These Boots Were Made for Walking - Day 8

FALL BREAK:
Berlin

Friday I woke up to explore Berlin and all it's city center had to offer.

The TV Tower

View outside from a church I went into briefly to look around

Said church with Berliner Dom in the background (more to follow on that)

Views from the top of TV tower.  That park below is where I was just moments before.  Great views of the entire city!

I then had lunch and tea at the top of the tower in a 360* rotating restaurant.

Soup

Mozzarella and tomato salad.  What presentation!

A shot of me in front of the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral).  Hands down my favorite thing in Berlin.  It was such a beautiful building and you can climb to the top and walk around outside, which has beautiful views of Berlin.  Better, in my opinion, than the TV tower.

Located on Museum Island (Museumsinsel)

Playing with reflections

Climbing up

My main man

Overlooking the city

Re-boosting my energy level

Then I went in a few museums as I wandered down Unter den Linden (the main street).

Came across this in one of the museums.  I learned a great deal about Germany's history - or rather re-learned because it's been a while since I've taken a world history class (six years to be exact).

Soon enough I came to the main attraction - Brandenburg Gate.

Trying to take a picture of myself in front of it...

...And then these nice guys offered to take a picture for me.  Much better!

Looking back on Reichstag - parliament - over the River Spree.

I got dinner at Vapiano's, which is one of my favorite restaurants in NYC, but it actually originated in Germany, so I was glad to try it at the source.  Delicious as always!

Oh hey U.S. Embassy.  It was very comforting to pass little bits of America every once in a while.

"Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe"

Quite eerie at night, but a very daunting installation in general.

I covered quite a bit of Berlin on my first day and was able to make a solid list of the remaining things I had yet to cover for the next day.

Berlin is quite the city.  Certainly bigger than the other two cities I had visited that week, and from what I've heard, it's kind of like the Manhattan of Germany (although it's the capital and NYC isn't).