Ich bin in Berlin (on free tour)

After months of people telling me I should go to Berlin, I finally went to Berlin. And I must say, taking that cab ride through to Mitte, I did think to myself *Sorry Munich, but this is a city.* And to explore this city, I went on the tour that Pooey had done many years before. Alas, Mike The Hottie was not running this tour. We instead got Johnny, a very enthusiastic and pale Pom, who was particularly interested in history and politics - very appropriate for this city! 

The tour started off at the Brandenberg Tor. As we waited for the tour guides to sort out the different groups, we took some typical tourist photos.

It's like a postcard! 

Power fist

And of course, if you really wanted to, you could take a photo with a pair of communist and a capitalist soldiers!

The tour started with Johnny giving us a rundown of the various buildings around the platz. First and foremost was the Hotel Adlon.

It's where MJ hung Blanket of a window!

Next stop - the Holocaust Memorial

It's very disorientating - here I am following the Bro.

We then went to see the location of Hitler's Bunker...

now the site of some glamorous East German luxury apartments.

As a history/politics buff, Johnny took us mostly around the old East Berlin as he regaled us with stories of Nazi architecture, and the post-war happenings.

We went to see some of the remaining Berlin Wall. I always thought it was bigger than this. 

Scattered around the city were various sculptures of Bears (symbol of Berlin). I like to help them feel not so lonely.

As we trotted through the old East, we saw lots of symbols of how it used to be. People now like to take these Trabis for *safaris around the city.

And then we got to Checkpoint Charlie! (More on this later)

After a short sandwich break for lunch, we continued on...

...to the Gendarmenarkt - site of the Franzoesicher Dom, where Johnny recommended as one of the best vantage points in the city.

And then around the corner to the Book Burning Memorial outside the Humboldt University.

Over Unter den Linden to the Memorial for Victims of War and Oppression. Moving stuff.

Past the (extremely manly) former Arsenal Building...

ending up in the Lustgarten on the Museumsinsel. That's the Altes Museum looking very Alt. 

It was a really great and interesting tour. Johnny received much Trinkgeld (tips -literally, drink money) at the end. If I had one criticism, it was that the tour didn't include this building:

But you know, the tour did take 3.5 hours so I won't complain. And so to finish the tour, I did something really Berliner-ish:

I ate a currywurst. Miam miam.