scubacruiserx2

With the long day in Germany we went to bed early after reviewing the Celebrity Today for our last port , Copenhagen .

I was awoken from a sound sleep at 2 am by a shaking of the ship and roaring wind which made me think that we were in a hurricane . Then out on the deck there arouse such a clatter that I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter !(Sorry night before Christmas )

The landing lights were on , but nobody was there . I had missed a medivac while looking for clothes and a camera in the dark !

But as I looked out of the window I could see the Great Belt Bridge .

Suddenly , the whirring suddenly increased and another helicopter was back . And this time I did capture a clip of the litter hoist :

The ship didn't slow , and the helicopter lifted off just as we neared the bridge ( on the other side of the ship ) . I was able to capture a grainy video , ( with music to mask the wind in the mic ) of the huge bridge :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPx1oqBdbU4

I'm back from my Olympics induced coma of the past several weeks :eek: and have now managed to catch up with you in Germany.

 

Like Pat, I was a swimmer and somewhat of a gymnast. I love almost all of the summer Olympic sports, so every 4 years when they are on I become a major couch potato for the duration. Hopefully the water in our pool will cool off some from it's present 97° temperature while I am still feeling motivated by the Olympics to get some lap swimming done.

 

I think this is the first review I've read where the reviewer toured Berlin. I am, of course, familiar with the history of the city, but seeing it through your eyes and photos gave me a totally different view than I have ever seen before.

Welcome back ! I too enjoyed the Olympics . :) 97 degrees F ? :eek: That sounds like a hot tub ! We have trees and a screened porch , so the max is usually 85 .

I have been on one of those 'dinner cruise' boats, perhaps not that one though. When we were in Warnemunde, we did a tour where be caught all sorts of transport. A bus to just outside Rostock, then a Private tram tour of the city and surrounds, a walking tour in the centre of the city where we had lunch. They have a church there with a great Astrological clock, very detailed. They had bricked it in during the war so it wouldn't get bomb damage, truly amazing the amount of details on this huge clock face. Then out to the river for the cruise on one of those boats back up to the port. They served snacks (cheese and worst) and beer on the cruise, very nice indeed. We then had time to have a quick walk around the shops and such at Warnemunde. A great day.:D

That does sound like a great day , and you have an extra 6 hours saved in transit on the Autobahn ! :) :D

On top of the Eclipse we could see a funny looking ship

It's the Esvagt Froude , used to maintain off shore wind farms

On the other side of the Eclipse was a familiar looking shape

It was the Magellan , formerly the Carnival Holiday . This ship was sent to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina for temporary shelter .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Magellan

A dinner cruise

Exiting the port

Here's several video clips :

Push back and the setting sun :

Air horn duet between the ship and shore :

Party boat and exiting the port :

The trip is 3 hours on the bus to go to , 1 hour to drive around and 3 more hours , to return from Berlin . That only leaves about 5 hours there . On our return , we stopped at this roundabout for several stoplights .

It's a Victory Column

And we did see a number of what appeared to be crop circles on the return trip .

Back on the ship too late for the MDR , we grabbed a quick bite at the buffet where several barrel organs were playing .

You can see and hear a short video clip here :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RFuAZXNekI

Or watch Tyler's unique way of putting mayonnaise on his hamburger :

Don't try that at home kids ! :) :D

It is fascinating, Berlin has so much to see. I am not sure I like the commercialism of the wall but I suppose it makes for showing how it was. I will get there one day as well and can make up my mind if it is tacky or not. I suspect I wold prefer the staged scenes for the photo shot.

I imagine that you could get some good photos with the guards at the gate . But I only had about 10 minutes at CC before returning to meet the group near the museum , so it was just a quick look and impression before returning to the bus .

Along the way it was plain to see that there was a love affair with the East German produced Trabant , many with tacky paint jobs !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant

The 1975 version was rated one of the 50 worst cars of all time by Time Magazine .

1975 Trabant

This is the car that gave Communism a bad name. Powered by a two-stroke pollution generator that maxed out at an ear-splitting 18 hp, the Trabant was a hollow lie of a car constructed of recycled worthlessness (actually, the body was made of a fiberglass-like Duroplast, reinforced with recycled fibers like cotton and wood). A virtual antique when it was designed in the 1950s, the Trabant was East Germany's answer to the VW Beetle — a "people's car," as if the people didn't have enough to worry about. Trabants smoked like an Iraqi oil fire, when they ran at all, and often lacked even the most basic of amenities, like brake lights or turn signals. But history has been kind to the Trabi. Thousands of East Germans drove their Trabants over the border when the Wall fell, which made it a kind of automotive liberator. Once across the border, the none-too-sentimental Ostdeutschlanders immediately abandoned their cars. Ich bin Junk!

This photo kinda looks like an balloon escape attempt from a fancy prison

A wall in modern Berlin .

