Berlin 101

Paris Marathon Training: Week 17 of 18
Today’s target run: 48 minutes
Today’s completed run: 48 minutes

Never having been to Berlin before…ever…there were the “usual suspects” that came to mind as it related to tourist sites that required visiting. You know the ones of which I speak: Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie (now only a museum), the remains of the Berlin Wall, etc. With only a couple days in the city, though, we did not get to see everything we would have wanted…guess we’ll just need to make another trip.

Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate): This triumphal arch was liked so much that Napoleon ordered that the statue on the topic of the arch, the Quadriga, be removed and shipped to Paris. It was returned in 1814. Its architecture was inspired by the Parthenon in Athens.







Reichstag (Parliament): This building, set ablaze on February 17, 1933, on orders of Hitler, ceased to be the home of Germany’s Parliament on this date. During WWII, it faced much destruction due to Allied bombardment. Since German reunification in 1990, it once again houses the country’s Parliament.





Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (Checkpoint Charlie Museum): Exhibits pertaining to the history of East and West Germany and the Berlin Wall. I must confess, while an interesting note in history, this exhibit kinda reminded me of the tourist traps in Texas: the candle factory, the walnut bowl factory, the snake farm, and the giant ball of twine. Still, I can say I have at least seen this infamous spot.





Berlin Wall: This piece of the Berlin Wall has been preserved as a monument to that period in Germany’s history. This particular stretch of the wall stands on the former site of the Gestapo headquarters. Today, an outdoor museum, known as the Topography of Terror is located on this site.




Judisches Museum Berlin (Jewish Museum Berlin): Housed in a building known as the ‘silver lightening bolt“, this museum is Europe’s largest museum on German-Jewish history. Its design is intended to be disorienting and uncomfortable, including the Holocaust Void, a dark windowless chamber used to simulate these feelings as well as the feelings of loss. An interesting and well-done museum. We spent 5 hours here before we even knew it!