"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy"

June 14th

The day started off great with a cup of coffee made with love!

I took a walking tour which lasted pretty much the entire day yet it described the history of Berlin from before WW1 through present day. It started a the oldest mosque in Berlin. This mosque was to be destroyed by the Nazis during Krystal night however their was an officer who said it was not to be destroyed. It was bommed during the war however it was not destroyed completly.

There are barriers in front of the mosque to help protect it. The German government put them up after the Berlin Wall fell down so that no one could attack or destroy the mosque.

The building with all the vines on it dates to before WW2. It was bombed during the war as were many buildings on this street however this one was not renovated because of the vines on it.

Another building that dates to before WW2, it became a home to squatters and artists after WW2 and throughout modern day. The gov tries to shut it down and tear it down to build something else however they are never successful.

The back side of the building still shows the damage done during the bombs that dropped during WW2.

A museum about the people of Berlin during and right after WW2. There was old reels of the propaganda the Soviets told to East Germany and what West Germany was learning about East Germany from the Allies.

German pastries…. need I say more :)

The spire was built during the spilt of Berlin on the West side and during sunny days a cross can be seen from the East side. Almost like the West was sending a secret message to the East that all would be well someday.

The front of the German Parliament building

Memorial to the gypsies killed by the Nazis

Remnants of the building the Nazis wanted to be the New Reich Chancellory

It may just look like a parking lot however under it was the space where Hitler had his personal bunker and where he took his life. The buildings behind it were offices and apartments of the higher up Nazi officers.

The only surviving Nazi building in Berlin. At the time, this was where those in charge of all things 'air' worked.

Another part of the Berlin Wall

Museum of the terrors of the Nazi Regime.

Trabant - these cars were the only cars that were allowed in East Germany during the Soviet regime. It is said that they were so rare that when you had a kid you had to put his name on a list hoping that when he came of age there would be a car for him.

Checkpoint Charlie - the American sector of West Berlin

Snack! Latte and a very good chocolate cookie

The only Catholic Church in Berlin (the one with the dome)

This space is dedicated to the book burning the Nazis did in 1933. Below there is a window that looks into an empty room with empty shelves to symbolize the books that no longer are on its shelfs.

Humboldt University - one of the oldest universities in Berlin dating from 1810. They have educated 29 of the Nobel Peace Prize winners.

The war memorial dedicated to all victims, solider or not, who died during the wars, it is called Neue Wache. There was a controversy reopening this in the 1990s because it was seen as a memorial to the German soldiers. The German chancellor had the original statue removed and this one put in its place. It is a mother holding her dead son. It is meant to reflect the idea that all soldiers or those killed in war are victims and are a loss.

There is a hole in the ceiling allows rain or snow into the monument to symbolize all that the victims of the war had to go through. Apparently in winter when it snows, the memorial is much more moving or when it rains because the mother looks that much more brought down by the weight of losing her son.