over due berlin

Final Day, Berlin

Elke and I had a good final day today. Got an early start from the hotel, but neither of us were in quite a hurry. We first went back to the center of town, “Mitte” and walked through the streets there. We walked through checkpoint Charlie, which was the border between the East and the West during soviet occupation. We both wanted to go back to the Holocaust Memorial and walk through the grid with a labyrinth-esque feel. Then, it was a short jog over to the Parliament building to walk through the transparent globe that overlooked the entire city. Our guide yesterday gave us a good tip to make a reservation at the restaurant at the top of it so that you don’t have to stand in the hour+ line to get in, so we were able to get up without waiting at all! In the middle of the Parliament building there is this massive globe with a ramp that you walk up to get to the top. If you look down into the center of it you see the main Parliamentary chambers, and looking out you can see the entire city! From one side the Spree River that runs through Berlin, from the other the Tiergarten where the Prussian Kings would hunt; to yet another the Brandenburg gate, TV tower of East Berlin and several other century old domed buildings and cathedrals. After our afternoon snack, for which we had TERRIBLE service (you would think that the servers that cater to members of Parliament would be decent at their jobs, but think again…), we walked through the city on “unter den Linden” – the main street of the city. We quickly had made it to our last destination of the afternoon – the Hofs that Elke wanted to visit on the East side. It was comprised of several connected courtyards which once served as apartments, but are now being used as boutique shops and restaurants. Definitely wish I had more time to spend there! It was really relaxing being there and one could easily spend a day there window shopping, looking through art galleries and sipping on a coffee… Ate dinner at this little bistro in one of the courtyards and had the best meal of our trip, a great way to end our short stay in Berlin!

Off to England in the morning!

Tschuss!