Our first historical experience was a tour at the Berlin Wall Memorial. It is a powerful reminder of the many struggles the people of Berlin had to endure. We read many stories of the people who sought freedom for themselves and/or others. Outside the memorial stands wall remnants and artifacts. A shadow of the wall traces throughout Berlin as a fixed reminder of the unthinkable acts endured in the not so distant past.
Later we found our way to the Jewish Memorial Museum. The memorial has a potent visual presence with its field of large blocks that ripple over the urban land. Walking amongst the concrete stelae allowed time to reflect on the millions of lives that were too short. The entrance to the museum is below the installment. Once inside we were able to read and listened to the stories of some of the families lost to the holocaust. It would take someone about 6 years and 7 months and 27 days to read every story in the museum.
On our train ride to Berlin we received some advice that accessing the dome on the roof of the Reichstag might be difficult and instead we could make a reservation with the restaurant. If you make a reservation and decide not to go your credit card will be charged 40 euros per person. We decided to make the reservation. The views from the Reichstag were beautiful, and the lunch was delicious, we were pleased with this decision. However, later on I found that getting access to the dome was a pretty simple online form. It’s possible that the times were limited, but so were the restaurant times.
After our lunch we headed to the Brandenburg Gate which is a must see when in Berlin.
Not far from the Brandenburg Gate we found our way to Madame Tussaud’s for a moment of macabre levity.
We ended our time in Berlin with a visit to the Natural History Museum.
