Today's pictures can be found on Flickr here.
I originally had some additional things planned for the day north of Unter den Linden in the afternoon, but I spent it all down south. First up was the Jewish Museum of Berlin. It was very powerful, moving, and evocative, tracing the history of the Jews in Germany in general and in Berlin specifically. I tend to linger at museums like this, where there are a lot of things to read. I didn't take many pictures because there really weren't many things to make remembrances of. It took about 2 hours to go through the museum and so I stopped for lunch at a nearby shop. Most of my lunches in Europe tend to be of the "grab a sandwich on a baguette" type of meal.
Next up was Checkpoint Charlie Museum, which was a fascinating look at the Berlin Wall and the many escape attempts over the years. The Museum had on display a number of the successful escapes, from hot air balloon to cars with hidden compartments to tunnels. (I found out that former German astronaut Reinhard Furrer, who flew in 1985, was part of a team who helped 57 people escape one night through a tunnel; there's an exhibit in the Museum dedicated to him and his space flight.) Outside the museum are pieces of the Wall, a GDR marker post, and a giant red star that used to be on a Communist building in Prague, taken down after its Velvet Revolution. Although the road from the East into the West used to be a dozen lanes, it has since been scaled back to just a couple in each direction plus a replica of the original Checkpoint Charlie guardhouse. Like everything, it's now a tourist attraction, with guys in fake army uniforms (Russian and American) who will stamp your passport and take pictures with you, for a couple of euros.
Not too far away is the Topology of Terror, another museum of sorts built on the spot of a former hotel that was taken over by the Nazi party for their SS headquarters. Bombed during the end of the war, this building serves as a reminder of the history and legacy of the group. Outside is a chronology and a large section of the Wall (the second of three still-standing segments that I got to see).
It was around sundown when I got finished so I never got to do the rest of the stuff I had planned, which I put off til tomorrow or altogether. Walked down to the Gendarmarkt for a little sightseeing, but the chocolate shop I also wanted to see had just closed, so I walked over to Potsdamer Platz and the Sony Center for dinner. I chose an Australian cafe but ordered spare ribs.
After dinner I walked to the Brandenburg Gate to take some night pictures - most of the stuff from the day before had been removed, but some barricades were still up so I couldn't walk through - before heading home for the evening.
Today's pictures can be found on Flickr here.
(Originally posted 10/12/11 at 12:01am, Vienna)
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