Berlin Day 4: Sightseeing

7th October 2009

I know I haven't shown any of the sightseeing I've done in Berlin in my previous entries. That is because I really didn't have much time to spare previously. Now with the competition over and no other responsibilities, I was determined to see all the must-see landmarks before I leave this beautiful city.

Important places to go.

On our official full last day here, we walked SO MUCH. Basically, we took the train to a stop and then just walked and walked. I was playing 'follow-the-leader' with Zul and Francoise, but without knowing it, we arrived in Bebelplatz, a public square south of Unter den Linden.

The Bebelplatz is best known as the site of the book burning ceremony held on May 10, 1933 by members of the S.A. and Nazi youth groups. The Nazis burned around 20,000 books, including works by Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx and many other authors.

I always find book-burning as one of the many sorry acts instigated during the communist rule. They have a monument there called The Night of Shame: empty bookshelves, enough to hold all 20,000 burned books, visible below the pavement.

Surrounding Bebelplatz are the Old Library, the Royal Opera House, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, and across the road, Humboldt University.

From there, we walked down Unter den Linden and came into face with a statue of Frederick II of Prussia.

Behind Frederick II is a tree-lined avenue with benches on the sides that is so typical in pictures of temperate countries.

Next stop, Pariser Platz: a square in the center of Berlin, situated by the Brandenburg Gate at the end of the Unter den Linden, named after the French capital Paris in honour of the Allied occupation of Paris in 1814.

During the last years of World War II, all of the buildings around the square were turned to rubble by air raids and heavy artillery bombardment. The only structure left standing in the ruins of Pariser Platz was the Brandenburg Gate, which was restored by the East Berlin and West Berlin governments. After the war and especially with the construction of the Berlin Wall, the square was laid waste and became part of the death zone dividing the city.

It is amazing that all these actually happened, and it was actually a 'death zone'. because setting foot on Pariser Platz, it doesn't even look like it at all. The area has been completely restored to its former glory, flanked by the American and French embassies, the Adlon Hotel, the Academy of the Arts, and several blocks of apartments and offices.

And finally, Brandenburg Gate! The symbol of Berlin and Germany! Built as a sign of peace in 1791, it is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin.

Brandenburger Tor is a site of many historical events. If you wikipedia it, you can see a series of photos, from a painting of Napoleon's entrance to Berlin, to before, during, and after the infamous Berlin Wall. This was where people gathered in 1989 when the Cold War ended and the Wall came down to reunite East and West Berlin.

I saw part of what's left of the Berlin Wall on the East side the day we were heading to Estrel.

A block from Brandenburg Gate is the Reichstag, where the country's parliament is situated. And across the road, Tiergarten, is a large park in the centre of the city. And here I got a very very rare shot :)

Berlin is a very beautiful city, rich with history and monuments. It would have been great if I had more time there because there is SO MUCH to see! What I saw was just the tip of the iceberg of sights in the city.

I actually do miss that place, and everything else I didn't get to see. Next time ;) And I would really love to go with my parents. I bet Dad is a built-in guide on all things WWII.



Auf Wiedersehen Berlin,

Berlin Day 3: Museum für Naturkunde

4th October 2009

Me being a self-professed geek absolutely ♥ museums. And this is one of them that really got me oh-so-excited. It being next to the hotel I'm staying in was even more of a bonus. I walk by it everyday and went inside at least three times.

The Museum of Natural History belongs to Humboldt University and as a matter of fact, their Biology Institute is just in the block behind the museum. I would love to switch my field of study to naturalist and apply there :)

When we were there, the museum was having a special exhibition to commemorate Darwin Year 2009. They had sections on the evolution of species and also a whole room to honour Charles Darwin's findings. Carl Linnaeus was also in there for his contribution to taxonomy.

I love museums like these: old beautiful buildings but with nice interiors and doesn't give off the vibes of dusty haunted rooms. Prehistoric fossils were displayed, stuffed animals (haha you know what I mean), skulls showing the evolution of homo sapiens, space rocks, the solar system...


And then they had another special exhibition on deep sea creatures. I so so so ♥ this place! A diorama of the deep sea vents, preserved samples of the monsters of the deep, including a pin-up alien-creature-thingie (the descriptions were all in German, so I had a bit of a problem there). They even have a (replica?) of the Nat Geo bathysphere!

Freaky-deaky...

There was a room showcasing how all the stuffed animals are made which is rather grostesque but interesting at the same time. But my best shot in here was of this giant spider, and so happen, the amazed kids on the other side.


