Berlin Germany 8/13/12~ Es ist noch nicht aller Tage Abend.

Here are a few pics of Berlin..I will write more. And add more pics but i'm on call tonight. The phrase, it just means that it is not over until the evening. I liked it. Ciao for now.

 

We left Paris in the afternoon for our luxurious ride on Easy Jet. We got to the airport in France a few hours early. I made phone calls and read. I also measured my suitcase to make sure my carry on still fit in the bin. Phew, it did! I did start to notice my fellow travelers that were sharing a suitcase were now contemplating buying their own. I had to pay extra, and that's the price I paid for bringing too much! My arms were feeling it. After we finally checked in and got our bags in, we made it through security to stand in another line to wait to board to Germany. It was so bizarre! As we stood in line, the airport did not announce when your flight departed. So it was up to you to watch. We are in line standing what seemed like over an hour. There was this big hush, then all of a sudden this huge stampede of people were coming at us! What the heck? Is what we were thinking...then all of a sudden we were in a full sprint. RUN!!! Our flights had changed to the opposite sides. We were in line for a flight to Argentina I think. So with all that commotion we all naturally lost our front spots in line. Its first come first serve. So we were in the back of the plane. Easy Jet reminded me of Southwest but way cheaper...I like to call it Ghetto Jet. And thorought the flight they would announce different things for sale like travel tours, transportaion..drinks snacks , etc. We did buy the transportation. Which was a good thing.  We had to take a bus into Berlin and then take the subway.

 

One of us in the group actually lived in Germany when her family was in the Airforce. So she spoke a little. But the subway system in Germany was so confusing. On top of the fact that I didn't speak German. My thoughts on Germany. Well..first I think parts of it are beautiful. And I am glad to have seen a part of the country hopefully my Dad saw. I don't think that I personally would have made a trip to Germany had it not been for going on this trip. So I am grateful for that. But where we stayed was what I would like to call "downtown".  Our hostel..was on top of a bar. So that sums up the accomodations. But we tried to stay budget friendly. But ack!! I learned alot on the free walking tour, I learned alot about the Holocaust. I think I need to watch Schindler's list. I have been making a mental list of all the movies that I need to see when I get home. Moulin Rouge for Paris,  A Hard Day's Night for London...and so on. I loved the atmosphere. In the heart of the city it looked almost futuristic to me. And the public relies heavily on public transportation and bicycle transportation. Bikes were everywhere! The weather was perfect. The food was fantastic. I was surprised. I had only ate german food once at the Alpine Village. So it was so good to have german food..in germany!

 

 

I didn't catch a pic of our hostel above the bar, but we stayed right across the street from this building.

 

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 Found this after landing at the Berlin Airport. :)

Holocaust Memorial

A piece of the Berlin Wall....

Tiergarten, in Berlin

I even had one sip on non alcoholic, German Beer...It. Was. AWFUL! The food however,  was amazing.

 Check out the family bike...isn't that cool?

 Me and Elizabeth :)

 KaDeWe..is this mecca of shopping in Berlin. Think Macy's...Harrods. I wish I stopped.

Pottsdamer Flatts. I enjoyed saying that.

 

This is the Hotel Aldon, famous for Michael Jackson dangling Blanket over the balcony.

I saw this on our walking tour. Loved it.

Me and Julia inside the Holocaust Memorial

 Our tour guide did a great job.

Brandenberg Gate

A portion of the Berlin Wall

 This is a picture in glass in the sidewalk in front of a holocaust muesuem.

I learned from my tourguide that this picture is depicting unity among the German people while the extermination and order to collect thousands of Jews was taking place. This was to say to the public everything is fine. But it wasn't.

I'm not sure...this may be the sight of Hitler's bunker..or the area surrounding.

This is the President's house...flag was up. That means he's home. :)

Berlin was also laundry day. We hiked a mile or two with our luggage up to the laundry mat. Unfortunately for me...I was late getting there and everyone else was finished. So my clothes didn't completly dry in the dryer...I was hoping they would dry on the way to Italy. To be continued...
Auf Wiedersehen!!