Small Sampling of Berlin and The Search for Currywurst.

Berlin has such a rich history, especially within the 20th Century.  Today, my friend and I just scratched the surface of the historical sites.

After meeting my friend at the bus station, we headed straight to the television tower and then the DDR museum.  While the television tower was just a really tall tower, the DDR museum was an excellent peek into a communist state.  While East Berlin leaders had a little more flexibility with their decisions, due to their location near West Berlin, it seemed very representative of other communist countries.  The museum contained many artifacts from the Cold War era, which range from Travis, USSR produced car, to children's toys.  The museum also walks you through the secret police and the East Berlin country of terror.  Finally, gives a brief description of events leading to the fall of East Berlin and the collapse of the Berlin Wall.  I would definitely recommend the DDR museum to anybody visiting Berlin.

The DDR Museum!  This was just an advertisement.

Trying to change the tire on a Travis.  There were infamous for constantly breaking down.

 

My friend being interviewed by the Stasi.  This exhibit was really neat, you place your elbows two pads and it uses your bones to amplify a response.

Really close to the DDR museum is a place called Museum Island.  This is a UNESCO world heritage site and is home to the large collection of ancient artifacts.  A short walk from Museum Island is Brandenburg Tor (gate in German). During the walk, you can windowshop the various luxury stores or peruse the Willy Brandt museum.  This free museum documents the life of a Nobel Peace Price recipient, iconic German politician, and one of the driving forces of the Eurozone.  From the Willy Brandt museum you can see Brandenburg Tor.

View of one of the many museum buildings making up Museum Island.

Unfortunately there was major construction in and around Museum Island, so aesthetically it was not the prettiest place.

 This iconic symbol was built on the 1700s as a symbol for peace, but became a triumphal arc during the Prussian occupation.  At this point, the iconic statue of Victoria was placed atop the gate.  The area around Brandenburg Tor is where the majority of the foreign embassies are located.  This makes sense given the proximity of the Brandenburg Tor to the Bundestag (the German parliamentary building).

Brandenburg Tor

The Bundestag has been in use since the 1st Reich.  It was constructed prior to WWI and had undergone many reformations.  After the initial building, a phrase meaning "For the German People" was added after WWI.  During the establishment of the Third Reich, rival parties to the Nazi's burned the dome in protest .  During WWII, it suffered heavy damage as a result of bombing and during the siege of Berlin by the Soviets.  After WWII, it was renovated and during the Cold War it resided on the West Berlin side of the Berlin Wall.  After the fall of the USSR,  a new dome was constructed from glass to direct light into a plenary chamber below, where the German Parliament currently debates le legislation.  Given its rich history, this is a must see sight.  However, make sure to get there early to make reservations for entrance into the Bundestag Dome.

Outside of the Bundestag, if you look closely you can make out the German phrase meaning "For the German People".

View of the Dome on top of the Bundestag.  The glass dome, lets in natural light and adds to the carbon neutral qualification of the building.

This mirrored spire reflects sunlight into the plenary chamber.

After touring the Bundestag Dome, my friend and I took a walk to the modern buildings that house the offices of parliamentary members and the German Chancellor.  The architecture of the two buildings that make up the complex is supposed to represent the unification of East Berlin and West Berlin.

Offices of the parliamentary representatives.

House of the German Chancellor.  Is Angela Merkel home?

 After touring the sites (we didn't even get all of them), my friend and I went on an epic hunt for the best Currywurst in Berlin.  Currywurst is a modern Berlin street food that has since spread across Germany, which consists of a sliced sausage (typically bratwurst) covered in a tomato sauce and curry powder.  I would highly recommend trying the dish, since it is relatively cheap and nice to eat at a park.

Currywurst; in all its street food glory.

On our stay in Berlin, we took multiple trains to find the three best locations for Currywurst.  We were comparing the Berlin Currywurst to the Currywurst in Western Germany.  Unfortunately, we never came close to finding a Berlin Currywurst that compared to Currywurst from Western Germany.  Not a bad thing, but I prefer Western German Currywurst to Berlin Currywurst.

Tomorrow, we will hit more sites of Berlin.  Stay tuned!