21 hours in Berlin, Germany part 2

Exploring the city on foot and by bicycle!

armed with our map and our excitement, my friend and i explored the city via the subway (again, of course), on foot and by bicycle!

the weather was nice - at around 20 degrees. there were many tourists on the streets and most of them were looking at us wondering where we're from. haha.. i heard one tourist said "maybe they're from indonesia."
anyway, it was easy to go around the city because we had our maps. :) plus, the subway system was fully equipped with signs so it wasn't that confusing to go around using the train.

Brandenburg Gate

of course, the first tourist spot that we went to was the Brandenburg Gate. This is the major monumental symbol for Berlin. 

From Wikipedia:

The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city center at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of lindentrees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs.

The Gate's design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece and is consistent with Berlin's history of architectural classicism (first, Baroque, and then neo-Palladian). The Gate was the first "Athens on the River Spree" by architect Carl Gotthard von Langhans. The capital Quadriga was sculpted by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

Holocaust Memorial

the Holocaust Memorial is just amazing... not just because they were concrete slabs that look great in photos (haha) but when we were there, we really felt that the concrete "stelae" symbolized something. there were also a lot of tourists hanging out, sitting on the concrete slabs while reading a book about the memorial's history. it was nice :) we took a lot of pictures here. hahaha!

From Wikipedia:
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (German: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas), also known as the Holocaust Memorial (German: Holocaust-Mahnmal), is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenmanand engineer Buro Happold. ..... According to Eisenman's project text, the stelae are 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.

Reichstag Building

the Reichstag building. nothing really special from the outside, however, the main attraction spot is the dome. I didn't get to see it though :( i didn't know that prior registration is required. :( i saw some pictures from the internet and it looks and i will definitely visit it next time.

Pictures inside the dome from Wikipedia:

Checkpoint Charlie

If you notice in the photos, we're riding bicycles already! haha.. yeah, we got tired from walking so we rented bicycles to go around - it's faster and easier. 

Bicycles are for rent for 6 euros (2 hours) and 10 euros (whole day). It comes with a basket so you can put your bag/things/etc and chains/lock, so you can chain it to a tree or a post when you want to go sightseeing on foot. We also  paid a deposit of 50 euros for insurance - which was sooo expensive! but it was only a deposit so we got it back when we returned the bikes. I highly recommend exploring Berlin by bicycle, just remember to bring a copy of your passport or any ID since they require it.

Anyway, at Checkpoint Charlie, you need to pay 2 euros to have a photo taken together with the "guards" and their flags. It's a bit expensive for a photo but what the heck?? i paid anyway! haha! If you look closely at two of the photos, you might think that one of the guards was posing with a "peace" sign - he's not, he's actually asking for "two" euros! apparently, it's 2 euros per person! LOL!!!

Berlin Wall

I wanted to see the part of the wall with the graffiti art but I guess the lady from the bicycle rental station misunderstood what i said when i asked her for directions. :( so we ended up here instead - the boring part of the berlin wall. LOLs anyway, looking at the photos, i realize that it's not boring at all. Plus, going to the graffiti part of the wall is another thing to look forward to when i get another flight to Berlin. :)

From Wikipedia:

The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. .... The Soviet-dominated Eastern Bloc officially claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. However, in practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period.

more pictures from the streets of Berlin...

and.. that's it! after going to the Berlin Wall, we went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the flight back to base. :) here are some more photos of the hotel room!

i ordered room service - the Currywurst "Berlin Style" with French Fries for 8.90 euros. It was good. I loved the french fries! :)

So this is the city that influenced our national hero's two greatest novels....

Even before, Berlin has always had a special place in my heart. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because i used to read about it in high school when we were studying about Jose Rizal (Philippine's national hero). Every time I hear Berlin, I think of Rizal. It may sound geeky but i have to admit, reading Noli Me Tanggere was one of the highlights of my high school life and through reading this book, I got to know and admire Rizal even more.

Rizal wrote Noli Me Tanggere while he was living in Berlin. At that time, life was a struggle for him due to financial difficulties and even so, he managed to finish and publish his book in Berlin.

i wanted to see the buildings/area where Rizal used to hang out, where he lived and where he  was able to write and finish Noli Me Tanggere. but unfortunately, i didn't have enough time to do some research before i had the layover. :'( I will definitely do that next time I get a Berlin flight!

anyway, it was still so exciting to see the other attractions/tourist spots in Berlin like the Brandenburg gate,  Berlin wall and especially Holocaust Memorial. 

MY FAVORITE PHOTO for the day:

I love sooo many photos so it was a bit hard to pick one. hehe.. but at the end, i chose this one, it was my Facebook profile photo for 1 month! haha!

I still have more adventures to write about and sooo many pictures to sort through! Next entries will be about Milan, Frankfurt, etc! :)