Location: Berlin, Germany

Ok, by far my favorite city in Europe so far. Maybe it's because of the people I went with, or what I did, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. No joke, spent three days there but I want to go back, I have so much more to see still. I didn't even go inside any museums, I didn't get to see the zoo, I just saw a lot of history and a lot of amazing sights.

So let's get started. Like I said, 3 days I have to catch you up on... :)

The first day we were there we wanted to kind of get acquainted with the city, so we went on a tour, the great thing about this tour, it's free. You only tip what you think it's worth. Pretty sweet idea. So we started at the Brandenberg gate; it's really an amazing thing to see. I didn't get a picture of it at night though, and that's something I really needed a picture of.

It's the top of the bridge that is truly amazing. The staff held by the woman was actually a wreath and olive branch at one time. For peace, but I suppose that after the city fell under control by the French there was no need to be seen with a symbol of peace huh?

I really enjoyed taking this next picture because whenever I go out in Germany I get a fanta to drink. I think the Sprite here tastes different and so I drink the drink I haven't had back in the states yet, so I resort to Fanta. But it was just too funny to see the Berlin Bear drinking Fanta. I think it was for some kind of advertisment thing because there were some photographers there.

As we walked around the city it was a rather cold day. But when we got to our next destination it only got colder. The Holocaust memorial in Berlin is a rather interesting design. As I stood in the middle of it I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with the vastness of the concrete slabs.It is better seen from this picture; the designer of the memorial actually is from NY. He saw a cemetery in Holland that was just so compact and set on a rolling hill. He wanted to bring this to the ever busy city of Berlin. As you walked through the memorial you felt this also by having the ground underneath you going up and down. What was sad to me was that the city had to paint the concrete with some kind of anti-grafitti to keep grafitti from sticking to the concrete. It's a good idea, just sad that they actually felt the need to do such a thing. We then walked to a part of the Berlin wall. It doesn't seem so intimidating anymore does it? Especially with a hole knocked into it huh? But that pipe on the top of the wall made it harder for the Germans to get across. Right next to this is Checkpoint Charlie. Now of course this is just a little hut in the middle of the street, but again it makes you see that the Gov't must really have had a control over the people and the threat they had if they didn't make a run for that. There is a museum right behind the checkpoint that has some really good escape stories. Some include finding a girl from West Germany who looked like a girl from East Germany and taking the West girl to the East, drugging her and getting the East German girl across the check point. Another included walking up to the checkpoint from the East side saying you are from the west just that you forgot your papers back at the hotel you are staying at and that you mom was in an accident. Then as the guard went in to talk to his superior another guard came out and you switched the story. This time saying you need to get INTO the East because your mom was in an accident. When asked about your papers you say that you left them in your hotel on the West side. The guard then went on to tell you that you should just go back to your hotel and get them. You then thank the guard for being such a genious but you never come back for your dear mother. Into the West you go.

This next picture is of Ben Harper. He's an actual man who was stationed in West Germany during the time of the wall. He is watching the East side, waiting for them to do something. On the other side of this there is supposed to be an East German soldier watching the West too.

And of course even if you wanted to come to the West they wouldnt' just open up their arms. They had to make sure you are safe and not posing a threat to them.

European History 101: Remember when the Nazi party pulled books out to burn them all one night, inside this glass there are bookshelves all lining the walls. I know it's hard to see, it was a bad day for pictures, but anyhow, these bookshelves illustrate just how many books were burned.

This is the library they were all pulled from. Silly construction, why does Europe always have to be under construction.And of course the University of Berlin; but what's more important is that it is right across the street from the library books were pulled from. From the windows and balconies professors and scholars cheered on the burning. They thought it was good to let this happen. Since when have educators been happy to see books burned? This next image is a little interesting; of course in Europe there are a lot of Cathedrals right? But how many cross-less Cathedrals have you seen? This Cathedral is in the Eastern side of the city, which is why the cathedral doesn't have a cross. Why does a Communist city need a god? Lucky for the rest of us, they kept the cross, just they never restored it for reasons I think are ok. That's the TV tower in the background of one of the cathedral's towers.Again in the East side of the City, here is a picture of our tour guide from Ireland telling us that the designer of the tower was killed because when the sun hit the TV tower it gave off an illusion of a cross. That cross can still be seen when the sun hits the tower today. And I have a picture that will later show it.

