Once the tickets were purchased, we boarded the boat, and cast off.
The boat set off at a leisurely pace and we settled into our seats to watch Berlin go by. There are a number of boats plying their trade on the Rhine.
All along the Rhine river banks one can see buildings, both old, and modern in structure. Such as the one below, which is obviously NOT an old one. ;-)
The older bridges over the river are adorned with faces carved into the stone.
Too far away, have a look at the picture below for a close up view. I don't know if these faces were of any significance when the bridges were built, or if they were just for decorative purpose only.
Here is another, "bridge face," lovely isn't it? No seriously, one has to admire the skill of the crafts person who did these carvings. look at the detail still there after Lord knows how many years.
Further along we get to see, The Reichstag, the, (then), infamous building out of which emanated the orders from Himmler, etc. to exterminate hundreds of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, and lots of other type of people who didn't match their ideas of perfection. Thankfully, this building is now used for far more peaceful purposes. It was destroyed during World War II, but rebuilt between 1961 and 1971. See the link for the history of this magnificent building.
http://www.visitberlin.de/en/spot/reichstag
In the photo below, one can see the glass dome of the Reichstag.
I could go on about this boat trip for ages, (but I won't). We left our boat after a very pleasant ride, and lots of sightseeing, and boarded another bus. This time nobody told us where we were going. What a shock when we arrived and left the bus. There, right in front of our eyes was the Berlin Wall. Not only were we at the Wall, but we were in East Berlin, (until a short time ago, this was controlled by the Russians), and there is no way that we would have been able to wander around it as we did. The gap in the wall here, was the actual position of Checkpoint Charlie, See the link for more information.
http://www.tenfactsabout.co.uk/0003berlinwall.htm
It doesn't look that formidable now does it? But remember, in its day this wall was topped by railings, and barbed wire, as you will see later on.
The image above, is of the West Side, (the Allied side), of the Berlin Wall. The image above portrays the other divided countries of the World, and the length of their dividing walls. This is the position of gap where Checkpoint Charlie, once stood. This is the left hand side of the gap, when looking from the Western side of the Wall.
Above you can see the, "Wall on Wall," gallery. This section portrays the Berlin Wall itself, as it was before it was brought down. Just on the right hand side of the picture, you cab see the, "Peace lines," of Ireland, dividing the North and South.
The photo above gives a better view of Ireland's "Peace Lines," and also, you can just see the Korean divide. In the photo below, the Korean DMZ, (Demilitarised Zone), is shown clearly.
So after photographing the Berlin Wall, and its surroundings for a while we boarded the bus and were taken back more towards the centre of Berlin for a photographic session around the area of the beautiful Berlin Concert House. I will not put up all the pics that I took in this area as there are lots. Below is one of the Concert House itself.
After an hour around this area, we headed off, on foot to a Restaurant for a nice Dinner, with some wonderful German Wheat Beer. Below is a picture of a Berlin Segway Tour. There are a lot of this type of tour operators around the city.
One last pic now, then it's back to the hotel and get things ready, as we leave Germany tomorrow for home. Farewell Germany. Auf Weidesain Pet!
Sorry to any German readers, if I've got the spelling wrong. Bye for now and take care all. Regatds, Twm.
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