Jun
18
Warnemunde
Filed Under VWS
Warnemunde is the port for our visit to Berlin. The Magic docks directly across the street from the train station so that was quite convenient to walk across the street after disembarkation and board the train for our trip to Berlin. The train was quite nice. It was comfortable and clean. We actually had our own little compartment for the three of us. They provided a snack box for us and water. Upon our arrival in Berlin we were quickly directed to our buses for our tour, “Berlin’s Turbulent History”. The first stop on the tour was the East Side Gallery. This is a collection of paintings on the remnants of the Berlin Wall. The paintings were quite interesting as they were done by artists from around the world and seeing their interpretations of the past, present, and future was interesting. We spent five minutes there and then headed off to the Reichstag. The Reichstag is Germany’s parliament and the building is quite impressive. We stopped for a few minutes and then headed off to the Bradenburg Gate. The Bradenburg Gate was nice, but the real interesting part was the collection of people wanting donations to have their picture taken with you. We saw American Indians, Star Wars Troopers, amongst other oddities. We then headed to CheckPoint Charlie. This was the checkpoint between the Soviet and American sectors of Berlin. It was different seeing this relic of the cold war surrounded by a busy city street with no wall to separate the city. After the CheckPoint Charlie we headed off for a typical German lunch that included sausage and sauerkraut. We then headed to the Templehof Airlift Memorial for a quick picture stop. After the memorial we headed to the Allied Museum. This museum is dedicated to preserving the memories of the Berlin Airlift. We watched a short movie about the Airlift which helped out things into perspective. Frances happened to talk to a German woman who was visiting the museum. She was a cild living in Berlin during the Airlift and could remember those dark days. We wandered the museum and the actual CheckPoint Charlie building that was moved here and then boarded the buses for a quick shopping stop before we headed back to the train. We were once again offered a snack box on the return train trip and the opportunity to purchase sodas, beer and wine. It was a long day but quite worth it. I think we all enjoyed our trip to Berlin.
sounds like a great excursion