Mein Jahr in Deutschland: Berlin Again

(24.9.11)
My mother had a general rehearsal in Berlin with the choir and decided that it would be nice if Jakob and I came to listen. Upon hearing this my father also decided to join the group. So we decided to do a little sightseeing before hand. We took the train and disembarked near the zoo. We had a lovely stroll along what I would equate to the Boise Green Belt. We could see several animals and often stopped to have a closer look. We also proceeded to walk down Strasse des 17 Juli (Street of 17th July) to the Berliner Siegessäule (Victory Column). It was quite fun climbing to the top and we had a wonderful view of Berlin.

Berliner Siegessäule

Brandenburger Tor

Winged Victory

After our brief trip up the column we headed to the Philharmonie to listen to the rehearsal. At one point I nearly fell asleep though the lack of leg room kept me awake. My father, brother and I walked through Potsdamer Platz and saw masses of people. It was the first day of the Berlin Marathon, which meant it was Inline Skates day. Yep - a marathon on inline skates. There was also a kids marathon which was considerably shorter. It was quite enjoyable watching the skaters and I decided if I ever have the crazy desire to participate in a marathon inline skates is the way to go.

Inline Skate Marathon

(23.10.11)

Jakob, Anna and I drove to Berlin to meet Anna's cousin and her husband at the Berlin Wall center at Bernauer Strasse. It was very interesting walking along the remaining parts of the wall and reading (or in my case, attempting to read) the information plaques. It was amazing what the people of Bernauer Strasse did in attempts to cross the wall. There is also a portion of the wall that is sealed off and left exactly like the border when have been like. After reading and listening to what some people went through, the people who successfully crossed the Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall) became my heroes.