Munich and Berlin

So we finally went to Munich the city after being in the Munich train station several times on the way to other places.

 I went walking to the River Isar and took pictures of art beside the river.

 Under a bridge facing towards the city.

 View from a bridge heading back into the city. A German guy told me that the Isar is fed by the Alps melting and so is very cold and clean. That also seems to account for the interesting color the water is here.

 Then the sad day came when Grace's 10 days of travel was over and we all got on the train to take her to the airport. Hannah was pretending it wasn't happening and she would wake from this terrible dream in a moment. We all felt a bit homesick after we waved goodbye to her through security, and looked forward to our own flights home.

  We decided to go to Berlin the day after Grace left. With the cheap regional trains, it takes about 12 hours to get there, so we spend a lot of time in train stations and train stops that day.

 I love the wide open plane-hanger-like-feel of this station.

 Me looking out the window. Train travel has never gotten old, it is really relaxing and so freeing to be able to get up and walk around when ever you want to.

 We got to my favorite train stop ever, in the middle of nowhere and I woke from a nap as we arrived and felt a little disoriented and like I had been dropped onto another planet. :) Our next train was delayed about an hour so we got a vending machine dinner.

 You know we are tired when we start making jokes about the kind of cookies we are eating. These guys are called Hits, so we were joking that we'd take another Hit for the team while we ate them.

 Pretending to be homeless vagabonds. Still at the train stop.

 Finally we got to Berlin and after a nights sleep the whole place looked much better. Ruthiey and I went on a free walking tour and saw the Holocaust memorial. it is 2,711 concrete slabs all on this sloping field and very interesting and thought provoking memorial.

 A view from down in the middle of the memorial.

 Underneath this very ground is the bunker where Hitler died, it was crazy to think it looked so normal but so much crazy wickedness has gone on in this city.

 The Berlin Wall, one of the remaining sections. We watched a documentary about the Wall and the people who escaped East Berlin during the Cold War. It was so interesting being here and learning about that, suddenly it is all so much more real than reading the history books about it.

 Hannah and I rented bikes to explore the city as it is huge, it felt great to be back on a bike after so many months of walking! :)

 

 Couple more shots of the wall.

 This food stand is under the railway, it sold the most amazing Currywurst, which is extremely popular in Berlin.

 We got it with the fries and shared this amazing plate of food amongst the 3 of us.

 Okay, what sold me on Berlin and made it my current and I think forever favorite city was the street art. Simply incredible and so rich and varied.

 This is the Fernsehturm (Telecommunications Tower) in the background of this shot.

 I love the contrast between the old buildings, the boats, the flowering tree and the graffiti. Awesome.

 What an image to walk by on the street!

 I think I've seen this before...

 I love that this art incorporates the surroundings.

 Life isn't over just yet you know. :)

 Dock 11. I love this image of the silhouetted people on bikes. This city has had the most bikers of any city I've been to so far, and the best bike lanes and traffic light signals. (sorry Minneapolis)

 Me in front of the Berlin Cathedral - apparently build to rival St. Paul's in London, but a tour guide told us that, so it might not be true. :P It is a cool Cathedral regardless.

We discussed that maybe we all loved Berlin so much because we had heard almost nothing about it and had no expectations for how awesome it was going to be.
Berlin, I am in love with you. You could not be a better mixture of people, places, food and art.  Thanks for the warm welcome. :)