Germany
We'd vacillated for months over what to do during our stop in Rostock, Germany. Berlin was a three hour bus ride away and the idea of six hours on a bus was not appealing. But we wouldn't have that many opportunities to get to Berlin, so we decided to stick with our planned "Berlin On Your Own" tour with plans to do a walking tour with a local company when we arrived. Our excursion would be leaving shortly after docking so we got breakfast as we sailed into the former East Germany port of Rostock and then met in the Reflection Theater and waited for our number to be called. We had chosen a Celebrity excursion here to make sure we had no issues getting back to the ship on time.
Bus Ride To Berlin
We ended up not leaving the port until a half-hour later than the scheduled departure of 9:30. On the bus, our guide gave us an overview of German history as well as gave us some ideas of which attractions we should see as well as providing water and snacks. Janie giggled at the "Ausfahrt" signs (German for 'exit') at each off-ramp.
Rest Stop in East Germany
We stopped at a rest stop halfway to Berlin to use the toilets. J. R. picked up some sodas and snapped a photo of Thomas' favorite drink from Germany, Mezzo Mix.
Checkpoint Charlie
We had more regrets about our decision to take the bus to Berlin as the drive turned from three hours into almost four and we didn't get to Berlin until almost 2PM and were further delayed by a demonstration that forced the bus to be rerouted. Our plans for a walking tour were dashed as the tour started at two in another part of the city and we had to be back on the bus by 5:45 so a four-hour tour was not possible. Instead of a guided walking tour, we chose to just hit the highlights ourselves. Our first stop was at Checkpoint Charlie. We had heard the museum was a tourist trap from our sons, so we just saw the signs and fake guard station and took a quick trip through the gift shop. Checkpoint Charlie was the best-known border crossing during the Cold War. At the height of the Berlin Crisis, U.S. and Soviet tanks faced each other here. We took photos at the famous sign "YOU ARE LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR" in English, Russian, French and German posted here.
Topography of Terror
Janie led us next to the Topography of Terror and what Rebecca most wanted to see, a piece of the original Berlin Wall. Between 1933 and 1945, the most important institutions of the Nazi terror apparatus of the SS and police operated from the Secret State Police Office, the Reich SS Leadership, and the Reich Security Main Office at this location. There was an interesting display on the War in Poland.
Memorial To The Murdered Jews Of Europe
Our next stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Located on a stretch of the former Wall, this is Berlin's monument to the Holocaust, dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide. The monument is a series of gray concrete blocks of differing sizes arranged in rows evoking a graveyard. The scupltor said it was designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.
Embassy of the United States
Across the street was the Embassy of the United States in Berlin. Our future diplomat, Rebecca, needed to pose in front of the consulate.
Brandenburg Gate
From the memorial we walked up to the Brandenburg Gate. A symbol of the divided city of Berlin, the gate drew visitors who would climb a platform to glimpse behind the Iron Curtain on the other side of the "death-strip" separating East and West Berlin. It was on this site where Ronald Reagan issued his command: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall". We walked through the gate onto Pariser Platz, belonged to the border between East and West Berlin.
Reichstag
We stopped at a cafe to use the facilities and bought a sausage and a pretzel which we enjoyed as we walked up to the Reichstag. The Reichstag was completed in 1894 and reunification, it became the seat of Parliament. The new dome with its glass cylinder is amongst the most impressive features designed to reflect natural light into the plenary chamber. We had hoped to visit the circular dome above the building but it would have consumed too much of our time.
Buddy Bears
We walked back to Brandenburg Gate and Pariser Platz. Janie began taking pictures of the bears along the street. The bear is the symbol of Berlin and the "Buddy Bears" were placed in the streets as part of an artistic event in Berlin in 2001.
Bebelplatz
With a few hours left, we decided to walk along the Unter den Linden. We passed by Bebelplatz, the venue for the Nazis' first official book burning in 1933 near Humboldt University where over 20,000 works were set alight.
Humboldt University
On our left was Humboldt University, the oldest of Berlin's four universities. From 1810 - 1945, it was named Friedrich Wilhelm University. During the Cold War, the university found itself in East Berlin and split in two when the Free University of Berlin opened in West Berlin. The university received its current name in honour of Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt in 1949.
Pergamon Museum
We reached Museum Island and the Pergamon Museum, one of the many museums in this area. The building was severely damaged during the air attacks on Berlin at the end of the Second World War. Many of the display objects had been stored in safe places, and some of the large exhibits were walled in for protection.
Berliner Dom
Next along the way was the Berliner Dom, completed in 1905, Berlin's largest and most important Protestant church. Damaged during WWII, it remained closed during the GDR years and reopened after restoration in 1993.
Altes Museum
Further along was the Altes. Built between 1823 and 1830, the Museum of the Ancient World, is one of five museums that make up Museum Island.
River Spree
Venturing further into East Berlin, we crossed the Spree River. A river cruise had been another thought of ours if we had more time.
Red Town Hall
We had driven past the Red Town Hall during our bus ride into town. The building derives its name from its red brick facade. The neo-renaissance building was designed as a multi-winged complex in round-arch style featuring three inner courtyards and a 74 meters high tower.
Berlin TV Tower
Towering over Alexanderplatz is Germany's tallest building, the Berlin TV Tower. Its steel sphere hosts a visitor platform and revolving restaurant. To the embarrassment of the GDR, the sphere produces a giant cross reflection, the joke being this was the Pope's revenge for removing crucifixes from churches.
Rausch Schokoladenhaus
We walked back to Gendarmarkt and located a chocolate shop mentioned in Rick Steves' guidebook, Rausch Schokoladenhaus. We found quite a few goodies to purchase and enjoyed the chocolate recreations of Berlin landmarks.
Augustiner Brau Munchen
After chocolate, we decided to get a beer and stopped at Augustiner Brau Munchen's sidewalk cafe. J. R. had the pair of coarse fried Augustiner sausages with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut and an Augustiner Dunkel beer. Janie went with a pair of boiled Bavarian sausages and a freshly baked pretzel she shared with Becca. The highlight for her was the Lutter & Wegner sparkling Riesling.
Gendarmenmarkt
We returned to Gendarmenmarkt to wait for our bus. The square is dominated by the Concert House, the Deutscher Dom and the French Cathedral. Konzerthaus concert hall was originally a theatre built by Friedrich the Great in the eighteenth century. The Deutscher Dom was destroyed in 1943 by a fire and lay in ruins for a long time and was rebuilt in stages between 1982 and 1996. The Franzosischer Dom is two buildings, the domed tower of the building, housing the Huguenot Museum and the viewing platform. The lower part of the building is the actual church, the Franzosische Friedrichstadtkirche.
Back to the Ship and the Martini Bar
We reboarded the bus at 5:45 but had to wait 10 minutes for the last party to arrive from their private tour. The bus ride back to the port was much shorter, only about three hours. We were happy to learn the bus ride was a better choice than taking the train on our own, as the train was delayed several hours and arrived back after the ship was supposed to leave. We went to the buffet for dinner, which was a German buffet with more sausages. We tried the currywurst, which was pretty good. We skipped the evening vocalist show and headed to the martini bar for some drinks and Janie played around on the ice surface.
