Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte, Oper

 Another perfectly sunny, slightly cool Berlin day. We first headed to Prenzlauer Berg, walked along Kastanienallee, stopped at the Prater Biergarten, the oldest Biergarten in Berlin, and got a sausage. Michael got a Schwarzbier as well, a "black beer". Then we stopped at the Bernauer Str. Berlin Wall memorial, walked around the park there a bit. It's turned into a really great site - definitely worth visiting. Then Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag, the Holocaust memorial. Home to put our feet up for 45 mins and change, and then back into town for the opera. Sandra suggested we get tickets to "Die Liebe zu drei Orangen," a satirical comic opera by Sergei Prokofiev, influenced by surrealism (1921). It was so much fun. This particular staging was so fun and whimsical. They had huge props that made the actors look little (including a giant rolling pin that rolled across the stage), and bright colored costumes. A great experience.

source

 

yet another successful day in Berlin

Originally we wanted to go to the top of the Reichstag building today...but I didn't know that you now need a reservation 2-3 days in advance. Extra security measures. You used to be able to line up outside when you wanted to go...and because it's one of the best free things to do in Berlin, there was always a long line. So, we just walked around the government district from the outside. 

Nearby the Reichstag: the Holocaust Memorial, officially called the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe"

Trabi: East German car

Hotel Adlon

inside Hotel Adlon: giant Gingerbread Hotel Adlon

 

For dinner we ate at "G wie Gulasch" on Chamissoplatz. I love this place for its tiny coziness. It seats max about 20 people, and one guy does all the serving/food prep. Every day they have about 4 menu options on a blackboard. Different kinds of Gulasch .

Something there is that doesn't love a wall...

 K: "Elisabeth, you narrate what we did today for the blog."
E: "First, Kathryn took me to a bridge."
K: "Oberbaumbrücke! What do you remember about it?"
E: "It's the bridge that was between East and West Berlin and they used to send spies across it."

 K: "Ok, now what's this?"
E: "That's the 'U' on top of it." (pronounced "ooo")
[Elisabeth calls the "U-Bahn" the "ooo"]

Then we went to the East Side Gallery, which is the longest standing piece of the Berlin Wall.

The Gallery is blocks of paintings by different artists from all over the world.

 Then we took the train to the Hackescher Markt to see the Hackesche Höfe, a beautiful early 20th-century courtyard.
E: "They were cool. Cool tiles."

 

From there we walked back along the Spree, past the Berliner Dom (below), back through the buildings of the Humboldt Universität, to Gendarmenmarkt. 

E: "It's cool. It's the university where Einstein and the Grimm brothers taught, and when we walked by we saw people studying and having classes there."

E: "Then you should tell them about the bullet holes, too."

bullet holes below (aka war damage)