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Explore Berlin's history and culture through a homelink exchange with a local family. Visit museums, Checkpoint Charlie, enjoy street music and the beautiful Tiergarten flower garden during your stay.
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Berlin – Summer 2013 A Homelink Home Exchange Experience
Exchange Family & Friends Christa & daughter Katharina in black. Uwe at far right. Son Chris (who stayed homestudyingfor exams) in red shirt. Christa & daughter Katharina in black. Uwe at far right. Son Chris (who stayed home studying for exams) in red shirt.
Propaganda Pillar (replica) Exhibit at Museum of the German Resistance Movements.
Memorial to the German Resistance Statue in the courtyard where Col. von Stauffenberg, Chief of Staff of the General Army Office and 3 co-conspirators were executed on July 20, 1944 for that day's failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. Inscription (translated) reads: "You did not bear the shame You resisted You bestowed the eternally vigilant symbol of change By sacrificing your impassioned lives for freedom, justice and honor.” (Note: von S et al. resisted only when it was clear that war was lost)
Be Prepared! Amusing vending machine in front ofconveniencestore/pub on the corner of the street where I lived!
Checkpoint Charlie Guardhouse (replica) Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous border crossing between West and East Berlin. From 13 Aug. 196l to 22 Nov. 2009, only Allied occupation forces members and foreign tourists could enter East Berlin. The Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie documents the history of the Berlin Wall and exhibits daring means of escape used by East Berliners (tunnels, homemade airplane and SCUBA device, cars with hidden compartments), and honors the est.136 people who died in escape-related incidents.
Street Musician Talented classical violinist busking near the Museum Insel (Museum Island) , a UNESCO World Heritage site.
AlteNationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) Viewed from the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden), one of 5 museums forming theMuseumInsel (Museum Island). Others are the Pergamon, the Bode, the Neues, and the Altes. Saw the famous bust of Nefertiti at the Neues. I didn't visit the others, as they housed primarily ancient classical art, and I was more interested in contemporary art and history.
Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) The largest Protestant church in Germany, constructed in its present form in 1822 on the occasion of the union of Prussia's Lutheran and Reformed communities. Site of regular services and concerts. I attended a chambermusicconcert there with a Servas host, Reinhild
Graffiti Wall Panel Don't remember where this photo was taken. There are graffiti-covered remnants of the Berlin wall at several sites in the city. including paintings by wellknown artists. A comprehensive collection of wall graffiti photos can be seen at http://www.google.com/search?q=Paintings+on+the+Berlin+wall&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-FklUuCCF-afiALiwoGoDg&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=733.
At Ploetzensee, a small glacial lake in the middle of Berlin. A Servas friend, Jette, brought me there on a chilly afternoon. We were the only persons there. I took a quick dip, then showered in the 1920s style wooden shower house. Couldn't erase the chilling mental image of the deadly shower houses of the Nazi era,
Lone Grey Heron at Ploetzensee I thought it was a great blue heron, but an expert set me straight!
Brrrr! Wearing bikini given to me by my friend Edith in Bilbao. (Makes going to the bathroom easier than one piece suits.) Wouldn't be caught dead in such at home. Europeans "let it all hang out!" At some beaches many former DDR (East German) residents, go "au natural."
Bi-Cultural Icon The friendly community center and park across from my apartment sported an outdoor bread oven with two separate wood-fired compartments - one for "halal" ("kosher for Muslims) baked goods and one for non-Muslims.
Tiergartenflower garden The magnificently forested 520 acre Tiergarten was two blocks from my apartment. Its prewar 200,000 trees were cut down for fuel during the war and fuel-starved post-war period, with only about 700 remaining. Replanting the forest took place between 1949 and 1959, which explains why I had no recollection of a large urban forest during my spring 1959 semester at the Free University of Berlin. Once a hunting area for royalty, it now comprises a vast network of pathways, gardens, lawns & statues.
Beware of rabbits! Flower garden areas are fenced to keep out hungry rabbits!
Jewish Darwinism Amusing poster at Jewish Museum showing evolution of a Jewish menorah to a Christmas tree! (Part of an exhibit on pre-Nazi era Jewish assimilation nto German culture.) For views of and information about the stark and compelling Daniel Liebeskind-designed Museum building, go to: http://www.jmberlin.de/main/EN/04-About-The-Museum/00-about-the-museum.php
Brandenburg Gate (Tor) Iconic symbol of Berlin (and Germany). Built between 1788 and 1791, it separated West from East Berlin during the tine of the Wall (1961-1989). It and the surrounding PariserPlatz is the site of major celebrations, speeches, and demonstrations
Holocaust Memorial Covering 4.7acres a block from the Brandenburg gate, the site contains 2,711 concrete slabs of varying heights and sizes arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. Reminiscent of a cemetery, its grim starkness evokesdespair and silent contemplation. An underground exhibit chamber honors the memory of families who were killed during the Holocaust.
Legoland Giraffe at Potsdamer Platz Once Europe's most bustling shopping and entertainment complex, PotsdamerPlatz was completely destroyed during WW2 and lay bare till after German reunification in 1990. Dominated by the Sony Centre with its soaring glass and steel tent-like roof, it includes the Daimler/Chrysler Atrium, shopping arcade with 133 stores, cafes, several dozen movie screens, a film museum, mini-lake and ice rink. Architecture is result of world-wide design competition and an example of "urban renewal' at its finest.
Environmental Protection Posters Along the hiking trail from the Grunewald train station to the beautiful (largely nudist) Teufelsee(Devil Lake) beach. A sinister arrow in front of the train station points to Platform 17, transport depot for Jews bound for Polish ghettoes and, later, to Theresienstadtand Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Sample Poster Rough Translation: Don't bother nesting birds - please... For birds eat bugs that harm our trees!
Charlottenburg Palace Largest palace in Berlin, it was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg and inaugurated in 1699. It is the site of baroque concerts by musicians in period costume,
Fancy Dinner Theater I skipped the dinner, but enjoyed the concert.
Ready, Set, Play! Sneaked photo in before musicians began to play. Works by Handel, Vivaldi, arias from Don Giovanni, and a flute concerto by Frederick the Great himself and other Baroque pieces were performed.
Zoo Playground Playground has imaginative animal-themed spaces for kids to play on and in.
Anti-Morsi Rally Egyptian activists demonstrate against former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi at plaza near Brandenburg Gate.
Carpool for Birding Outing Outing was listed in calendar of NABU, Germany's environmental protection organization. Focus was the banding of baby "Baumfalken" (hobbies in English) which involved 57 year old bander, Paul Soemmerclimbing a 30 meter tree to a nest, removing baby birds and lowering them for examination, measuring, and banding by Baumfalken expert Klaus -Dietrich Fiuczynski. Till 2 years, ago, 75 year old Klaus made similar ascents to study the falcons which also nest in girders of high tension poles
