An Easy Tour of Berlin October 24, 2006
What a beautiful fall day! The sun was out this morning and there was a chill in the air with trees showing off their seasonal colors; a great day to wander around Berlin. We took care of a few chores and then boarded the S-Bahn to the Mitte. When we arrived our plan was to catch a U-Bahn to the Reichstag but as we were looking for the entrance we spied an open top tour bus with large words across its side proclaiming it was the way to see Berlin. A quick nod between us and a brief conversation with the guide, that included a monetary exchange, and we were set.
The bus operated similar to the tour we had taken in Cologne with the guide giving descriptions first in German and then in English. This added a bit of local charm as she went through her well rehearsed speech while we rumbled along passing the sights of the city. The tour covered points of interest and events from the Middle Ages to the present with politics, religion and general topics being well covered. The good thing about these tours is that you get a lot of information in a condensed form that you probably would miss if on your on. We passed the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Dom and many other historical sites. Not being too familiar with Medieval Germany the sites that most interested us were concerning WWII and the Cold War especially the Berlin Wall and the history attached to it. We are going back tomorrow to visit the Check Point Charlie Museum which we understand contains quite a bit of information on the Cold War years. For most of the tour it was just enough to be on the open top deck of the double decker bus on a beautiful fall day. It has been a number of years since we have enjoyed what Holly and I both consider to be true fall weather and we are reveling in it. As fall weather is prone to do the clouds gathered and the wind turned cold about an hour before the tour was complete. Luckily we finished the tour dry and went in search of lunch followed by a little shopping to replace warm weather clothing with warmer long sleeves.
After shopping and a quick train ride we were back in our temporary neighborhood where a few more chores awaited us during which we stopped at a small bakery and bought a couple of big soft pretzels, still hot and which we enjoyed immensely. Our chores done we’re back in the Artappart and looking forward to more Berlin adventures tomorrow.
The bus operated similar to the tour we had taken in Cologne with the guide giving descriptions first in German and then in English. This added a bit of local charm as she went through her well rehearsed speech while we rumbled along passing the sights of the city. The tour covered points of interest and events from the Middle Ages to the present with politics, religion and general topics being well covered. The good thing about these tours is that you get a lot of information in a condensed form that you probably would miss if on your on. We passed the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Dom and many other historical sites. Not being too familiar with Medieval Germany the sites that most interested us were concerning WWII and the Cold War especially the Berlin Wall and the history attached to it. We are going back tomorrow to visit the Check Point Charlie Museum which we understand contains quite a bit of information on the Cold War years. For most of the tour it was just enough to be on the open top deck of the double decker bus on a beautiful fall day. It has been a number of years since we have enjoyed what Holly and I both consider to be true fall weather and we are reveling in it. As fall weather is prone to do the clouds gathered and the wind turned cold about an hour before the tour was complete. Luckily we finished the tour dry and went in search of lunch followed by a little shopping to replace warm weather clothing with warmer long sleeves.
After shopping and a quick train ride we were back in our temporary neighborhood where a few more chores awaited us during which we stopped at a small bakery and bought a couple of big soft pretzels, still hot and which we enjoyed immensely. Our chores done we’re back in the Artappart and looking forward to more Berlin adventures tomorrow.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 1:41 AM
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