Berlin

One-Sentence Summary: During my 48-hour trip to Berlin, my favorite sights were the Reichstag and Schloss Charlottenburg.

Last weekend, I visited Berlin, the capital and most populous city of Germany. My friend Marie was an amazing tour guide and host for me. I saw so much in the short time I was there. I didn’t realize the city was so big. The Hamburg public transportation system seems small compared to Berlin. The map was a little confusing since I wasn’t familiar with it, but Marie helped me learn the way by Sunday, especially since we used the U- and S-bahn for everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything…

I arrived on Friday evening after a 4-hour bus ride. The double-decker bus took an hour longer than expected due to the rain. I heard it rained in Hamburg over the weekend, but once I arrived in Berlin, the rain pretty much stopped. I was pretty glad about that. On Friday evening, Marie and I went to the Berlin Rathaus, Potsdamer Platz, and Alexander Platz. At Potsdamer Platz, I even got to see part of the Berlin Wall!

At Alexander Platz, there seemed to be some sort of international fair going on. There were different booths set up and it was very fun to view some of the different handiworks that were being sold. This clock in Alexander Platz tells the current hour in different places around the world. Every hour the clock rotates to be updated to the current hour in major cities in that time zone. Calculating from the LA time, you can tell what time we stopped by Alexander Platz.


We started out early for the Reichstag on Saturday morning, trying to beat the crowd that gathers for the free tour of the German parliament building. The building opens at 8 AM; we arrived around 8:45 and still had to wait in line for 40 minutes. However, I think it was definitely worth it. The new dome is the only part that is open for viewing, but the Reichstag experience is so much more than just a building. The dome is made out of glass and you can walk the spiral up to the top of the dome. There is a free audio tour in various languages that you can pick up at the base of the dome. I believe the individual audio speaker is magnetically (?) triggered to start speaking at certain points along the spiral ascent. In addition to learning about the history of the building and dome, I also saw the important landmarks around Berlin that were highlighted by the audio tour. It was a great beginning to my time in Berlin because it was like I was seeing a panoramic view of the city and I was able to see what sites I wanted to see later that day.

Other famous sites I saw were Brandenburger Tor, Berliner Dom, and Gendarmenmarkt. Brandenburger Tor is an old city gate that is an icon for Berlin.




Berliner Dom is officially known as “Oberpfarr und Domkirche” which translates to “Supreme Parish and Cathedral Church.” I can definitely see why people would want to call it “supreme.” It is beautiful church. Since I had so much fun climbing “die kuppel,” or “the dome,” of the Reichstag, I decided to also climb to the dome of the Berliner Dom as well. I wasn’t able to go to the very top, but I went as far as was allowed and it was another great view of the city. However, the climb was not as much fun since it was all stairs and not a smooth incline like at the Reichstag. My quads definitely got a work out that afternoon. Gendarmenmarkt is a Berlin square that faces the Konzerthaus. To the left and right are the Deutsche Dom and Franzosische Dom. The French cathedral was built first, but both were destroyed in World War II. The cathedrals were rebuilt and look very similar to each other today. Of course, I climbed as high as I could in the Deutsche Dom, and was able to look across the Gendarmenmarkt to the Franzosische Dom.

On Sunday, the weather was beautiful. Although Marie and I considered going to the famous Pergamon Museum, we thought it would be a waste to spend the day inside. Instead, we visited Schloss Charlottenburg. This was a really good decision since the schloss was one of my favorite sites all weekend. Now that I’ve seen Schloss Charlottenburg, I have decided that I want to live in a schloss when I grow up. What is a schloss? A palace, of course! Look how beautiful it is! I also want my schloss to have gardens and a fountain in the backyard like at Charlottenburg. If anyone knows where I can find a place like this, please let me know! I’ll be sure to invite you to my house-warming party. =D













There were many other sites that we saw, such as two different Saint Nikolai kirches, Spandau Citadel, Olympiastadion, St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, and Bebelplatz. It was a full weekend. I especially enjoyed catching up with Marie. Before I knew it though, I was back on the bus for Hamburg. Fortunately, I missed all the rainy Hamburg weather during the weekend and made it back in time for wonderful sunny days this past week. That’s part of the reason that this post is being made a week late. I hope I don’t make it a habit to post so late.

Everything continues to be well in Hamburg. Research in the lab is getting a little busier. Please pray that I would be very productive and use my time well. Also, one of the lab members is not feeling well, so I would really appreciate prayer for her. She was not able to come into work all week, so I hope she feels better over the weekend. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33