Berlin Wall

For our second day in Berlin we were able to catch the guided tour that we tried to get the day before. It worked out well because now Sarah and Mall were able to come with us. Our tour guide was English but was getting his doctorate in history at one of the universities in Berlin so was really well informed on the history of the city, and there is a lot of history in Berlin! We started off in front of the "Hotel Adlon" which I didn't see the significance of, but apparently it is one of the most famous sites in Berlin. In the picture, there is a man standing on the balcony, and that is the exact balcony where Michael Jackson dangled his infant son 'blanket.' 

Wearing hats that Lauren's Nana knit 

I didn't take many pictures during the tour because I really wanted to listen to what our tour guide was saying and had already taken pictures of the main sites yesterday. We passed by Museum Island, the TV tower, and Checkpoint Charlie. We also visited the site where Hitler committed suicide which is now a parking lot and unmarked as it was feared it would become a shrine for neo-nazis. Our tour ended at the Holocaust Memorial and Museum where he briefly talked about it and said that it is really something you need to experience on your own and not during a tour so we headed back there at the end of the day. 

Something that I had been looking forward to since arriving in Berlin was the East Side Gallery, an international memorial of freedom that is 1.3km long. Artists from around the world were selected and able to paint a section of the Berlin Wall after it's fall. As you can notice on the pictures the paintings have been (arguably) ruined by graffiti and erosion but are slowly being restored. I only put up a few of my favourite ones. 

This painting is referred to as the "Fraternal Kiss" and one of the most famous paintings on the wall. It depicts two German  politicians embracing, reproducing a picture that captured that moment during the 30th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany.)

Such a beautiful moment with the sun shining through the gate.

This was my favourite painting on the wall, the colours and design were just so amazing.

Thierry Noir, a French artist who claimed to be the first artist to paint on the Berlin Wall.

As previously mentioned, after the East Side Gallery we made our way back to the Holocaust Memorial. There is a total of 2,711 concrete slabs, all different heights in the memorial. From the front you can't tell how high they actually get, but some of the slabs are up to 5 meters high. Walking through the memorial really makes you think. I looked up the meaning from the architect who designed the memorial and he stated he wanted a place where it can be grasped "what loneliness, powerlessness, and despair mean" After walking around the memorial we went into the Holocaust Museum that is right beside it which was brilliantly done.

This trip had definitely been emotionally exhausting from all of the Holocaust/WW2/ Cold War museums and experiences we had. I have also learned that travelling the way we did is so physically exhausting as well. We treated ourselves and went out for dinner and had a huge beer.