I don't know but I think that would bother me.....much like when we went to Tulum in Mexico the first time and it had not been commercialized yet and it was just fascinating and then we returned with Brother about 10 years later and it had been changed so much it looked like a Disney attraction.....I like the real thing.....but then that's just me....

While the wall was not a death camp , or a cemetery , 138 people died while while trying to escape , mostly from being shot . The current atmosphere just seemed a bit flippant to me .

We only had 30 minutes at the Wall site and while Pat and Ty went in to the ToT Museum , which was constructed on the SS and Gestapo site , I walked quickly toward the Checkpoint Charlie display .

We did visit the CC Museum the last time that we were there , but the modern version of CC reminds me of a carnival with actors , rides , fast food and souvenirs both real and faux . The soldiers are actors including the " Russian soldier's " photo , who is really a Dutch model in a fake uniform .

Mc Charlies

See the brown Visa sign between the people ? Rick Steves warns in his book that they will stamp your passport ( for a price ) with a fake stamp which will invalidate your passport !

And , Why the Berlin Wall is still a big business , article and photo from DW .

http://www.dw.com/en/why-the-berlin-wall-is-still-a-big-business/a-19461377

They built a wall at the border

Not to keep us out

But to leave no doubt

They're out of order, hey

 

Little River Band - Down On The Border

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+border-+LRB+lyrics+song&view=detail&mid=8E9D5C93DE294457B1098E9D5C93DE294457B109&FORM=VIRE

Thanks Mic , I haven't heard that one before . When most people hear LRB , they think of Lonesome Loser . :) :D

Our last stop was at one of the last remaining sections of the Berlin wall .

It is near the Topographie Des Terrors Museum

The other side of the wall

I can still remember 55 years ago as a 10 year old , watching as the wall was being built .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall

And I would like to give a Gold Medal to Conrad Schumann , a 19 year old guard .

For a leap I'll never forget , on August 15 , 1961 , defecting over the barb wire , and leaving his gun and his old life behind .

Because of escapes like this , East Germany and the Soviet Union developed a dual wall , with a "death strip" between the walls , thus giving the guards in towers a clean shot at any escapees .

Illustration by Ericmetro from Wikipedia

Sculpture being my favorite form of art....this is just beautiful.....thanks for sharing it....you should go to Rome someday and see the amazing works by Bernini, Rafael, Michaelangelo and more.....truly amazing and humbling...

I would love to , hopefully one day soon ! :) :D

Although we have been to Germany a number of times ( DH's choir exchange visits) we have never been to Berlin, so interesting reading!

It's a long day , but we felt that it would be good for Tyler's education . He knew Hitler and Stalin ( but not Churchill or FDR ) and we thought that it would be good for him to see some of those sites where their actions took place . I'm surprised that Cruise Critic would allow the name of Hitler , but filter out the name of his political party ! If the Germans are willing to call evil by it's proper name - so should we !

We also have seen another side of Germany . Pat's parents ( both American ) met in post war Germany . And we did have a nice 10 day stay in Munich with day trips to Saltzburg .

and Neuschwanstein .

Beautiful countryside in Bavaria !

On the same trip ( no cruise ) we visited Ireland , where Pat's ancestor's first immigrated to the US ( thru Cork ) .

If Tyler wasn't with us , we considered driving from Rostock to Poznan , Poland , where my ancestor's immigrated from . It's about a 4 hour drive each way .

Certainly a good chance to get there (the Aussies that is), they pushed them hard in the first round game before being done in the last couple of minutes.:D

I'd love to see a rematch in the Gold Medal game . We'll find out today . :) :D

Following Heather we had a short walk toward a double dome area

The first dome was the French Church built by the Huguenot community between 1701 and 1705 .

The second dome is the German Church built in 1708 by the Lutheran community .

Between them is a third building , the Konzerthaus Berlin , built in 1820 .

The Gendarmenmarkt is arguably Berlin's most magnificent square. It is best known for the architectural trio composed of the German and French cathedrals (Deutscher und Französischer Dom) and Schinkel's Konzerthaus (concert hall) which together form one of the most stunning ensembles in Berlin. The "domes" refer to the domed tower structures erected in 1785 by architect Carl von Gontard. They were mainly intended to add stature and grandeur to the two buildings.

From Berlin.de

It's a great spot for wide angle photos .

Thanks, I think that lifts Australia into the top 10 on the Olympics medal tally.:D

# 8 in terms of total medals , I think ! Australia & the US in the gold medal basket game ? :) :D

Humboldt University is an amazing school which is home to 29 Nobel Prize winners . A couple of the famous alumni and professors include Albert Einstein and Marx and Engels .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_University_of_Berlin

However , Heather was more concerned with Bebelplatz , where we now stood .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebelplatz

The Bebelplatz is known as the site of one of the infamous **** book burning ceremonies held in the evening of 10 May 1933 in many German university cities. The book burnings were initiated and hosted by the nationalist German Student Association, thus stealing a march on the National Socialist German Students' League. The assembly of the books had started on the sixth, when students dragged the contents library of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft into the square. At the Student Association's invitation Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels held an inflammatory speech prior to the burning. Besides other spectators, it was attended by members of the **** Students' League, the SA ("brownshirts"), SS and Hitler Youth groups. They burned around 20,000 books, including works by Heinrich Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein and many other authors.

