Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Best Berlin Day Two

In Berlin this was my bicycle.  I hadn't ridden a bicycle in, err, maybe 15 or 16 years?  I wasn't even sure that I could, whatwith my fake knee and no elbow.  But turns out I can ride a bicycle!  Like crazy!  Which is good, because in Berlin the best way to get around seems to be riding by riding bicycles like crazy.


For Berlin Day Two we set out to get all my major Berlin touristy stuff out of the way.  We rode our bikes to what I'm going to call "downtown Berlin."  This is a photo from downtown Berlin.  Not Lincoln Center. 


Had a small discussion with Alpha about cape fashion.


Saw the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby.


Saw famous Brandenburg Gate. I don't know that guy in the white shades but it sure looks like I do.


Here's me!  Pointing at the gate.


There's this famous park behind the gate and to the side of it there's a monument to the Gypsy victims on the Holocaust.



Here is the Reichstag.


Here is Alpha, a patient tour guide.


Passing through the park this was, I don't know what it was.  Do you speak German?


Then we went over to the Holocaust memorial/monument.


So did a bear.



The problem with the Holocaust Memorial is how tempting it is for running around through and/or climbing on.  The ultimate lasertag arena, really.



Underneath the Holocaust Memorial there's a museum that will make you feel awful for even having thought about playing Lasertag there.


Near the memorial: A parking lot above what was "probably" Hitler's bunker.


Misc. Berlin




Bratwurst version of the Gyro Girl?


Checkpoint Charlie, which I think was totally fake and a bunch of baloney and you can't even get a decent photo of the front of it because of the jerks dressed up as army people that want your money for taking their pictures.


But the important thing is there's a McDonalds right there at Checkpoint Charlie.  This special burger was not as good as it looks.


Tourist balloon.


Passed by this Berlin Wall section and timeline on our way to this museum.



At this museum we saw a big Anish Kapoor exhibit.  He's the guy that made the Bean (or Cloud Gate) in Chicago.



Photos were NOT allowed.  But with iPhones and folks like Alpha, sometimes photos get taken.



More riding through the city.





Stopped in at the Bugatti dealer for a second.  Seeing two Veyrons in a couple of weeks, even if they were both basically in captivity, was unusual.


That famous tower.



Wrapped up the day admiring the Bushwicky-ness of Berlin.






That was Day Two.  I can't remember at all what I had for dinner.  It was a sausage.  At this point I hadn't even had a sausage in Berlin yet.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Best Berlin Day One

Entering the airport terminal I found my host waiting for me, a bus and a tram train had us quickly to her summer apartment. 



I had a traditional German breakfast and then, although I didn't think I was tired, fell asleep for a few hours. 


After waking, I toured the nearby neighborhoods with Alpha and our fellow American, Charlotte. 


I was really tired, I can't remember much from this day. But the photographic record shows: A bookstore for Americans

A poster store


Parks and playgrounds





Having a hard time keeping up



Misc Berlin Sights





An empty beer garden



Eating a man made of potatoes?


 And that was the first day.  The second day I'd wake up awake and ready.