Sunday, 4 October 2009

Two days in Berlin

On our first day in Berlin we visited Berlin zoo and zoological gardens. The gardens are lovely woodland, looking decidedly autumnal, and are very extensive. At the centre is a monument and we climbed the 271 steps to the top of the tower. There were amazing views of Berlin stretching to the horizon in all directions.
Yesterday we went on a walking tour of Berlin's historic sites. It was nineteen years ago to the day that Germany was reunited, which is the first political event that I remember. The tour was a very intensive history lesson and brought it home quite how recently wars were fought, and also what changes Europe has seen within my grandparents' lifetimes. The memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe was an interesting structure- 2711 concrete blocks at different heights, many taller than me. I still can't quite decide what to make of it and nobody's quite sure what the blocks represent. There are plans for a nearby equivalent for the homosexuals murdered by the nazis
Berlin was already cold- there's a lot more to come...

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