Can't work out why this tummy of mine is not going away. We are getting pleny of exercise....we actually walk from one pastry/cake shop to the next!Stood in a queue for an hour waiting to up the Berlin tower. Then we had to wait a further hour and a half for our ticket numbers to be called up. Took in the view from the top, had a beer and a pretzel then had to queue up for another half hour to come down!!
Decided to on a long walk to find more relics of the Berlin Wall to get the feel for its scale and its pathway through the middle of the city. Debbie was a little anxious about getting lost on this adventure, but I just asked her, "Have I ever led you up the garden path before?" She kept mumbling something - I'm not sure what it was. Had a map that showed where the wall used to be although very little remains. You can imagine my excitement when we came across a crumbling bit of wall or a stranded watchtower. Debbie was beside herself and still mumbling something.
The highlight of the day was the Jewish Monument. The myriad of concrete blocks represents the masses of Jews who perished in WW2. From a distance you are reminded of a field of bleak tombstones, but as you walk among them you sink 10-12 metres into a grey concrete maze. Each narrow passage undulates and sort of isolates you to reflect privately on the lives lost. The photos of the monument seem to take on a 'computer graphics' look. The cubes throw of every shade of grey in the spectrum.
Ironically, only 30 metres around the corner from the Jewish Monument is a very ordinary parking lot that was the site of Hitler's final moments. There is a solitary sign that acknowledges the event. It is amazing (but appropriate) that such a momentous piece of world history is so unheralded.
The final leg (pardon the pun) of our walk was through the expansive Berlin park that has the Victory statue as its centrepiece.
A deserted subway station??? Where was everybody??
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