Day 2

We got up and walked across the street to Café Einstein for coffee and strudel. Then, we walked to Checkpoint Charley and Brandenburg Gate. We passed through Potsdamer Platz with its sleek, modern architecture, and through the Mall of Berlin, supposedly the best place to shop in the city. Lots of interesting history in Berlin, and every few steps we come across some historical facts and places. In the vicinity of Brandenburg Gate streets were closed and we saw hundreds of runners. When we asked somebody what the event was, he mumbled something in German so we still don’t know. We walked by a large area with hundreds of cement rectangles of different heights, which turned out to be a memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. We also saw a memorial for the Gypsies who perished during the war. Then we walked to Tiergarten, a huge park in the middle of the city, and had lunch at a beer garden. In the afternoon, we took a river cruise (1 hour) and saw many beautiful buildings, including the government building of Reichstag and Bundestag, a new railway station, walking boulevards, parks and beaches along the Spree river, and the Museum island with the Pergammon and Bode museums. On the way back, we stumbled upon Galleries Lafayette and its amazing food court. We had dinner in an Italian restaurant and walked some more before checking in for the night.