Day 4 - Berlin Sightseeing

 Just when we thought the game was won, Germany scored a late equaliser and then beat us on penalties!

2 dry riding days across Germany had lured us into that false sense of security, you only get before everything turns to poo! During the night, we had thunder and lighning and lots of rain. since then, it hasn't stopped raining, to varying degrees, effectively washing out our sightseeing day. I know we're in Germany but I didn't expect to get trench foot! My trainers are soaked. Wisely, we'd made the decision to put on our waterproof jackets, otherwise we'd not have made it to the corner of the road. So ist das leben!

The forecast didn't lie

Waterproofs on, we left the hotel around 9am, our first target being to buy our 24hr travel passes at the tram stop. Target missed, no ticket machine. The next stop didn't have one either but as it also had an underground station, we were able to buy them there. On the tram, what did they have? Yes, a bloody ticket machine!

We took the tram round to the Berlin Wall Memorial. We took a quick look outside but as the rain got harder, we dived into the visitor centre, where we could read all about the events of those dark days for the citizens trapped in East Germany. It's hard to read some of the stories, particularly those that ended in death but there was a heartwarming video of the day the gates were opened between East & West. Euphoric scenes.

Part of The Wall

Next stop, the Brandenberg Gate, via a tube ride. It was hammering down when we exited the station. We were quite sensibly dressed looking at some people, who had clearly not looked out of the window before leaving home. As we discovered very quickly, Berlin is hosting the World Games, so a large area around the monument was fenced off, which confused the issue when making for the next POI. 

The Brandenberg Gate

A short but increasingly wet walk away, sits the Holocaust Memorial, a memorial of different sized stone blocks, to the Jews murdered by the Nazis. The website says, "a place of contemplation, remembrance and warning". Sad to say, we couldn't get those vibes with the rain bouncing off the road. The weather really was dominating and ruining the day.

Holocaust Memorial

A couple of hundred metres down the road, is a car park. Not any old car park though. It sits on the site of Hitler's bunker, where on 30th April 1945, he and Eva, his wife, took their own lives. The Goebbels family also exited this world in the same fashion. There is really nothing to see here, except an information board. Still, somewhere that will always attract tourists.

By now we were soaked up to the ankles, so made our way to Postsdamer Platz and the mall there, where we saught out McDs for a refreshment. It seems the entire 2nd floor is a dedicated food hall and there certainly was no shortage of options available. Having rested our soaking feet, we decided to head to the last POI via the underground. Only problem being, there was some issue on the line, so plan B was invoked and we walked out into the rain again, heading for Checkpoint Charlie. On the way we passed a memorial to those murdered when the Nazis came to power, a building that was the headquarters for the flamboyant fat man, Herrman Goring and TRABI World, where it appears you can hire one, for a tour of the city. We weren't inclined to stop I'm afraid, the rain having brought our mood right down. A day earlier and we'd have been more receptive. Shame.

There was no let up in the weather by the time we arrived at Checkpoint Charlie. If anything it was getting harder. The plus side, yes, believe it or not, there was one, was that people weren't inclined to stand in front of the checkpoint to have their photos taken, with water streaming down their faces! Good for those of us not wanting a picture encumbered with bodies!

Checkpoint Charlie

We also managed to squeeze in a picture of me with our Dudley.

Woody, Dudley and Charlie

I wonder, is it by chance there is a McDs right by the US Army Checkpoint?

Photos done we made our way to the underground station and home, cutting short a largely miserable day.

After a couple of hours trying to dry out, we went to our usual place for dinner. 😉 I didn't feel I could do a schnitzel two nights running,  in the same place, so opted for pizza instead, washed down, as usual, by some amber liquid. 

Tomorrow we head for our 5th country, Poland, hoping the weather will perk up again, and picking up our WW2 theme once more.

Till tomorrow.