Another action packed day in Berlin. We first headed to the Reichstag which is the parliament building in Berlin. Here we had a private tour and had a chance to see the CDU/ CSU party's caucus room, saw graffiti left by Soviet soldiers on the walls inside the Reichstag, learned a lot about the history of the building and were able to walk around the dome; which was awesome. Then we were off to find lunch in the city after going to see Checkpoint Charlie. A group of us went to a Vietnamese restaurant and our German was put the test without Frau Legall's assistance, since she took a group of students who wanted to try Mediterranean salads. We had to order and ask for separate checks which isn’t as easy as it sounds but we did it together and we did it well. Next was our bike tour. Approximately 10 miles through the city. We started at the Mauerpark then went to the Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse; from there it was onward through parks and neighborhoods learning more about the wall and the people who tried to escape from the GDR. After a much needed rest stop for an ice cream break we continued to dodge cars, pedestrians, little kids on bikes, etc 😊 and pedaled to the Memorial of murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial) and back from there back parallel to the Strasse Unter den Linden towards the Museums Island and past the Berlin Cathedral. Although we got split up while waiting a lot at German traffic lights during the latter part of the tour, and because we had to negotiate the rush hour traffic, and although our legs are super tired, the experience was amazing, memorable and very educational. Even as things got hairy in the Berlin city traffic we had so much fun experiencing it all together. It was another eventful day and it seems crazy it is just day two of our trip.
-the Taylors
PS. After the bike tour the group split up since some wanted to return to the hotel with Mrs. Allen, while others were still full of energy, so the 4 "troopers" set off to visit the Hackesche Märkte, went to the top of the TV tower at Alexander Place and took a velo taxi to the Gendarmen Markt before heading back to the hotel. So after 24852 steps and 10 miles on a bike we can honestly say, we made the MOST of our day 😉
PS. After the bike tour the group split up since some wanted to return to the hotel with Mrs. Allen, while others were still full of energy, so the 4 "troopers" set off to visit the Hackesche Märkte, went to the top of the TV tower at Alexander Place and took a velo taxi to the Gendarmen Markt before heading back to the hotel. So after 24852 steps and 10 miles on a bike we can honestly say, we made the MOST of our day 😉
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