Berlin, Part I

Our first stop in Berlin was Checkpoint Charlie.
This was the separation between free West Germany and Soviet controlled East Germany.
There are a lot of murals in the area telling of its history.

Very popular spot. Berlin was packed with tourists.

Say what you want about McDonalds but 1) you know what you're going to get and 2) free Wi-Fi.

(Not a real U.S. Soldier - above. You pay $, you get picture.)

We then headed to the remains of the Berlin Wall - which just celebrated its 50th anniversary. There are opportunities to buy a piece of the wall - beware. I can't fathom the wall was big enough to supply all the souvenir shops in town THIS many years after it was torn down.

The Topography of Terror is an outdoor/open-air museum that we needed to spend 3 hours perusing instead of 30 minutes. Very interesting exhibit of the rise of Naziism and, thank heavens, its fall.

The caption on the photo above reads, "Rubble Woman. 1945. By order of the occupying forces, every woman aged between 15 and 50 had to register to help clear rubble in the city. They cleaned and stockpiled bricks for rebuilding."

The Nazis decided to re-work the festivals and celebrations of the people.
Religious holidays continued but they inserted their own in hopes of unifying the people.
Stew Sunday was just one of them.
This exhibit showed many more.

I highly recommend this place. Very insightful, moving, informative.
It's still so unbelievable what people can do to others, isn't it?