Dad and Mom Walk All Over Berlin

Day one

Day two

Day three

We had a very very busy day in Berlin.

First, we stopped at the Hauptbahnhof (train station) for some allergy meds at the Apotheke (pharmacy) for Mom.

Next, we took the S-Bahn to the East Side Gallery.

Next, we took the S-Bahn to Checkpoint Charlie.

From there, we walked to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. 

Across from that is the US Embassy.

From there, it was a short walk to the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate).

We were hungry, so we headed to this festival near the gate. It turned out to be an environmental festival and we weren't craving vegan food.

This statue, called "the crier" is supposed to be of a man calling for peace. Behind him you can see the Victory Column.

We went with Bratwurst for lunch. 

It was a hot day, so the walking we'd done really tired us out. We sat on the grass outside the Reichstag Building until it was time to make our 2pm appointment.

Mary Poppins style, Carson fed the birds.

It's free to tour, but you have to schedule a time to go into the Reichstag Dome, and bring your passports with you if you do! Our friend Julianne met us there for the tour. When you go in, you'll go through security and then be let into the building in small groups. You'll take an elevator and then be given an audio guide and brochure of the building and the place you can see from the dome. 

The top is open, just like in the Pantheon! The dome isn't air conditioned, and so it was a very sweaty affair getting to the top, even though it wasn't strenuous. 

Julianne is one of our Marburg language school buddies! We went to Heidelberg together in August and I went to Hamburg with her and a few others in December. 

The buses were messed up because of a bike event, so we walked back over to the Brandenburg Gate and parted ways there - Julianne headed home from there and we walked to the Berliner Dom.

We hit up an Ampelmann Store on the walk. These are the iconic little traffic light men of East Germany.

Walked over to the Humboldt University to Bebelplatz to see the Book Burning Memorial.

And then on to the Berliner Dom!

We recharged with ice cream.

Mom really wanted to see the Pergamon Museum, but the exhibit she was looking forward to seeing was closed, so we didn't go but took a picture of her with it!

Taking a picture of the Theology department at Humboldt University.

We decided to have dinner that night a little closer to "home" since there were lots of restaurant options in Adenauerplatz. Carson looked things up online and found Buffalo Grill (link is to the menu), which had cheap prices and steak, which sounded really great. Was it German? Uh, probably not, but it was delicious and we really wished we could eat there again. This is Carson's plate of spare ribs. Everyone else had steak!