Monday, June 20, 2016

Berlin, Germany - Day 3 Part 2: Museum Island

     After leaving Oranienburg, we made our way to a place dubbed "museum island".  It is technically an island, and it houses several (I think 5?) museums.  You can either pay a separate entrance fee for each Museum, or for one price, you can get admission to all the museums.  If I recall correctly, if you were interested in seeing more than one museum, you were better off buying the all inclusive pass.

     Below is the bridge that takes you to the museums.




















     We popped inside one of the museums and found a little cafe adjacent to their gift shop.  We rested our tired feet, and used the time to figure out what we were going to do for the rest of the day.  Matt and Patty decided to check out some of the museums, while the rest of us took a bus over to the Topography of Terror Museum. 





     Through the Berlin Wall.


     This museum is free, and is filled with information that chronicles the Nazi regime from start to finish.  There is NO way you could go through all the information presented here in one day (or in this case the few hours we had).  My favorite part of this museum was hearing the speeches that showed the propaganda being fed to the German people. 




     We all met up at Potsdamer Platz station to head over to KaDeWe.  Upon researching it on Wikipedia, I discovered that it is the largest department store in Europe.  I don't know if this information is correct, but it was pretty HUGE.



     Patty and I were interested in some bags, and upon learning about how much you can save buying these bags in euros and getting the VAT refund, we were very excited.  Seeing the building was like seeing the mothership coming to take me home. :)



     Patty ended up buying a bag, and I would return later to buy the same bag.  Jeff wanted Legos, and there is a pretty large tri-story Lego store in Berlin.  One of the stairways showcased the various logos the Lego brand has used since its inception.  Sadly, these same stairs would be where I fell and hurt my ankle. #soupycurse




     We ended up meeting one of Jon's childhood friends, Rhoda, in the upstairs food court of KaDeWe.  It featured an extensive selection of food, and I was quite pleased. :)




     I snapped this on the way down the elevator, and you could see how much was housed at KaDeWe.  I secretly wished for more time.


     After a little rest back at our Airbnb, we headed back out for night shots.  We returned to museum island after having scoped it out earlier in the day.  I wandered off on my own for a little bit, and loved the atmosphere at dusk. There were people just going about their business, and many eating at outdoor cafes nearby.

     The shots below (except for the last two) were shot on my 5d.







     This was one of my favorite moments in Berlin.  In the little square where these museums are, there was a guy doing covers of songs that I liked.  It was like he hacked into my iTunes account and played all my favorite songs.  People were lounging on the grass, or on the steps of the museums. Berlin is pretty laid back at night.  It was awesome. I took some video of this to remember the moment, and I'm glad that although I was tired of carrying around my DSLR, I had the decency to take out my G7X to snap this picture below.


     Day 3 completed.




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