickles, nudism beaches and the Trabi - the rest of the life in this socialist state is unfamiliar to most of the people in the world. 
Here’s a photo of Bina in a Trabant car. The Trabant /trəˈbɑːnt/ is a car that was produced by former East German auto maker VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau in Zwickau, Sachsen. It was the most common vehicle in East Germany, and was also exported to countries both inside and outside the communist bloc. The main selling points was that it had room for four adults and luggage in a compact, light and durable shell; it was fast (when introduced); and it was durable.


We went to see the Brandenburg Gate but it was being setup for a massive crowd to watch an upcoming soccer match. The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate, rebuilt in the late 18th century as a neoclassical triumphal arch, and now one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. Having suffered considerable damage in World War II, the Brandenburg Gate was fully restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation).[1] During the post-war Partition of Germany the gate was isolated and inaccessible immediately next to the Berlin Wall, and the area around the gate featured most prominently in the media coverage of the opening of the wall in 1989.


Then we were off the Reichstag Building (the German parliament building) As part of that we got to go up in the dome. Check out some of the details on this amazing structure at: http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kupp.html . Or some more info on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_dome 
The Reichstag dome is a large glass dome with a 360 degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape. The debating chamber of the Bundestag, the German parliament, can be seen down below. A mirrored cone in the center of the dome directs sunlight into the building, and so that visitors can see the working of the chamber.[1] The dome is open to the public and can be reached by climbing two steel, spiraling ramps that are reminiscent of a double-helix.[2] The Dome symbolizes that the people are above the government, as was not the case during national socialism.
The glass dome was also designed by Foster to be environmentally friendly. Energy efficient features involving the use of the daylight shining through the mirrored cone were applied, effectively decreasing the carbon emissions of the building. [3]
The futuristic and transparent design of the Reichstag dome makes it a unique landmark, and symbolizes Berlin's attempt to move away from a past of Nazism and instead towards a future with a heavier emphasis on a united, democratic Germany.[4]

We came across a hotel named Hotel BB, so Bina could not resist getting her photo taken in from of her hotel. LOL






We finished out the day with dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant. It was in the nollendorfplatz area of town and called  muntagnola trattoria.
If you look close on the menu, there’s a bit of translation humor. No, they were not serving bison balls. It was meant to be meat balls.

Their water was purified and energized by having quartz and other crystals in the bottle.






Out side the restaurant was a tiny 3 wheeled bread delivery truck. So cute!


And this ended our 3rd day of our trip.

Day 2 of our Germany Trip, Wednesday the 6th

After a long… long flight, Bina was wore out from the flight and decided to stay home and relax while Norom, Ute and I took a walk to see some local sites.

 
We first went to the Sony center, a shopping mall kind of place that has a massive canopy roof that covers a central court yard which is surrounded by buildings.


There was a crazy big giraffe made out of over-sized Legos block!!! Every body was stepping up to this guy for photos with him!


Close to the Sony Center is the Centeral park of Berlin. It's called Tiergarten (German for Animal Garden) is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in centralBerlin (Germany). Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, Tiergarten was also the name of a borough, consisting of the current Bezirk of Tiergarten (formerly called Tiergarten-Süd) plus Hansaviertel and Moabit. A new system of road and rail tunnels runs under the park towards Berlin's Central Station in nearby Moabit.
There is a nice monument dedicated to German composers at the Tiergarten at Berlin. In 1904 the sculpturer Rudolph Leopold Siemering and his son, the architect Wolfgang Siemering created this 10 meter high baroque memorial statue in marble. Its three sides are adorned with a dome, on top of which three amorines are holding a laurel wreath. On the three sides are figures of Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart.


We also walked past the point in the city where the east / west wall was. Now they have only bits of it left as an historical monument and in the pavement a band of stone marking its path.


After walking we went back to the apartment and Bina was up, so we went out for dinner.

After dinner we walked around the city for a while. What a beautiful city, especially at night.

Our Trip To Berlin Germany, day 1

On June 5th after our house sitter showed up, we flew off to Berlin Germany. We went to see Bina's daughter and her friend Ute.

We got up ts morning at 1:30 am so we could make a 5:00 am flight out of Phoenix airport to Huston Tx. Instead of parking within the airport, we used an off site parking facility. It's a good deal for only $4.00 a day and a tip to the shuttle bus driver. All went well and we made our flight with no issues.

The next leg of our flight was from Huston Tx to Nerark NJ. This flight was a bit longer than from Phoenix to Huston. Other than some sore bottoms the flight was good. There was not much of a lay over and we are on our way to berlin.

The flight from Nerark to Berlin was much nicer than the first 2 legs of the trip. They even had a dinner meal on the flight at no extra cost. Also very cool was each seat had its own video screen; movies, music, games and tv shows are all free. I watched the relatively new sifi movie John Carter.

On the flight I finally got around to starting Ray Brooks book Blowing Zen. Ray is a player of the Japanese bamboo flute the shakuhachi and this is about his life around the flute and Zen Buddhism. I'm only though the first couple chapters and I'm loving it. I'm hoping to get though a bunch of it while on vacation.

Bina was was able to get a bit of sleep on each flight and a bunch of sleep on the longest flight from Newark to Berlin. I did not get so much sleep but for me that's not such a problem, I do well with less sleep. When we arrived in Berlin, around 8:30 AM Wednesday the 6th Berlin time, Norom and Ute were waiting for us. After a relatively short taxi ride we got to their apartment.