Travel: Berlin, Germany- Cecilia's Update #1

Check Point Charlie

I'm in Berlin, Germany, dear Readers having arrived from Paris yesterday.

The place is full of history, and I have lots of pictures so I'm going do several entries about this city. Today was a nice day in Berlin -- no rain, clear sky, but the city has a certain "gray" quality. The Philippine Embassy Attache, Ms. Nelma Jose-Casas, talked of how some personnel at the Philippine Embassy get depressed in Berlin.  I thought that was interesting.



I did discern the depressing quality of the place from get-go. I kept saying Paris, where we had been, had a different ambiance, that Paris is more joyful, colorful, lively.  Here in Berlin there are buildings like the Finance building that is all stone and gray, without a single living plant in its grounds.

Berlin, the capital of Germany, has a long history, starting in the 12th century when it was the capital of the Prussian Kingdom, which in turn became the basis for the German Empire

 in 1871, the Weimar Republic in 1991, and Nazi Germany in 1933.

Brandenburg Gate

Today we saw: The Brandenburg Gate, the no-man's land between East and West Germany during the Cold War; Parliament; Reich-stag Building; Pergamon Museum where Nefertiti is currently displayed; Memorial Wall, Topography of Terror, site of Hitler's bunker, a building where Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal had lived and where there is a plaque -- and many more.

Parliament

In this  blog entry, I'm sharing a picture taken at Checkpoint Charlie, the section during the Cold War that the Americans managed. There's a picture in front of Brandenburg Gate, and a picture in front of the Jose Rizal marker.

Nelma Jose-Casas, Medy Cruz, Marily Orosa, Cecilia Brainard in front of Jose Rizal Plaque on house he had lived in

Berlin Wall

I'll close this blog entry for now, dear Readers. Internet is a bit slow and I'll share the other pictures another day. 

Read also my Paris postings - scroll down, or check on the leftside of this blog:
In Berlin, Germany - Counting Time by the Minutes

Eiffel Tower Madness

Paris Flea Market
October Saturday in Paris

Thanks for visiting my site,

Cecilia