Day Two in Berlin

 

Französischer Dom in the Gendarmenmarkt

Day two was my first real day in Berlin, where I actually went out into the city and saw many of the famous places.  Like everyone, I began at Französische Straße, and immediately I was blown away by the beauty of the architecture.  In fact, I went a little crazy taking pictures - I wound up with nearly 200 by the end of the day.  I saw so much of the city, both with the whole group and with only Josh, Sam, and I.  We went to the Gendarmenmarkt, where we saw the Französischer Dom, the Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Neue Kirche.  Then we saw the famous Fassbender & Rausch chocolate shop, which was possibly the best smelling place I'd ever been, and where I bought some expensive chocolates to bring home to my family.  Next it was on to Checkpoint Charlie, portions of the Berlin Wall, and the Story of Berlin, which was of particular interest to me because of how much I love history.  But of everything that happened on the first real day, what was the most exciting to me was the fact that Josh, Sam, and I walked across the city aimlessly for a while and by chance stumbled upon the Siegessäule, which then led us to the Brandenburger Tor, the Berliner Dom, and several other famous monuments.  We also happened to pass by the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, which was surrounded by a huge crowd.  Someone in the crowd told us that it was hosting an important foreign dignitary - supposedly the Prince of Malta or something to that effect.  To summarize, it was an incredible first day.  Here are some of the pictures I took:

Chocolate Reichstag in Fassbender & Rausch

Checkpoint Charlie

Part of the Berlin Wall and the former headquarters of the SS

Siegessäule at Twilight

Me in front of the Brandenburger Tor

The Berliner Dom