Somebody's Just Got to Do It! Part 1

In January the General Manager of the Tabernacle Choir, Scott Barrick, accompanied by his wife, Shauna, and Kim Farah, SLC Public Affairs and Choir Publicist, came to Europe to review the seven venues for the Choir's summer tour.  Our director Gabi, and Elder and Sister Walker led them on a nine-day whirlwind inspection of these sites.  

In order to make things easier for this team of six, it was decided Elder G and I would "schlepped" their luggage from site to site in the Area's van, rather than having them lug everything onto trains or check them in at airports and then have to take that luggage with them to each of the venue inspections.  In some cases, they covered two cities in one day, so we, personally, did not visit all seven venues.  For example, we did not make it to Vienna, where they enjoyed schnitzel 

larger than their plates!!!

But we did have the assignment to deliver their luggage to the following cities:  Berlin, Nuremberg, and Brussels.  In addition, two tourist attractions of Rothenburg and Rüdesheim were also added to our itinerary as we were given the task of showing them a good time, as well, while they were in Germany!  Lastly, on our own we threw in the awesome city of Bruges, Belgium, as a "culture day" and capstone to to this list of amazing stops.  Somebody's just got to do it, right?

So Part 1 will cover our first stop in Berlin.  We beat the team there and actually had a day and a half to ourselves.  We stayed at the Park Inn hotel by the Television Tower (Fernsehturm), situated on the very popular Alexanderplatz, an old market square
 now surrounded by many modern buildings. 

On the first day we took the popular Hop On - Hop Off Tour, making the complete circuit without hopping off.  Then the next day we were able to return to selected sites. The Holocaust Memorial is a powerful tribute to the Jews, each stone representing thousands of victims.  At the base of the memorial is an underground information center.

Here is Germany's largest and most modern train station in downtown Berlin.

The Reichstag is the seat of the German Parliament and a historic landmark.  Damaged during WWII, it was not fully restored until after the reunification of Germany in 1989.


This is the Victory Column, a war memorial built in the 1800s following three successive wars.
The gold "stripes" are actually canons painted gold!

Berlin Dom


Interesting piece of art work

As our bus proceeded past this building, the slanted pieces
continued to slant in the direction traveled!  Weird!

Before 1989 this could have been scary!  Beware!


Entering the East German side of Check Point Charlie

 Map of The Berlin Wall.
The construction of the wall began in 1961 when East Germany sealed off the eastern part of the city to stem the flood of refugees from east to west.  The four-meter-high wall extended 155 kilometers, dissected 55 streets, and possessed 293 observation towers and 57 bunkers!


Note the rounded, slippery top to the 4-meter high wall that prevented its being climbed over.

And now for the American side...




Ah, yes!  McDs!!!


The highlight of Check Point Charlie was the museum.  My favorite was all the exhibitions of the various ingenious ways people used to escape East Germany.

Socialist "Fraternal Kiss" between Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German Leader Erich Honecker (1979) symoblizing the unity between Russia and East Germany.


  The East Side Gallery is the longest stretch of the Berlin Wall still in existence.  It showcases paintings of artists from around the world.


Berlin is traversed by many, many bridges, old and new.

Berlin's sports arena and popular mascot, the Berlin Bär, on sale everywhere.

It was quite amazing to find ourselves at this important site in history,
the Brandenburg Gate!  Built in 1791, 26 meters high with the notable four-horse chariot on top, Berlin's only surviving city gate is its most defining monument.

Beautiful at night!


Interesting photo taken at the Brandenburg Gate the day the Berlin Wall came down.


Famous bombed-out ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church were left as a testament
of war.  In 1961 a new church, consisting two new buildings, was constructed around
the remains of the old church.

The Gendarmenmarkt, one of Berlin's largest squares, is dominated by three large historic
buildings--the Konzerthaus, the French Cathedral, and the Berlin Cathedral.

The Rotes Rathaus- or Red City Hall.


One of few remaining "pissoirs" in Germany.  Love the name!
I believe they are still plentiful in France.


A building under restoration...

...with a tear in its "faux facade"!  Very clever!

Interesting mosaic on an office building near our hotel.

We certainly enjoyed our two days in Berlin!  Although the weather was bitterly cold and it was dark by 5 p.m., we feel we experienced a lot of what Berlin is all about.  First mentioned in the 13th century, it wasn't until 1871 that Berlin became the capital of the German Empire.  Despite the devastation of WWII and decades of decay to the east of the infamous Berlin Wall, the rebuilt city today stands as a testament to the country's economic and cultural importance.