DAY 61
Thursday June 30 2005
Berlin.
I woke up with the feeling of bed bugs. I think the hotel back in Budapest had them or else I am very sensitive to the new shower gel I am using, either that or the sunburn I have on my scalp. All that time in the water at Lake Bled, you know. Time will tell. I hope it's not some type of bed bug.
At any rate, I woke up this morning and hit the ground running. I saw all the best sites of Berlin in one big, bang, type of day.
I find that these last few days, this last week really, that I have been on the go, go, go. Today is no different. As a matter of fact, I didn't even have time for breakfast until three o'clock in the afternoon.
Yes, I was so busy all day that I forgot to eat. Ironic considering my size, don't you think? I don't even have cycling as an excuse this time.
Don't worry I won't subject you to a hyperglycemic rant, as I did finally eat a ham and cheese sandwich, which oddly enough, carried me through the rest of the day and night.
I left my hotel room at 9:30 am and got back at 11:30 pm. Long day. I won't even try to recreate this day in my journal. Just know that I did everything, I even went to the movies, and when I hit the bed that night at 11:30 I didn't even have a last thought. I was just out like a light.
In the absence of a journal description I give you pictures. After all a picture is worth a thousand words. :-)
The memorial to a mother who lost both her son and grandson in the world wars.
Believe it or not but Berlin is a city for lovers. Two lovers were laying in the grass together enjoying each other, the sunny day, and the views. Well, maybe, they were a little to busy to enjoy the views. :-) No, you don't get a picture of that!
Graffiti, if done right can be beautiful.
This is a series of blocks that symbolize all the dead in the world wars. You have to see it in person, I think. For me it was a very evocative memorial. A few streets away there is a memorial for all the books that were burned by the Nazis and a quote was made:
"The day you starting burning books, it is just a prolog for what is to come, next you will be burning people."
I don't know if I got it quite right. Nevertheless, it is very prophetic as the Nazi did burn Jews in the concentration camps.
If you notice the person in the back ground that will give you an understanding of the size of the memorial.
Berlin.
Do you remember this building? Michael Jackson hung is baby out the window, here.
The reason this picture is here is for me. When Hitler was reining he took out all the Linden trees on this boulevard, they were over 250 years old, and he had installed flag poles to carry the Nazi flag. They replanted the trees 50 years ago. If they are this big now just think about how they would have looked three times that size! Hitler was a destroyer of people, culture, and beauty. How sad.
A memory to the protest that happened in the 1950's. The Nazi's shot into the crowd to disperse them. Over 150 people were dead or injured that day, in this very spot.
Can you imagine that fateful day in 1989? I was just graduating from high school and my only thought was about the bad perm I had.
If I went back in time I would come here! Can you imagine the three day party celebrating what took place here? Can you imagine the celebration of freedom and joy of the fall of the Berlin wall? My God!