Quote from the Wikipedia article

Set in the ground is a glass window which allows you to see number of empty bookshelves large enough to hold the 20,000 burnt books .

There is also a plate with a quote from one of the burnt books , Almansor 1820 , by Heinrich Heine .

English translation : "That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people".

Continuing along the street , we paused in front of Humboldt University before crossing the street

Across the street was this striking photo ad

I find foreign advertising and graffiti interesting

Play ad : "It's me NOT, ADOLF HITLER IS BEEN"

Graffiti on a door

Phamer55[/i];50796545]Found this wonderful ongoing review a week ago, finally caught up!

And thank you Phamer55 , a gold medal for marathon reading !

Some great pictures and fascinating histories along with them. The pumping of the water is very interesting, I was wondering if it was a flood mitigation process at first.:D

Thanks Mic , and a gold medal for your always keen insight and powers of observation ! :) :D

Unfortunately similar genocidal events are being repeated today in some parts of the world, just at a much smaller scale. :(

Anyway, sorry to drag down the tone of the review.:o

No worries , it was a very sobering and somber day , and the cool gray day seemed to be reflective of the subject matter . :(

Continuing walking down the river we came to a beautiful bridge with statues and some blue water pipes .

This is the Castle Bridge

The castle bridge over the western branch of the Spree and was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. But before the architect was commissioned to the stone bridge, was at the same place a wooden bridge. They served mainly the material transport in the construction of the City Palace. Until the king in 1821 found that the wooden bridge with the surrounding magnificent buildings such as the City Palace is too profane.

Figures on the Castle Bridge

The contract for the construction of a new stone bridge was the then secret Oberbaurat Karl Friedrich Schinkel. To ornament of architect planned eight groups of figures of marble, but this could be realized only after his death. They show the life of a hero from youth to death. After completion of the bridge work, the Castle Bridge was the largest bridge in Berlin.

The Castle Bridge after the Second World War

During the Second World War, the marble statues were removed for safekeeping. The bridge itself was barely damaged. After the end of World War II, the building was on eastern territory, the statues in western occupation zone. After the demolition of the City Palace and the renovation of the square in Marx-Engels-Platz, the bridge was renamed Marx-Engels Bridge. It was named Schloßbrücke back on October 3, 1991, the first anniversary of reunification. By the mid-80s, the marble statues were brought to their ancestral places again.

From Berlin.de

As for the water pipes , we saw them all around the city and I don't remember Heather's exact explanation , but it went something like this article :

In short: Berlin is built on sand and the groundwater level is close to the surface. If building sites would just pump water out, the sinking ground water level in the area would damage other buildings and the trees. Thus therefor they use things like "Negativbrunnen" (reverse springs - i.e. water is pumped into the underground).

After crossing the bridge , we walked along the busy street Unter den Linden to our next stop , Neue Wache . It has a very interesting and storied history : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neue_Wache

This photo from Wikipedia and Beek 100

After German reunification, the Neue Wache was again rededicated in 1993, as the "Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship." At the personal suggestion of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the GDR memorial piece was removed and replaced by an enlarged version of Käthe Kollwitz's sculpture Mother with her Dead Son. The pietà-style sculpture is directly placed under the oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold of the Berlin climate, symbolizing the suffering of civilians during World War II. Quote from the Wikipedia article

This isn't a black and white photo

And if you look carefully , you can see what is tear-like riverlet of water flowing from the mother's eyes across her son's face and dripping down his chin .

After we crossed the river Spree

We saw a small model of a couple of giant buildings which we were about to see

The Altes (Old) History Museum

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altes_Museum

and the Berliner Dom ( Berlin Cathedral ) .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Cathedral

We were all ready for a change and we got it when we stopped for lunch at Deponie ( Landfill ) .

I had : #431 Grilled Sausage „Berlin Style“ 9,50 €

with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes

Pat had : #434 „Schweineschnitzel“ 12,50 €

fried meat of pork coated in breadcrumbs with

mixed vegetables and boiled potatoes

And Ty had : #440 Fried Sausage „Berlin Style“ CURRYWURST 8,50 €

with pommes frites and homemeade currydip

And for desert , we all had #481 Applestrudel 4,10 €

fresh from the oven with vanilla sauce .

Wunderbar !

And after lunch we had a chance to walk it off . No tram needed !

Museum Island and the river Spree , under construction .

Such a poignant reminder of a horrific episode in history and such waste.:(

It truly was , and we hope and pray that something like this never happens again !