Berlin

For the second year in a row, Jonathan’s German-based international company brought him to Germany for a meeting in mid-May.  This meeting, the Garmisch meeting (I think the very first year it must’ve been in Garmisch), brings employees from all over the world to different parts of Germany.  There are a lot of work meetings but the company also showcases different parts of Germany.  Last year Jonathan flew into Frankfurt and had the chance to tour Bad Nauheim (where Elvis Presley was stationed during World War II) and Bad Kissingen.  Jonathan was relatively new to the company when they went on the trip last year so we weren’t sure about how the meeting timeline worked (they don’t tell the attendees where in Germany they are going from the airport) or if spouses ever met any of the other attendees over there so I unfortunately didn’t get to join Jonathan and take advantage of one airline ticket to Europe already being covered.  This year, however, his company flew him to Berlin (!) and since I had a big birthday this spring I might’ve had a little more pull, so I finagled my way on to the tail end of his trip.  I arrived in Berlin the afternoon before Jonathan’s meeting ended, so I had one evening to explore on my own.  Our hotel was in Western Berlin so I wandered around Kurfürstendamm boulevard where I saw the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and explored KaDeWe (a giant department store with a 6th floor gourmet deli, where I picked up my dinner).  I can’t say I was the best solo traveler—didn’t feel comfortable lugging around the big camera so any photos I took will be in this month’s Instagram post and you wouldn’t find me sitting at an outdoor café alone for dinner.  I took my dinner to go from the deli, headed back to the hotel, and had an early night…in my defense, it had been a long trip over.

It was a wonderful surprise to see Jonathan at the hotel by 7:00 the next morning!  We were out early and walked from West Berlin, along the full length of the Tiergarten, into East Berlin before enjoying breakfast.  Jonathan had told me before I packed that they were having warm temps over there, so luckily I was prepared for the lovely, sunny 80-degree weather we enjoyed while in Berlin.  It was just the most glorious spring weather for the activities we had planned—walking, biking, and sitting outside at biergartens!  I had pre-booked a bicycle tour of Berlin (there is a lot to see in a day) which we joined under the TV tower at Alexanderplatz.  The several-hour tour took us to Gendarmenmarkt flanked by the German Cathedral and French Cathedral, to Humboldt University where the Nazis burned books in the square, to Checkpoint Charlie, remnants of the Berlin Wall, and a guard watchtower before stopping for lunch at a biergarten in the Tiergarten.  After lunch, we biked by the Reichstag (parliament building), Brandenburg Gate, site of Hilter’s Bunker, and then to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.  Especially considering the weather we had that day, by bike really was the best way to see a lot of Berlin. 

After our bike tour we had time to enjoy another beer at a biergarten in Gendarmenmarkt (it was dunkelweizen and hefeweizen heaven for me—some of my favorites).  I had also reserved a time slot to enter the Reichstag building and eat dinner at the rooftop restaurant.  The glass cupola on the top of the building was very cool to explore and photograph.    

Berlin is a beautiful city and the juxtaposition between Prussian Berlin and Communist Berlin is so interesting.  I never got a chance to visit Berlin during the 4 years I lived in Germany but I was in 8th grade living on a USAF base in Germany when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.  I loved this opportunity to finally explore this city filled with so much history, so much of it, as Jonathan pointed out, in our lifetimes.  I keep hoping we get a chance to head back to Berlin soon with the kids.  It was just the perfect trip.

{victory column and the brandenburg gate, leading into east berlin.}

{berliner dom and the communist tv tower.}

{french cathedral, german cathedral, and the concert house, all in gendarmenmarkt.}

{humboldt university and the square where the nazis burned books.}

{checkpoint charlie, trabis (the little communist cars), an inner berlin wall memorial, outer berlin wall remnant, and guard watchtower.}

{memorial to the murdered jews of europe.}

{back to beautiful gendarmenmarkt to enjoy a hefeweizen at a biergarten.} 

{the stoplight ampelmännchen and the berliner dom.}

{back to the branderburg gate and then on top of the reichstag building.}

{inside the glass cupola of the reichstag.}

{the reichstag building (with our shadows) and the memorial to the politicians who opposed hitler.}

{my favorite square again—we ate at a lovely restaurant in the red-roofed chapel on our last night in berlin.}

{berliner dom and more of humboldt university.}