A big day in Berlin

Very pleasant breakfast in our hotel restaurant and then it was off for a long day of 11+ hours, with most on our feet.

We headed off on the UBanh to Checkpoint Charlie where East met West.Today it is just a tourist re-creation but at the real spot adjacent to what was the Berlin Wall. It has a panelled story of the Wall on its street corner. Then off to the Topography of Terror, an internal/external pictorial museum documenting the Nazi perpetrators, built on the site of the former Gestapo/SS Headquarters, with a preserved section of the Wall, and brutally honest. It would be possible to spend 4 hours at this compelling site.

Walked on to Potsdamer Platz (major intersection of around 8 roads and an area of more modern architecture) via an Opera House with clearly visible armament damage and an East Berlin watch tower. Then through to, and through, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust memorial with almost 3000 symbolic pillars) to Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin's most famous landmarks, and at the former border of East and West.

Into Tiergarten, Berlin's huge park in front of the Gate and the parliament, and to the Memorial to the Murdered Sinti and Roma (Gypsies) of Europe. Walked a while along the Spree Riverfront before catching a riverboat tour - trap for young players, check that they have an English commentary. It was, however, an enjoyable cruise in beautiful sunshine.

Needed a bite and a beer before heading down part of Unter den Linden which is Berlin's premiere boulevard (dating to the 15th century and once the heart of the former East Berlin). At present it is rather unattractive as an underground rail extension is being built below it - a 3 station long  line linking two existing lines, and requiring the relocation of an incredibly complex array of water, gas, electricity, drainage, sewerage and telecommunications infrastructure.

I had been able to pre-arrange a guided tour of the Reichstag, the German parliament building, and this was a highlight of the day. An excellent young guide took us through a massive building complex that brings together the old and the new. A parliamentary chamber that was wrecked during the war, unoccupied from that time due to the East/West divide, as it sits adjacent to where the Wall was, and was only rebuilt 19 years back. It retains on its internal walls, the messages of Russian troops who were involved in taking Berlin at the climax of WWII, a lot of armament evidence as well as modern parliamentary chamber and a striking glass dome. Sloping ramps take you to the top for great views - and during the tour we were able to loiter at Angela Merkel's office door.

Heaed home via the UBanh and SBanh (and Pat's supermarket) for an eat in night with shoes off after lots of km's - and dead beat!!