Our next port was Warnemunde, Germany. We have decided to
visit Berlin. Since this seaport is three hours from Berlin, Carnival has
arranged an excursion using our own private train to take us to Berlin. There
are 678 passengers in 12 cars going to Berlin on this private train for some
type of excursion in Berlin. What was great is that the train loaded very near
where the ship was docked. Very convenient.
Here we are going through the German countryside.
Of course, my granddaughter cannot ride in a car, plane, or train without falling asleep.
We arrive at Berlin’s Central Station, the Hauptbahnhof.
Here is our train as we get off in this modern terminal. We
were told that this stations has trains arriving and departing in all
directions every 90 seconds.
We then board buses for a tour of Berlin. The excursion is
called Berlin’s Top 10 and this tour is designed to show the best attractions
Berlin has to offer.
As we head to our first stop, I took some interesting
pictures.
Our first stop is at the German parliament building. During the cold war, it was not used for this purpose but has since been re-instated as their parliament after the Berlin wall came down.
The inscription is translated as for the German people.
Some more interesting shots of town.
Our next stop is the Brandenburg Gate. It is very massive.
And of course we couldn't resist having our picture taken in
front of the Brandenburg Gate.
Next to the Brandenburg gate is a hotel. It is from one of
these rooms that Michael Jackson held his new baby out over the balcony and
caused such a stir among Mothers and Fathers alike.
As we venture into the former East Berlin side, we see some Russian
style buildings that were built during the cold war.
One of the churches with their radio/tv tower in the
background.
We next stop near the university. This is one of Germany’s
generals from time past.
The university is on one side of the plaza and the opera/theater house is on the other. Currently the opera/theater house is being renovated.
Next, it is time to have a German pub-style lunch. We are
taken to a restaurant called Löwenbräu, just like the beer. After asking the
question, I found out that Löwenbräu also has a chain of restaurants in which
they exclusively sell only their beer.
We had a buffet and a chance to sample many basic German foods. Personally, I thought the apple strudel was fantastic.
Of course, no German meal would be complete without a German
beer. Here my grandchildren enjoy their beer with their meal. J To paraphrase an old
saying; When in Germany, do as the Germans do.
After lunch we board the buses again and I took this shot
of another Russian style building.
This piece of land is the site where Hitler’s bunker was
located. Our guide said they tried to destroy the bunker with explosives, but
there is still some of it remaining. It is now filled with water and no
attempts have been made to open it up as a tourist attraction.
Around the corner is the Holocaust Memorial. The Jewish
community built over 2,000 square blocks for this memorial. We were told that
they wanted it in sight of the location where Hitler took his life.
It is like waves rolling along. Some of the blocks are over six feet tall.
Next, we see the Brandenburg Gate from the other side.
And first glimpse of the Berlin wall is not the actual wall, but a two brick wide row of bricks that go down the middle of the street.
When the wall came down, the German people decided to put
this line of bricks every place the wall stood. As we see the line of bricks in
other places, we find that the line is not straight but more of a zig-zag.
While we didn't stop, the crosses on the fence provide a memorial
for all the individuals that died trying to cross the wall during the cold war.
The city has a number of monuments.
Our next stop was the Charlottenburg Palace from the
Prussian era. It was not open to the public, but we were able to go into the palace
square.
We were told that the gold on the fence is actually gold leaf.
This is the old guard house at the gate to the palace.
Outside the palace was this emergency box.
Another building from the Hitler era.
Being an old European city, they had some interesting street
lamps.
Many of the Berlin streets are either wide or have a grassy
median. Here this middle strip has been turned into parking.
We stopped at Germany’s largest department store, KaDeWe. It
was huge, but we were really looking for tourist souvenirs not fine china or
bedspreads. I think you get the point.
Across from the department store was one of their subway
stations.
As we head to Checkpoint Charlie, my camera dies. No juice,
no pictures. Hopefully I’ll get some from my son and add them later.
Checkpoint Charlie is maintained just as it was during the
cold war. Now, as a tourist area, Germans wear US military uniforms and want
money if you take their picture. They also have for sell pieces of the “original”
wall. However, our guide said they have now sold more pieces then there was in
the wall originally. She suggested we not waste our money.
There were some sections of the wall here, but next we went
to an area by the river that still has a large section of the wall still standing.
This wall was actually individual sections that were built elsewhere and then just
placed into position. This area is now called the East Side Gallery. Each section
of wall has been painted by different people and has remained standing as a
reminder of those lost years when the wall divided East Berlin from the rest of
the city.
We then go to another train station and board the ride back
to our ship. We started at 6:30am and will not return to the ship until after
10pm. It has been a long day.
We all agreed it was not a tour we would call fun but it was
very interesting.
The next port is Helsinki, Finland and Rexie and I intend to
have fun there.
I must be off!
