Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Debbie and Katy in Berlin

On Monday Katy and I flew to Berlin for the day for a doctor's appointment. While killing time before the appointment, we stumbled on a Dunkin' Donuts!
The ruin on the right is what remains of the Kaiser Wilhelm church after bombing in WWII. City planners chose to leave the building as it was and to build a new church next to it. The original church is disintegrating due to traffic and construction and the new church is often mocked for its appearance.
After the appointment, we had six hours to explore the city before our return flight. First stop, the Berlin Zoo. Katy is standing at the elephant entrance.
The most famous resident of the Berlin Zoo is Knut, the polar bear abandoned by its mother and raised by a human zoo keeper.
After hours of walking, dark clouds rolled in and the rain started. Katy and I found a dry bench under some trees on the edge of the Tiergarten park, across from the Brandenburg Gate.
The Berlin Wall is gone and Berlin's most iconic symbol, the Brandenburg Gate, has been fully restored.
Evidently all the construction across the city has depleted the country of building materials, hence the use of Legos on this wall!!

4 comments:

Grandma Ann said...

What a trip back into my memories of living in Berlin, Germany from the summer of 1960 to the summer of 1961. I remember the downtown area and the monument. I also took a trip back many years later and was in town when Katy was born and Tim was flying over Germany if I remember correctly.
I also seem to remember that Debbie was in Berlin the weekend that Checkpoint Charlie was torn down or destroyed.
I will have to find my old pictures of Berlin.

smile...

Grandma Ann said...

What a long way to go for a doctor's appointment. I hope that the need for the appointment was of a low priority.

Grandma Ann said...

Katy I like your new hair style!

Debbie...how about a picture of you and your new hair style?

Unknown said...

Grandpa Don was stationed in Berlin from Mar 1959 to August 1961 working at Berlin Command HQ. Part of my work was working on contingency plans. The US had plan for every possible contingency except a wall through the city. I rotated back to the States four days after the East Germans started building the wall.