I know there are people out there who disses the theory of evolution, but honestly, seeing all these, how can one not believe it? But then again, I was never a skeptic of Darwin's theory, and seeing this book in the glass case was like seeing a piece of history. Although I bet it's just one of the many copies you can find in libraries :)

Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species

And last but not least, in the grand hall itself, dinosaur skeletons!!! Maybe I've seen it before a long time ago, but this particular display gave me the complete feel of it. You know, huge hall with tall ceilings, in a classic structure. It's just like how it is in movies and documentaries.

Stegosaurus and the butt of a brontosaurus

Since I ♥ this place so much, I just had to get a souvenir from the Museum Shop..so I did! A dinosaurs in Berlin shirt! How cute is that? Silhouttes of Berlin's symbolic structures: the Brandenburg Gate, TV Tower and the Reichstag.

In actual fact I spent, like, an hour and a half in this place which is a really sad thing for me as there were a lot more to see. However, on this day, we were to move over to Estrel for the first day of SIFE World Cup. Goes to show how much I love this place that I dedicated a whole entry to it: Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.



Wissenschaft rocks!

Berlin Day 2: Walkabout

3rd October 2009

Second day in Berlin kicked off with a very good breakfast in the hotel. Just to list off the top of my head:
- bacon, sausages, meatballs, eggs
- breads, rolls, pastries
- fruits, yogurt, cereal
- salad, cheese, cold cuts
- several types of coffee and tea
- jams, preserves, spreads

Definitely a breakfast worth waking up for. Oh yea.

Today is the 3rd of October, The Day of German Unity. It commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990 and is a public holiday! People were out and about, families with their kids and pets. Shops are closed, museums are opened, the streets are filled with people. This year, the Giants came and we saw the Little Giantess in Alexanderplatz on her way to meet Big Giant at Bradenburg Gate.
Apart from walking, we took the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn a lot. Day-passes are great, they get you on not only trains, but buses and trams too. Zoologischer Garden is one of my favourite stops as they have this really nice motives of animals on the tiled walls.

Somehow or other, while Zul Saadon Mr Country Director was looking for open shopping outlets, we ended up in Kurfürstendamm where the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is located.

As I've said it before, all shops were closed for the public holiday so in the end Mr Country Director had to shop in the Hauptbahnhof while Lawson and I ended up food hunting around that place. There's a massive mechanical rocking-rolling horse outside of the station though.

It's been a long time since I last had Hot Chili Chocolate, and in all honesty, it's one of the best beverages to have in a place with weather like this. I know it sounds gross, but really, it's far from that. And it's not such an odd thing to begin with. The one in Balzac Coffee in Invalidenstraße, just a very short walk from the hotel, is delish!

Owh, and that night I had a McBabi in McKers!!! Oh pork in a burger, you have made my life complete! ♥


Ich liebe Berlin,

Berlin Day 1: Willkommen in Berlin!

2nd October 2009

Hello Germany, my first ever experience of an European country. Was I impressed? Oh gosh, yes! Was I excited? Definitely! Albeit I may have mentioned it to some of you closest ones that Berlin was more like work, and the destination after that was truly vacation, now that I'm back and missing it, it was definitely still a memorable experience.

Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The largest city in the country, Berlin has a population of 3.4 million within its city limits. About one third of Berlin is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.

Facts aside, I would say that it is a beautiful city and it is so easy to get about.

We stayed in Mercure an der Charite in Invalidenstraße and I liked the fact that right next door to it is the Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty of Humboldt University. And just after that, the Museum of Natural History!


I also love it that there are a lot of old buildings around, hence beautiful architecture.

On our first night here, we went out and ended up in Galeries Lafayette for dinner. It's a shopping mall, and it has one of the most gorgeous food courts I've ever seen.


Walking around that night, I came across this monument on Friedrichstraße, outside the U-Bahn station.

"Trains to Life - Trains to death: 1938-1939" commemorates the Jewish children who were able to leave Berlin for England before the start of WWII and also the many other Jewish children who were later deported to the extermination camps.

Although we were warned to be aware of our safety due to the apparent Neo-Nazis around, it is quite hard to imagine how this country was once so well-known for all things war-related. But it is good that there are still monuments around to remind us all of the sorrow caused by war.

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof is the largest and most modern crossing station in Europe. And as we would find out the next day, the only place where shops are opened for shopping during a public holiday :)

To end the day, we stopped by at Maximilian's to have some nightcap.

Authentic (I hope) apple strudel and oktoberfest beer!


Gute nacht,