Copenhagen Jouranl #17: Berlin

Ellie with sections of the Berlin Wall

It's been great to have our loved ones visit us in Copenhagen, to witness our lives here. We currently have Jen's mom Karen and Ellie, and our big trip together was to Berlin, last weekend. It was a great trip: we rented a nice flat and visited some one-of-a-kind sights. The first was the Berlin Wall. I distinctly remember when it came down in my youth, specifically the images of students climbing the graffiti laden wall and hitting it with sledgehammers. More text below.

From the Berlin wall, we went to the Brandenburg Gate and on to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The latter was deeply affecting. One of the exhibits contained details of many Jewish families and what happened to each member by the end of World War 2. There were some large families in which almost everyone died. Much time has past since those days, but I suspect that it feels the same to be in a family now as it did then. So, using that as a starting point, I can try to imagine what it would be like to have my family ripped apart in such a barbaric way. More text below.

On the second day, we walked from our flat, through the city streets of Berlin, to the Pergamon Museum, which was amazing. The most impressive things was a reconstructed gate to the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, shown in the following video. We then wandered back home through Christmas markets. More text below.

On the last day, after dropping our bags at the train station, we happened upon Hamburger Banhof Museum which houses a massive collection of contemporary art. The exhibit was huge and awesome.  See the pictures below and final text at the very end.

We returned to Copenhagen Sunday night, just in time for Christmas Eve the next day. With such short flights to near European capitals, it's possible to make a three day, two night trip, spend a little extra for a nice Airbnb, and really see the city in a long weekend. It was a great trip, and Berlin is definitely near the top of my list of favorite cities.

Our time in Denmark will be ending soon. We still have some travel to do January 1-8, and Ellie has requested Finland, so we'll be going back there yet again.