Berlin - "The Rest of the Story"

Caution...long post.   On the way home from Sachenhausen Concentration Camp, we passed this store:

Do you know what the name of this store is in the US?  The tour guide said this store is a fun place for men, but most women find it to be a nightmare.  I dare say, that is opposite from how our family views this store.

Then we went to Fassbender & Rausch chocolate store.  It is (so they say) the world's largest chocolate retail store.  I wanted to go just to see these chocolate creations in the windows.  (I mostly post these for you, JWW because I know you would have LOVED this!)  They had a replica of the Titanic which had to be about 3 feet tall and 5 feet long.  They also had a model of the Brandenburg Gate....

....and this really cool church (which I don't remember seeing while touring through Berlin):

This you may recognize from an earlier post - it's a chocolate Reichstag building.

Most of the nativities that were being sold in the Christmas markets had little propellers on top of them that would spin when candles were lit underneath.  This one is made out of chocolate (of course); and, wait for it.....it SPINS.  Crazy, right?  It's about 5 feet tall.  (And no, I have NO idea who that person is who walked in front of me when I took the picture.)

This one, my son would have loved.  It's an erupting chocolate volcano.  Super tempting to dip your fingers in the oozing chocolate....the sign kindly asked us not to in 3 languages!

This (according to the tour guide) is the most ritzy of all the Christmas Markets.  It's called the Gendarmenmarkt.  We managed to accidentally sneak in with a tour bus group; saving us the entrance fee.  We didn't stay long, but it was really a nice market.

This is a replica of the "old" traffic towers that once stood in East Berlin.  A traffic officer would be stationed in the top of the tower and control the lights based on the flow of vehicles.  This tower now stands in Potsdamer Platz.  All of the buildings in the background are new in the last 10-15 years as they are in East Berlin.

This is an example of the Christmas Market shops that were all over Berlin.  These two shops were in Potsdamer Platz, right down the street from out hotel.

Jonathan and I weren't too brave about trying the local food...we didn't care too much for the things we DID try, so we just quit while we were ahead. (Bonus to the food that I didn't care for was an additional loss of 3 pounds while in Berlin!)  Part of the problem was not knowing exactly what was in the foods these street vendors were serving.  While most people spoke English, but most of the signage on these markets were only in German.

An example of typical West Berlin housing.

This is the Charlottenburg Palace.  We didn't have time to take a tour, but it looks pretty elaborate from all the pictures in the gift shop.  There was a Christmas market here as well, but it was not quite open when we arrived...bummer.

Here is a giant version of the wooden nativities I mentioned above.  (I would have loved it if THIS one were made out of chocolate.)

This is the "famous" Checkpoint Charlie....translated out of military language....Checkpoint C.  Just one of many checkpoints along the Berlin Wall.  This is more of a tourist trap for Americans than anything else.  There's a two story McDonald's across the street.  The sad thing is that this is only a recreation of the checkpoint that once stood here; and, it's in the middle of a very busy street.

There are only a few places where the Berlin wall is still standing.  In other locations, they have placed these pavers to show where the wall once stood.

This is the sign that stands at Checkpoint Charlie....5 languages (I only recognize 2).

On our last night, we were treated to a traditional meal at a restaurant just to the side of Brandenburg gate.  Parts of the meal were great, parts were not my favorite.  It was really fun to just sit down and relax with Joel and his family for the evening.

Part of our entertainment for the evening was this German soldier "dude" who had many of the men stand up and click their heals together to stand at attention.  I don't think Joel passed inspection, but it was really funny to watch him move from table to table "sizing up" the men in the group.

 If Blogger would cooperate, I would be able to insert my video of this whole thing....I couldn't understand a word of what he said, but it was funny never-the-less.  (Also funny, watching Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, and Big Bang Theory in German.)

He stopped to pick up Makayla....

After dinner, Jonathan and I walked over to see Brandenburg Gate at night (and walk THROUGH it, which we didn't have time to do the first time we visited).  This tree looks so much better all lit up at night.

Here's the Brandenburg Gate at night.  It is lit up beautifully.

The crosswalk signals are a remnant of East Berlin...many people thought the little men known as Ampelmännchen  were so whimsical that they decided to leave them in the city.  Most reminders of an East Berlin have been removed to show unity, but these funny little men survived.  Walk...

Don't walk:

We decided to be real tourists and take a picture straddling the place where the Berlin Wall once stood.  Notice the Brandenburg Gate in the background.

When we finally made it back home after 3 flights (the longest one about 9 1/2 hours), the kids had made us this sign that says "Willkommen zu Hause" which I'm sure you can translate all by yourself.  How cute are they!  I guess they missed us.  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for supervising them all week while we enjoyed our first trip without them....EVER!