Haight street?! :)

Girls gone shopping!

Off to a slow start in the city... Berlin day 2

After a long day (again!), and a late night out, we met up with
Alexis, a friend of Jana and Noah's from Addidas in Nuremberg, for a
long breakfast... Then wandered along the streets of the "Prenzlauer
Berg" district, and the girls did some SHOPPING! Up and coming
neighborhood that is a mix of old, new, graffiti and posh boutiques.
Fun, fun.

Taking in a little Cabaret theater

We capped our afternoon of touring off by taking in a little Berlin
culture. Jana got us tickets to a cabaret show called "my life"...
Super small stage in the middle of the theater where a cast of 6
performers wowed us with acrobatics, gymnastics, optical comedy,
singing, and dancing. Energetic, and super fun! Kinda an innercity
cirque de soile. :) we chatted for a bit with one of the performers
after they called me out as being from SF. She requested that I have
a burrito in the mission for her when I return to the city. :)

"Spree ufer" - little corner along the river Spree

The Alex radiotower

The Bode museum of sculpture on museum island

Looking downriver

"the Alex" radio tower in the center of the former east Berlin in the
distance, and one of the museums on museum island in the foreground

Anarchist Berlin

Walking along the river with AMAZING light!

It had been cold and overcast all day with a moody sky. After we
jumped off the bus and walked, there was just enough light in clpuds
to illuminate everything! Looking up the river with the Reichstag dome
in the distance.

A moment of reflection at the gate

The Brandenberg gate

Infamous gate that stood just inside the east german borders, which
was part of the "death zone" that separated the east from the west.
Just on the other side of this gate (west Berlin) there is a park that
jana remembers visiting as a kid. There were big step stools, of a
sort, that you could climb up on and peer over to the "other side".

Exhibit of pieces of the Berlin wall in Pottsdamer Platz

Only a few segment of the Berlin wall remain standing. We drove by one
section, and this display had some historical plaques. Heading north
from this plaza, we followed bricks running through the sidewalk and
streets shpwimg where the wall once stood.

The golden operahouse

Moument to the atrocities of war

A church in the middle of Berlin that was almost completely destroyed
during WWII was left In it's broken state as a constant reminder of
the atrocities of war.

Charolettenbourg castle

During the times of divided Berlin, the area named for it's castle,
Charloettenbourg, was the center of west Berlin.

Performance center on one of the main parks

Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station)

The Reichstag - the central German government building

The top dome of this building is a big glass dome with public
staricases spiraling around. In the reconstruction and evolution of
Berlin, there is construction EVERYWHERE. Berlin is not simply being
"restored", it is in constant evolution. Mixed on with grand and
historic buildings are some of the most amazing forward-thinking
modern architecture projects. One could spend weeks exploring the
past, present and future of architecture without ever leaving Berlin.

Berlin from the tour bus window