Day 5 – More Berlin – Lots of history, Berlin from the sky, Weihnachtsmarkts, sore feet, and maybe a little internet TV

After another run in the park this morning, I headed out on the town. Today was a foot work and brain work day. I walked around a lot today and started by going back the Berlin Wall to read more about what went on. I am still in awe that that piece of history really wasn’t that long ago. The fall of the wall was just in 1989! It is so hard to believe the violence, the high security, and the separation that took place in such recent times. I felt pretty naive to the facts and was happy to learn. Then I walked along an outdoor exhibition called the Topography of Terror, where pictures and plaques showed and told of where the Nazi headquarters and violent planning took place in the early 1900s. Even though there are no buildings in that space now it was the actual location and they are currently excavating the basements of some of the buildings and are planning on building a place to hold the exhibition in its place. After much reading, I headed over to the Holocaust Memorial to check out the Jewish Exhibition located below ground. It portrayed the time when the Jews first began to be persecuted and went through a timeline of how it all went down. There were also diary excerpts, postcards, and other writings of some of the Jewish people during that time giving you a feel for some of the thoughts of those going through the experience. At the end of the exhibition there was a room filled with pictures and explanations of the various concentration camps and extermination camps that were built and used to imprison and torture millions of people. Very heart wrenching. After both of those exhibits my mind was a bit overflowing so I decided to go over the Parliament building and walk up through the dome on top to get a good view of Berlin from the sky. You can see the dome on top of the building on the third picture I took in yesterday’s post. After an hour of standing in line and being frisked when walking through the doors, I made it in and rounded my way to the top. The view was great but I must say the Munich view as better :) After leaving the Parliament building I walked through the center of the city where, like Heidelberg, Munich and many other cities, they are setting up for the Wiehnachtmarkts (Christmas Markets). They are street markets associated with the celebration of Christmas mainly the four weeks preceding Christmas Day. They originated in Germany and Austria but are now held in many countries. They take up entire City Squares and have tons of decore and kiosks full of Christmas items. They seem to be pretty extravagant and popular. Fork lifts, trucks and workers spend days setting up for the big events. The Christmas spirit is definitely in the air. Heidelberg is setting up right now too and I will be there when it opens so I will get some pics and tell more about it when the time comes. The last tourist stop today was the Deutsch National History Museum. It was hundreds of years of history and I was really bummed out that I didn’t get to mid 1900 until I had 20 minutes left before it closed. That was the most interesting part to me and I had to whip through it in the end. I will definitely be getting some documentaries now to learn more. My brain is pretty full but very glad I got a good chunk of information to get me started on my German history lessons. After the museum, I grabbed a bite to eat and finally made it back to the hostel. My feet are killing me so I think I may just finally take it easy and watch a little online TV, only after I plan my day tomorrow. Tomorrow is a travel day and I still have yet to decide where I am going to go. So I will leave you hanging in suspense just like I am :)