First time on budget airline TUIfly from Stuttgart to Berlin... interesting! Except that the safety video was in German and subtitles in French... so if you dont speak any of the 2 languages.. hmmm.
The majestic Berliner Dom, a Lutheran cathedral.
And how could i pass up a chance to see for myself the Berlin wall.. or whats left of it. This is the longest stretch of the preserved wall, with paintings by artists from all over the world, as well as graffiti and tourist signatures.
It was erected in just 24 hrs by the Soviet-controlled eastern Germany to stem immigration to the West.
I like this shot alot... a couple dancing in the light rain outside the Reichstag, while the crowd waits patiently to enter the building. The Reichstag was home to the parliament of the German empire and it was where the German reunification ceremony was held in 1990.
The interior of the Reichstag... a dome of mirrors.
The Holocaust memorial to the murdered Jews.
Brandenburger Tor, one of the gates of Berlin.
The metro station where we will walk to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
The 20-minute walk is both cold and depressing.
"Arbeit macht frei"= work will set u free. have u heard of a greater irony? And the toilet which the prisoners used... they could only use it twice a day. Can u imagine? And often, the old and sickly ones would be trampled to death by the younger ones in their haste to get there first.
Their sleeping quarters... there are actually 3 levels... how do u even climb up or sit upright??
After walking thru the camp museum and reading all the testimonials of the prisoners and reports, i feel very depressed. In addition to that, we also visit a Jewish museum which portrays more of their history and culture and that really depressed me further.
Its beyond my comprehension how people can harbour such unjustified hatred towards a certain race, to the extent of wanting to wipe them out from the face of the earth.
The Pergamon museum.
The Great Altar of Pergamon, which was located in present-day Bergama, Turkey. A German archaeologist found it and reconstructed it in Berlin. The irony? My sis and mum was in Turkey the week before and they were at the exact same place, except that the Germans left them nothing but ruins. A case of daylight theft?
My mum resting at the apartment. I like this shot of her too.
The river Spree and a view of the TV tower.
Beautiful architecture that still reminds one of the Soviet era.
Strangely i dont remember much of the things i saw here but if thats one thing i take away from this visit, it is that Berlin is a city of hurt and unhappiness, from the persecution of the Jews to the conflict between the soviets and the Allies.
It is not a city to visit if you are in a bad mood. You will leave feeling v blue and down.
