Auf Wiedersehen Berlin

Today was my last day... and there was only a couple of things I really wanted to see today.

We headed to the first touristy destination, the Reichstag Building. This is the the main government building of Germany. It has a really cool design with the glass dome on top. The architect designed it as such so that anytime the people of government need reminding who's running the (democratic) country, all they need do is look up and see all the people above them. It's free to go up and have a look... it also offers a premium panorama of Berlin. Unfortunately... everyone wants to see it so it took an hour and a half queueing to get in! The time flew by though, because Ruth and I started chatting to a couple of Americans, father and daughter; Bob and Claire, who were "touristing" (my new word) Berlin. I found out about one of the places that I missed in Berlin which is where there are a bunch of palaces. Oh well, next time. The wait was worth it because inside the dome was pretty cool and the view was amasing.


We walked from here through the Tiergarten, and saw the Soviet monument... which had tanks and artillery! Cool huh!
We also walked through the Sony Centre where there is a massive giraffe made out of Lego.

After this we left the Stadtmitte and headed out to Schloss Charlottenberg, which is the only remaining castle within the central city of Berlin (the rest being bombed or demolished). This was a "relatively" small palace and we had a quiet walk around the gardens... we were pretty tired after our full on last days.


After this we went back to Ruth's place and went out for a final drink. I had to try the Berliner-Weiser, which is a famous Berlin beer with green syrup (Waldmeister, kind of like spearmint only not) in it. It was a bit too sweet for my liking.

After that, I got my things, walked down to the U-Bahnhof and said my farewells to Ruth. She was a great host and I had a fantastic time in Berlin.

I got to the airport with no dramas... and slept on the plane. Back home and in bed at about midnight... ready for a week of work :-)

I highly recommend Berlin as a place to visit... sooo much history there and you can feel it because some of it is so recent.