This bowl was supposed to go inside of the museum seen behind it, but due to the columns going in before the bowl the bowl would not fit. So they left it outside of the museum and it is now known as the Berlin Ashtray.

We then finished our tour and started to walk back to our hostel to get some rest. As we did we passed an Ample Mann. Ample Mann means Light man. In Eastern Germany this is what the cross walk guys look like, In the back you can see the do not cross one. But the Germans absolutely love Der Ample Mann Grun.

The next day we went on what is called the Alternative Berlin tour. Again, a free tour that you pay based on what you think you should pay. It was a good tour, allowed you to see the part of Berlin the locals know and the part of Berlin not many tourists go around. Such as the cemetery...

That actually doubles as a playground... No joke!We then made our way to an area called Tacheles. Tacheles is Hebrew for Truth. This building used to be much, much bigger than it is now because it was bombed. Artists took it over and saved the building from being demolished. You can see from the outside some of the art. Inside it was even more amazing. Next we hopped on a tram and this ad was just too funny. I mean Berlin really wants you to take the tram. Hier bin ich. and then in the window is an image of them making out. Oh how lovely!A famous site in Berlin is this sign... and I must say, I did it... :(

Now we get more into the street art part of Berlin. This whole building was painted by one guy. This first side depicts how the media is taking over our free thought as you can see the brain floating away in the second picture.

The other side shows the East Germany government. We walked down the street and found the sight of 50 faces. This street used to be gang infested and so some artists got together and wanted to change that, so they painted the underside of an an apartment complex. I didn't count to see if there really was 50 faces, but some of them were really cool.

The last picture I will post here of the 50 faces was done by a local artist that is known for his street art. Really good for just using air brushes huh?

At this point we were all feeling a little hungry. Our guide told us about 20 mins he'd lead us to some food, 20 mins turned into about 3 hours. So we headed on some more. We found a waterfall in Berlin that was made from the rubble of the city.

This shot is from the top of the waterfall looking out into the city. This city has gone through a lot and it definitely has come out on top.

After the waterfall we headed over to the East Side Gallery. On our way we saw the biggest mural in the city. The two are throwing West and East side signs. While ripping of the masks of each other. Symbolizing that there are no more sides in the city.

This is the start of the East Side Gallery. The cool thing about this is that it is all painted on parts of the wall. But you get dumb tourists who show up to put their little "Jane was here..." Yeah, nobody cares!

Those were some pictures of how people tried to escape from the East. This picture with the gate in it shows how we escaped. We didn't want to have to walk all the way back to the beginning, so we went under the gate to get out. Nice huh?

There was a lot of art on this wall, and I can't put it all, but just to show how the Brandenberg gate was during the wall, here was this piece of art. More art from the city of Berlin. Showing just how much the city of Berlin used to be watched...So the shot of the TV tower could not be passed up. I loved this picture but what makes it great is when I got home I realized that you could see the cross.

But of course I had to get one final shot of the wall.

We then stumbled upon an old bombed out train station that was left just the way it was to keep it as a relic for those to come. For these pictures I was grateful for the black and white setting I had on the camera. The last day we went and saw the bombed out church. Again, another relic left for the city and again, I'm kind of glad it was. It really was nice. I really liked that church but then we walked on towards the zoo and I found a waterfall. But I liked the alligator. Then we headed out towards the Sony Center; but when we got there we ran into a protest. Apparently Berlin is known for protests. This one was for skaters to have more rights on the streets. The funnier part about it is that they just strapped on their skates had one cop car lead them through town, and of course, 0ne in the back. Low and behold, we ran into the legoland. It was quite fun, and yes, all of these pictures are of things with real legos.Then we headed back to the Brandenberg gate one last time and saw some of the ever famous street performers. I thought the bear had someone in it, but now I can't remember seeing it move. But either way, one of the soldiers was an actor. Obviously this was a great weekend. I was sad to see it end. But there are plans for me to go back and I can't wait to. Still so much to see, and it really was a great weekend and a great city. I'm happy the wall came down, otherwise it would have been hard to really see all of this. Where in the world is Sara D. Ray? Now you know.