River tour through the city. I originally scheduled to do a walking tour, but I decided this would be better for my legs.
Funny note about the first picture. That boat was docked on the side of the river, and my boat captain definitely side swiped it. That being said, he did back up and check out for damage. He didn’t leave a note or anything so hopefully it didn’t sink. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t drinking, but as you can see in the second picture I was! 😀
Some notable sites:
The Luther Bridge:
The audio told us to make sure to sit down because the bridge was very low. They weren’t joking, I barely had to reach up to touch the bottom.
House of the World’s Cultures:
This was a gift to Berlin from the United States in 1957. In 1980 the roof collapsed and had to be rebuilt in 1987. The locals like to call it Die schwangere Auster, "The pregnant Oyster".
Reichstag Building:
This is where the Bundestag (Parliament) meets and is one of the most visited sites in Berlin. Tickets to go up in the dome are often sold out weeks in advance. Probably should have looked into that…whoops! The crosses are a memorial to those who died attempting to escape after the border was established.
Tränenpalast
Located outside of the Friedrichstraße train station, which used to be a border crossing for the Wall, this building was used as a goodbye point for those who could not travel into West Germany. Thus how it became known as “the Palace of Tears”.
Museum Island
Houses five of Berlin’s museums all in one location, including the Bode Museum pictured here and the Berlin Cathedral which was considered to be the Protestant equivalent to St. Peter’s Basilica.
Berlin Television Tower
At 368 meters this is the tallest structure in Germany and the third tallest structure in Europe. It was originally constructed to be a symbol of Communist power in East Germany.