Day 3 Berlin

Friday September 18 2015 - Berlin Germany

Day 1

Day 2


Weather - lovely

Very excited for today's first activity - breakfast at the Riechstag. This is a great way to whisk past the lines of tourists.

Our reservation is at 9AM and our instructions are as follows:
Due to security issues, please be so kind to provide first name, last name and birth dates (ddmmyyyy) of ALL guests coming to the restaurant. This information is needed at least 48 hours prior to the visit. For access please take a picture ID with you.
Access to the entrance is via visitor center at the Scheidemannstraße.
Please be at the entrance 15-20 minutes prior to your reservation.

Currently only visitors who have pre-booked a tour of the German parliament (Bundestag) and those with a reservation for a meal at the restaurant can visit the dome and the roof terrace, so there are big, big benefits to eating here, and it guaranteed us spectacular views across the centre of Berlin.

We take a taxi and arrive 30 minutes early. 

Those with restaurant bookings are told to go straight to the front of the queue when they arrive. We check in, show our passports and go through security. Having gone through security checks we then wait until we are taken by a guide across the driveway to the main building. Up the steps and the first door opens, A few secons later and security opens the second set of doors. We are then whisked to the dome by elevator.

Admission is free but advanced registration is required.

The Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament, is one of Berlin's most historic landmarks. The building, which is located close to the Brandenburg Gate, was renovated after German reunification and now features a striking glass dome.


Once we reach the dome we are provided with audio headsets and allowed to wander around the upper terrace and also into the dome.

You know I'll be back for Weekend Reflections with some shots from here!!
The current Reichstag dome is a glass dome, constructed on top of the rebuilt Reichstag building.It was designed by architect Norman Foster and built to symbolize the reunification of Germany.

The doors opened sharply at 9AM and we were the second table to be seated outside.
Full-length glass doors to the terrace were open as it was a very hot day and we could go outside onto the roof terrace to take photographs.

Our table was next to the window from where we could see out over the rooftops of Berlin.

The breakfast menu was very varied, with the Feel Good Breakfast the most expensive at €28.50 including a glass of fizz, freshly squeezed orange juice, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs as well as a selection of breads, jams, meats and cheeses.
We both chose this, we should probably have shared it.

A more economical choice would have been Käfer’s omelette made with three free range eggs and a choice of filling from €8.50. 

Yikes!!

I think it would be wonderful to book here for dinner!

Hard to imagine that we are standing a stone’s throw from where the wall used to split east and west Berlin.

What an amazing way to enjoy a leisurely breakfast with stupendous views across the city and then visiting the inside of the famous modern glass dome.

Back down to reality and some more shots.

The Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag is located in front of the security office of the Reichstag building, and commemorates the 96 members of the parliament that died unnaturally between 1933 and 1945 (1948). The memorial is made of 96 cast iron plates, with the names, birth and death dates and places engraved on the edges. It has been designed so that it can be extended if new names are discovered in the future.

It's a gorgeous day as we start strolling with no real destination in mind.

I know these "love" locks are a curse in many cities...

These are stumbling stones, Stolpersteine and I had so hoped to come across some and we did literally stumble upon these!

Artist Gunter Demnig's 'stumble stones' tell the casual walker that in the house he or she is standing outside once lived people who were rounded up and taken away to be murdered because of their ethnicity, religion, politics or sexual persuasion.
"Here lived" begins the inscriptions engraved on every one.

Looking back towards the Reichstag.

The Bode Museum rising like a ship on the Spree.

We decide to check out the Bode.
I am not a fan of religious art but this museum blew me away. it is now the home for a collection of sculptures, Byzantine art, and coins and medals. I could have spent the entire day in here. The displays are stunning and each room is painted a different colour. Such a peaceful place.

I'm just going to give you a few photos.

We are greeted by this young feller.

We decide to use our free boat ride that came with the Berlin Pass. The next English tour is at 12:45 so we stop for a beer.

Train station

Back on land and we head towards the Nikolaiviertel or Nikolai quarter of town.

This area is a huge construction site, John took a photo of the work being done for a a new subway line.

Construction of this link commenced in April 2010 and is expected to be completed by 2017. The link will be 2.2 km (1.4 mi) in length, and connect the Brandenburger Tor terminus of the current U55 to the Alexanderplatz terminus.

A nicer view of City Hall (Rotes Rathaus) than yesterday.

A glimpse of St. Nicholas Church, the oldest in Berlin. This is also the oldest residential area of Berlin.
In the Middle Ages, a trade route went through this area. Artisans and merchants settled at the junction of river and road. Circa 1200, the St. Nicholas church was built, a late Romanesque stone basilica.

This is a lovely quaint area with many restaurants and shops.

The area, however, was largely destroyed by bombing in 1944 and for a long time it laid in ruins.

Between 1981 and 1987, in the run-up to the 750th anniversary of Berlin, did reconstruction work begin. The landscape of ruins was rebuilt by the architect Günter Stahn. Based on historical models. the houses and streets were recreated as accurately as possible, so that the illusion exists that one is actually visiting a piece of old Berlin.

Stands to reason that the oldest pub would be here.
Zum Nußbaum tt was formerly located in Fischerinsel, and was one of the oldest drinking establishments in the city; after its destruction in World War II it was recreated in this neighbourhood.

Around the church grounds.

St. George slaying the dragon.

We decide to walk to the East Side Gallery. This map shows from the Dom but doesn't include our little side trips along the way.

I posted some pictures of the East Side Art Gallery at Monday Mural and Song-ography.

Here are some totally random images.

This is the back of the gallery, not very pretty but gives an idea of the length.

Behind the wall.

This fine piece of architecture is the  Oberbaum Bridge (German: Oberbaumbrücke) a double-deck bridge crossing River Spree, considered one of the city's landmarks. It links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity.

As we cross we look back at where we had spent part of our earlier day.

We are looking for a cab to take us back to our hotel.

For dinner we go to a local restaurant Marinelli's for pizza.

Distance covered 12.8 km or 8 miles even though we took cabs back and forth from the hotel.