Yes I know Easter was aaaaagggeesss ago but better late than never, right? We went to Berlin, Prague and then a quick stop in Dresden before flying back to Spain from Berlin again. Images speak louder than words (though I am a writer!) so here goes......
BERLIN
Typical German street food? Why, sausages of course.... And hey, why go to the vendors when they can come to you?? Poor guys must go home with achy backs and scorched faces, smelling of bbq.....
Alexanderplatz, in the centre of Berlin, with the TV tower in the background
The Radisson hotel has a huge aquarium inside the lobby!!! This Aquadom is the biggest cylindrical aquarium in the world, and an elevator from the Sea Life Centre (next door) goes into it!!
Beside the museum island you can catch some boats to go around for a cruise
Distinctive buildings of East Berlin seen from the tower
When in Germany, dine on sausages and beer on the street--the mustard is great! ;)
I suppose they have a guide/driver who steers....all of the guys seated on the stools have in front of them a huge straw leading into kegs of beer that are transported on this "beer bike"...
Ampelmann signals tell you that you are now in East Berlin, and form part of the daily reminders of the Communist regime
Ampelmann says stop!!!!
The weather was amazing during our trip, but it was still a bit chilly at night.
Holocaust memorial--the museum is underneath. Apparently this piece of public art cost waaaaayyyyy too much and though it's kind of cool, we think that some kids are really going to get hurt jumping from one block to another (as we saw several...)
The cool roof of the Sony Centre--home to restaurants, shopping and maybe even a cinema? (I don't remember....)
Part of the original Berlin wall with original graffiti, located at Potsdamer Platz. But wait, what's that in the distance??? The Canadian embassy!! :)
Easter Sunday means all the Turkish families are having bbqs at the park!
Why are the boys so intrigued by this skyscraper, you ask? Well, it's because it is more than a building. This is actually the Kaiser Wilhelm church, destroyed during WWII and being fixed as we speak. We wandered around the square and surrounding area for close to half an hour wondering what had happened to it, and then saw a tiny sign revealing the mystery. It is HIDDEN within this "building", which is actually a bunch of plaques (or whatever the term may be) that form this building. Usually when renovations occur for whatever reason, they just cover bits and there's scaffolding, but here in Berlin, they've gone to the extreme to protect and hide it from the silly tourists........
Sunday jamming in Mauer park
What's a visit to Germany with a visit to a typical biergarten?
Site of the Nazi book-burning. There is a hole in the ground covered by glass, and if you crouch down to look (through the scratched glass, you can't see it extremely well), you can make out the memorial--empty bookcases in an otherwise-empty room.
Is that artistic sarcasm or alien propaganda??
Graffiti is a big part of Berlin's art culture--makes for something interesting to see no matter where you are!
Tacheles, a site for many of Berlin's artists.....but perhaps not legally so. It's an interesting story but the building is occupied by artists selling their wares (almost like an open market) to the public, but apparently they aren't supposed to be in the space. Last I heard they were asked to leave but I don't know what the story is now....
There's also a space out back for the sculptures and those who work with more than just paper and canvas
Who would have thought that inside this grungy place lies great sources of artistic talent?
The famous Berlin wall, AKA the East Side Gallery
This part of the wall was my favourite--what intricate design!
Pizzeria and bar included, this beach was by the river that runs through the city. Ironically enough, the only time when it rained during our trip was when we went to the beach!!!
PRAGUE
Prague castle on top of the hill
Charles Bridge in the foreground, and the castle, all lit up at night
And here I had thought that there would be too much meat on our trip to Berlin. HA! In the Czech Republic, it is even more common and the options are more limited. I did enjoy this though---a roasted pork knee where you have to hack off the meat and dip it in various mustard-type sauces. Very juicy and tender--I like it when there is bone so it's not all meat!
Some goulash and bread dumplings--one of the famed Czech dishes
Chaotic traffic in the area close to the castle
Outside the castle grounds, I was stopped by some girls who wanted a photo, so I said sure, I'll take one for you. No, no they said, we want one with you. Uhhhh....okay I said and I posed for a photo with two random girls while their friend took the picture. Strange things happen when you are amongst tourists!! ;)
Everyone wanted to press the button to "cross" through this narrow road, just coz it had a pedestrian signal. It wasn't very exciting because you get to the other side and it's the entrance to a restaurant...what a marketing gimick!! I'm sure not many people stayed to eat though.....they need a different tactic....
The mobs on the Charles Bridge, which is always crowded.
The main square in Downtown Prague
We went to the top of the tower in the main square (passing by several very unhelpful and unfriendly ticket checkers--one of whom was sleeping and not hiding it at all!) to see the views. We saw a group of Hari Krishna pass by, singing!
The main square with booths to buy food, souvenirs and the usual market fare.
The famous dancing buildings! Can you guess which famous dancers they represent? (Post your guesses in the comments!)
DRESDEN
On our way back towards Berlin we stopped in Dresden for the day. Here is part of the famous Baroque cathedral, with an original section and the rebuilt part. The historic buildings in the town were largely destroyed during the bombings of WWII.
The river Elbe runs through the town and separates it into two distinct areas: old and new
So you wouldn't think that there'd be many Canadians in Germany, let alone in Dresden, which is a relatively small town. Well, apart from this obvious reference (there were Canadian flags confirming the identity of this restaurant), I stumbled upon an exhibition in one of the local museums of Canadian art from Alert Bay, BC. According to Google, it's part of the Germany-Canada art exchange! And if that wasn't enough, we went into a place to buy ice cream and the woman was making small talk and asking where we were from. We told her and coincidentally, her husband was Canadian (from the east) and they had lived there several years before moving back! I was going to ask her if he owned the steakhouse but she was busy with customers..... It IS a small world afterall!!!
