Today i caught up with my friend Antje in Berlin.
After a disaster morning trying to get the train, i finally made it into the city (1/2 an hour late mind you) and found her at the Potsdamer Platz Theatre where Dirty Dancing and The Blue Man Group and currently playing.
We first stopped off at this section of wall still standing near Potsdamer Platz where it had 3 sections of the wall, with in-between it pictures and information on the history of the wall and when it came down. Was very interesting to read.
We then wandered down to the Holocaust Memorial which consisted of 2711 concrete blocks of all different heights in one area representing the european jews that were murdered during that time. It was quite a sight, but i think it would have been more emotional if there hadn't been snow present.
We then walked to Brandenburg Gate where it looked like it was a popular place for tours of Berlin to start. There were so many people! Around the corner we visited the Reichstag, where the german parliment/bundestag is housed. There was a long time of people to enter, so we decided to move on.
We then wandered past these 2 buildings.. but i cannot remember the names of them! Will try and work that out later. But they looked pretty.. like the berlin dome, but it wasn't that building.
We jumped onto a train and went to visit KaDeWe, this big department store in Schöneberg. It was massive! And their food hall was a sight. So many counters of fresh meat, fish, cheese, bread, chocolate.. they even had live fish in a tank that you could purchase! What made me laugh was their selection of american food.. they had a whole section of the floor dedicated to the stuff!
Realising that being around food was not a good thing for hungry people.. we decided to head to Vapiano for lunch. This place is so cool.. you walk in and they give you a card to get swiped every time you purchase a piece of food.. means you don't have to pay till you're finished eating :-P But you can order pizza or pasta and they make it fresh for you right in front of you! It was amazing!
After lunch, we jumped onto a bus and then walked to Alexanderplatz. We saw the TV Tower (hoping to go up there next time) and Weltzeituhr (big clock), and a memorial of some kind set up which explained how the wall came to fell and what people power can do in society. I liked the clock, showed the time of every major city in the world. Melbourne even got listed! Yay!
We then visited Galeria Kaufhof (another department store) to look for a bag as i needed one for the US. We had no luck.. so decided to head to Starbucks for a break.
When we finished at Starbucks, we walked past another shopping centre near Galeria and decided to look in there for bags.. even though we thought there was no bags stores in there. We were wrong! We found the perfect bag for my trip.. and it was on sale!! :-D
I was Cassie's good luck charm for shopping.. now Antje is mine :-P
Jumped on a train and headed back to Potsdamer Platz where we wandered around the shops
there for a bit, then i headed home. Ended up having chinese with Martina, Rika, Lilly, Johnny, and Lilly's 3 friends.. found out later that her 2 italian friends were leaving the next day, so it was a goodbye dinner.
After a disaster morning trying to get the train, i finally made it into the city (1/2 an hour late mind you) and found her at the Potsdamer Platz Theatre where Dirty Dancing and The Blue Man Group and currently playing.
We first stopped off at this section of wall still standing near Potsdamer Platz where it had 3 sections of the wall, with in-between it pictures and information on the history of the wall and when it came down. Was very interesting to read.We then wandered down to the Holocaust Memorial which consisted of 2711 concrete blocks of all different heights in one area representing the european jews that were murdered during that time. It was quite a sight, but i think it would have been more emotional if there hadn't been snow present.
We then walked to Brandenburg Gate where it looked like it was a popular place for tours of Berlin to start. There were so many people! Around the corner we visited the Reichstag, where the german parliment/bundestag is housed. There was a long time of people to enter, so we decided to move on.We then wandered past these 2 buildings.. but i cannot remember the names of them! Will try and work that out later. But they looked pretty.. like the berlin dome, but it wasn't that building.
We jumped onto a train and went to visit KaDeWe, this big department store in Schöneberg. It was massive! And their food hall was a sight. So many counters of fresh meat, fish, cheese, bread, chocolate.. they even had live fish in a tank that you could purchase! What made me laugh was their selection of american food.. they had a whole section of the floor dedicated to the stuff!
Realising that being around food was not a good thing for hungry people.. we decided to head to Vapiano for lunch. This place is so cool.. you walk in and they give you a card to get swiped every time you purchase a piece of food.. means you don't have to pay till you're finished eating :-P But you can order pizza or pasta and they make it fresh for you right in front of you! It was amazing!After lunch, we jumped onto a bus and then walked to Alexanderplatz. We saw the TV Tower (hoping to go up there next time) and Weltzeituhr (big clock), and a memorial of some kind set up which explained how the wall came to fell and what people power can do in society. I liked the clock, showed the time of every major city in the world. Melbourne even got listed! Yay!
We then visited Galeria Kaufhof (another department store) to look for a bag as i needed one for the US. We had no luck.. so decided to head to Starbucks for a break.
When we finished at Starbucks, we walked past another shopping centre near Galeria and decided to look in there for bags.. even though we thought there was no bags stores in there. We were wrong! We found the perfect bag for my trip.. and it was on sale!! :-DI was Cassie's good luck charm for shopping.. now Antje is mine :-P
Jumped on a train and headed back to Potsdamer Platz where we wandered around the shops
there for a bit, then i headed home. Ended up having chinese with Martina, Rika, Lilly, Johnny, and Lilly's 3 friends.. found out later that her 2 italian friends were leaving the next day, so it was a goodbye dinner.
Hi Elizabeth,it seems to me you are having a ball in Berlin andI am so glad that you did manage to see KaDeW because it is a tourist icon in Berlin, as is the rest of the store, but you do need a pretty good wallet. Omi and I had morning tea there it was super. May I suggest if time permits to see the Zoo as well as the Museums Insel, it really is tops. By the way here in Melbourne our Elephant Lady is going to have a baby during the next 24-48 hours. The German expert has arrived to assist our local troops. Keep on having a ball and give our love to everyone in Berlin
ReplyDeleteLots of love and kisses Opa and Omi
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're having a ball in Berlin, I guess it has changed quite a bit since we were last there with new buildings etc. My most favourite thing in berlin was at the museum, it was the bust of Queen Nefertiti and it was the only thing in the room which was lit to show it off to its best advantage.
I have been working on your dress in the last 2 days and I shall have to get Catherine to help with the fittings because you won't have any time when you come back, just do me one favour, please do not put on any extra weight as the skirt cannot be adjusted otherwise there might be some of the white showing around the waist, anyway it's looking good at the moment. Keep on having a good time and we look forward to your next destination.
Love ya lots
Omi
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