berlin I (i would stop making segemented posts if i stopped going to cool places)

this past week the international club took us to berlin for four days. it was really six days but the first and last days were spent in a bus. fun. i really liked berlin a lot but i wished we had more time because there were a millon things i didn't get to see like the berlin cathedral and the only ramones museum in the world. ok, so i was really the only one that wanted to see the ramones museum (mostly because none of my friends knew who they were! aaaarrrggghhh!!!!) anyway, i did manage to get some cool pictures so enjoy.

this is a memorial to the six million jews killed in the holocaust. it has rows and rows of cement (concrete?) blocks and the ground beneath them is lower in spots, like this one, so you feel like you're in a maze.

this is what the memorial looks like from the front... or back... or.... side.

this is the brandenburg gate. behind the gate is a giant stage they have set up for the world cup. apparently the night before the opening game, there was a big music concert. i was kind of sick in berlin so i mostly slept a lot at night and stuff instead of going out. that and the pollen in berlin was UNBELIEVABLE! thanks allergies, thanks.

this is a giant soccer ball with a soccer exhibit inside. see that twisty silver thing to the left? we all thought it was a slide so we went inside to try to find it but it turns out to be an emergency exit only and the security guys wouldn't let us go down anyway. poo.

this is the famous checkpoint charlie....

... and the even more famous snack point charlie! it took me more than a few minutes to stop laughing so i could take this picture. next to snack point charlie is the mysterious czech point charlie. we're not sure if it's a czech-style restaurant or what but it, too, was funny.

these are parts of the berlin wall mixed with some educational panels. these particular segments are in potsdamer platz which was a desolate place when the wall was in place as it was between wall parts and soldiers mainly hung out there to kill people from escaping.

this is a really cool building. i think it's a bank. or a something else. i liked it. at night it lit up. i'll post a picture of my attempt to capture that later.

this is a picture of one of the giant screens behind the brandenburg gate where people could watch the games. this area was called "fan fest" and had five screens over a giant area, the whole of the tiergarten. it was crazy when the games were happening.

this is the reichstag building, germany's governmental seat. it's really, really neat and impressive on the outside.

and this is the temporary stadium in front of the reichstag. this one cost three euros to get in, compared to the fan fest which was free. but this place actually had food stalls and seats i think. i still think it's funny that they have a temporary stadium in front of their government building.

this is the glass dome of the reichstag from inside. we got to hear a little presentation about the history of the building and the room. it was neat.

this is a picture of the room where Really Important Meetings are held. the eagle is a national symbol of germany.

this is sheree and i in front of the glass dome on top of the reichstag. it has this double ramp thing inside it so traffic isn't going up and down one track. i thought that was a great idea. they also had an ice cream stand there. i also thought that was a great idea.

this is it for this time. i'm on my way to brussels this weekend and when i get back, i'll post the rest of the berlin saga and then the brussels story.