berlin

We arrived in Berlin to bright blue skies, they weren’t always blue but I must say the weather was quite good throughout our five days.

This is the famous televison tower or Fernsehturm, at 1207 feet tall it’s the city’s tallest structure and no matter where you are in Berlin, you can see it!

It only takes the lift 40 seconds to reach the viewing area and I with my fear of heights took it! Eek!!

It didn’t freak me out too much, you can see the viewing area above and some views of the city from the top.

The Brandenburg Gate or Brandenburger Tor. This iconic structure was the top of my must see list and it didn’t disappoint!

The Victory Column, I have to admit I didn’t climb to the top of this monument, I sat at the bottom in the sunshine and let the boys do the climbing.

Another must see when visiting Berlin is of course the Berlin Wall. Bits of the wall crop up all over the city, not all of them in their original position but this is the longest remaining stretch of the wall at the East Side Gallery.

The famous Checkpoint Charlie!

It a much more light hearted area nowadays than it was in the past.

This original sign shows a more serious time.

Another sad reminder of the past is the very poignant Holocaust Memorial.

The lovely Oberbaumbrücke where traffic, trains and pedestrians can cross the River Spree.

Weeping willows along the banks of the Spree.

This church is the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche which was bombed in 1943, the ruins were removed leaving only the damaged tower and it has stood this way ever since.

This impressive building is the Reichstag, the German Parliament building.

We had to book to get in here as there are a lot of people who want to do so, entry is free but security as you can imagine is very tight.

We were booked to visit at 8.30pm on the Sunday evening and by the time we got in it was dark, I wasn’t really sure what exactly we were going to see but the booking is for the dome the most recent addition to the building.

So off we set up the spiral ramp in the glass dome looking out over the city lights but about 3/4 of the way up I suddenly realised where I was!! There is a lot of glass and I felt very exposed believe me I held on very tightly to my son until I got back down again.

You can actually look down beneath the dome and see where Angela & Co actually hold parliament, if you’re brave enough that is.

I’m glad I did it, not sure I would again though!’

This is the beautiful Charlottenburg Palace named after Sophie Charlotte the wife of Friedrich III who commissioned it, work began on it in 1695.

Unfortunately the Palace doesn’t open on Mondays which of course was the day we visited but thankfully the beautiful formal gardens were open.

On the banks of the River Spree is the Berliner Dom a magnificent cathedral.

Inside it is wonderfully ornate and yes we went up inside the dome!
To be honest I thought I was going to be inside only but we ended up outside too, for someone who is afraid of heights I seemed to find myself off the ground quite a lot during this trip!!!

So I’ll finish off with another photo of the TV tower, this time at night, still can’t believe I went up there.

It was an amazing trip, Berlin is not at all what I expected, it’s a city with a lot of history but a very modern vibrant city with a lot to offer.

We really enjoyed it and it was wonderful being able to spend some time with our son…I really miss him now though!