Ich bin ein Berliner

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry,
and narrow-mindedness, and many
people need it sorely on these accounts.
(Mark Twain)


The day begins early at the hotel in Eisenach and we walk downhill and downhill some more into the town and train station. 
Our destination is Berlin.

                     
Christie

           
Gracie


          
Amber & Maike


                   
Sleeping

             
Michael & Chad


We gather at the train station.

                 
Andreas and Frank took us to the Wall. For me, this was THE touchstone of the Cold War and all that I remembered. Sharon, Andreas, Frank and I watched TV and saw the Wall crumble. I even recall when the Berlin section of the wall was sealed off in 1961. All the kids knew of the wall but the video histories which we watched, clarified this crucial time in history.

The Wall is gone, except for a few hundred yards of concrete remain, but the scar on the city, the country and the world remain. Scars remind us of pain and also are a reminder that things change. You see the bricks above and you see a "line" in those bricks....THAT is where the wall stood.

         
One lone church stood in the "no man's land" which the East Germans created in order to "protect" their Communist country from the Free West. The church was finally demolished in 1985. Had it lasted but a few more years, it would outlasted the Wall itself. Alas, these bells are all that remains and a new Church of the Reconciliation sits on the former church's space. A reminder to all.
                  
Perhaps Megan will tell this story to others as she heads to others. But, for now...she has touched history.

                 
Berlin certainly does not forget....this iconic photo of an East German border guard fleeing is something that I recall vividly from my childhood...and it is etched on the side of a building along the line of the Wall today. Sometime the even captors realize that they too are the imprisoned.

                 
The Kaiser Wilhelm Church was destroyed during WWII and was left as a reminder of that war. It's clock was restored and a new tower is being built on one side and a strikingly modern church is on the other side.

                          
I was NOT expecting this. Inside the new Kaiser Wilhelm Church. We stayed for Evensong.


        
Frank, Janna, Nils and Lisa get ready for more walks around Berlin.
     
A tour of the city and dinner at an Indian Restaurant and the night began.

                
Berlin continues to be a city in transition....some of the subway cars are quaint and...

                      
Places like the main rail station just startle you with it's modern beauty and grace. It has been but 30 years and the healing of the city continues. 

           
The Reichstag which we will tour today.....but seeing it by night is stunning.

                     
 The Brandenburg Gate was a special destination for me. 

                           
And even by night, the scars of the past indicate a healing for the nation.

         
Peace,  Bob
               
                      





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