Brandenburg Gate part 1

Behind the border guard is one of the most famous landmarks in Berlin. It is the Brandenburg Gate. It marked the boundary of the earlier city of Berlin at the end of the Middle Ages. It is one end of a large public square.

The gate was on the line between East Germany and West Berlin so people could see it but it wasn't really used as a gate. The top of the gate has a large statue with Victory being pulled by four horses.

 

The statue has had several versions. The statue that was present in the early 1800s was taken by Napoleon when he occupied Berlin. It was replaced when the Prussians captured Paris in the 1880s. The current statue was placed on the gate after World War II.

Communist Berlin

Heinrich continued his exploration the next day. He visited a part of Germany that used to be called East Germany. There is a very large public place called Alexanderplatz. On the square there is a tall clock that goes around in a circle. On top of the clock is a model of the solar system. The clock goes around in a circle and has a map of the world. One can see what time it is anywhere in the world.

In Europe the time in the afternoon keeps counting after noon. 1:00 is 1300, 7:00 in the evening is 1900. Heinrich wanted to find out where it was 5:00 in the world.   He didn't look for the 5 because that would be the morning. Instead he found 1700.

Near the platz is the tallest structure in Berlin. It is called the Television Tower. It is a large broadcasting station with an elevator inside. It goes to the very top where there is a rotating restaurant. While one eats they can watch the entire city turn beneath the tower.

During his visit Heinrich noted a statue of a Russian Soldier in a small park. It was a monument to soldiers that fought in Berlin at the end of World War II. The German people however, really disliked the Russians and they had to build a wall around it. Otherwise people kept trying to damage the statue.

Heinrich found another remnant of the old communist past of Berlin. When the city was divided there were guards that kept people from leaving the Eastern part of the city. Before they could cross the border a guard would check their papers and then stamp a visa card. Heinrich found a souvenir stand with a guard that would stamp a souvenir passport. It was fun to pretend he had to cross the old border.

Berlin Breakfast

Breakfast in Germany is often a very pleasant time. Lots of good food and some nice variety. Several juices, many kinds of cereal and fruit.

Most good breakfasts have a choice of meats and cheeses and cream spreads.

The hotel restaurant in Berlin had a fun way to keep the boiled eggs warm. There was a chicken cozy that sat on top of the egg basket.

 

When Heinrich lifted up the wing on the chicken cozy he found a basket full of warm boiled eggs. And in addition there are usually several different kinds of bread and rolls. 

 

 

The selection of jams included Erdbeere (strawberry), Waldfruckt (Wild berries), Aprikose (Apricot), Sauerkirsch (Sour Cherry). It was a great way to start the morning.

Shower

When Heinrich got back to his apartment he cleaned up. Showers in Europe are very functional. Many of the spaces are quite small so a shower has to serve many functions.

The shower head is on an adjustable bar that allows it to go and down. That way if someone is tall or small the shower can be altered to fit them.

And if one wants to keep their hair dry it can be lowered so it only washes the body.

The bottom is deep enough that if you let the water run a bit it can fill up and make a small bath tub. That way babies and little children who can’t take showers can be bathed in the small space.

To fill it up there is a stopper that's pretty long. It lets the water fill up that deep.

There is a hole in the top so that when the bottom is too full the overflow goes down the tube and keeps the room from flooding.

 

Berlin Street Walk

Heinrich walked around some of the streets in the center of Berlin to see what he could find. One of the stores had several displays in front of the shop. There were wooden toys, fairy tale characters, and even one of the green “Go” guys.

One of the things was a Pinocchio cut out. There was even a wooden nose that hanged down in front of the face. People could stick their faces in the hole and have their picture taken.

Further down the street Heinrich found where the Berliners stored the Christmas bulbs from the giant Christmas tree. They were all lined up along the pavement.

 

There was also an interesting fountain. The water was turned off because it was winter and they didn't want the fountain to freeze.

At first it just looked like a pile of broken stones. There didn't seem to be any real design to the stones.  But when he got closer to the fountain, he noticed that scattered among the rocks were dinosaur skeletons and fossils. One of them looked just like a pterodactyl.

Walk or Jog

One of the things Heinrich noticed was that the street signs that show when to “Walk” and “Don't Walk” looked different in Berlin. The person for “Don't Walk” is a red guy with his hands sticking out on both sides. He is wearing a funny little hat.

 

After Heinrich took a picture of the red guy he tried to get a picture of the green guy. But it seemed like every tine he snapped the picture of a green guy the light would change and Heinrich would get another picture of …. The Red Guy.

Eventually he got better at timing his picture and finally he got a picture of the Green “Go” Guy. This guy is wearing the same funny hat and he looks like he knows exactly where he's going when he strides across the street.

It wasn't too long before Heinrich got a little tired of walking and decided to ride the city bus. Most of the time the bus was faster than walking. But on the most famous street Unter der Lindens the traffic was pretty slow. Heinrich noticed a lady jogging on the pavement. Every time the bus would stop this lady would run past. Eventually she got so far ahead of the bus that Heinrich couldn't see her any more.

Museum Island

The island where Berlin was originally founded is now called museumsinsel. That means “Museum Island.” There are several very famous museums that are located near each other on the island. Heinrich's favorite is called the “Alte Museum” or Old Museum. It had lots of old Egyptian art and treasures.

On the outside of the building are some statues. One of the statues shows a man on a horse fighting with a lion. The poor guy must have been freezing because he didn't have very good armor.

The other statue shows a woman fighting a panther. The panther is trying to attack her horse. She has a few more clothes but apparently the hunters in olden days didn't dress up to go hunting.

In the gardens was a fun statue named “Humpty Dumpty” It looked like a strange kind of space ship with lots of odd looking parts. It didn't make a lot of sense but it was fun to try and figure out.