Day 21: A Segway segway. Ripping up the streets of Berlin.

Accidental slept in.... Im still constantly surprised at how tiring travelling is. Travelling as is the sitting on a train bit. I don't get it, at least when you drive you concentrate and on a plane youre deprived of all things normal, like air. But a train? I never understand it. But it really does hey?? Even if you sleep for most of the journey!

But saves me a meal for the day! 

Didn't want a plate of wurst, so opted for a salmon salad. Still delighted every time a side plate of bread comes out (and no one to have to share with). Europe you are quite a genius. Spent a nice rainy morning here with my book. Nice to feel that the pace of the trip is slowing down (or so it seems...). 

So today I'm seeing the sights of Berlin on a Segway. It's one of those 2 wheel electronic upright bike things, that moves with you shifting your weight distribution... The tour was fantastic! The guide was a Berliner through and through and had a degree in Political Science, so knew all the answers to my questions. I really wanted a good lesson in the history here (I shamefully didn't know much about the cold war at all)... and he gave me just what I was after. 

Berlin is such an interesting city, obviously, but seeing as the whole thing has more or less been built in the last 20 years or so they've done it in such a smart way. There are zero skyscrapers, they have rebuild MANY of the ancient buildings as replicas (somewhat controversial with Berlin's GIANT debt and all), they have maintained anything possible from the conflicts and anything new that they have built has a deep meaning to it, which echoes the beliefs of the locals. It's so amazing to see history engrained so much in modern life here, rather than swept under the carpet. And it has made the citizens the most amazing people out there. Intelligent, friendly and open.

Here's so remakes since the Second World War.... Heaps of roman influence its weird...

And this is Humboldt university, home to more Nobel prize winners than any other uni (29) and lots of other well known geniuses. Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Karl Marx, Heinrich Heine etc.. The courtyard here in is the sight of Hitlers burning of the books...

A quote by a Heinrich Heine in 1821 is on a plaque here stating "Where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people".... Chilling to think how real that became and that these actual words from an actual graduate of this university were perished in the fire right here....

A French church showing respect and that they can live together....

But then the locals got jealous and built their own one, almost exactly the same but a bit bigger, directly across the square from the French one...

Checkpoint Charlie... Full on.

Somewhere under this car park is Hitlers bunker, where he lived his last days. There is no entrance of markings as they don't want to attract any supporters or strange things. This bunker was built so damn well that not only did it survive when the whole city was in rubble, but no matter how much dynamite the forces lined it with after the war in a effort to cave it in, the walls would not budge. In other areas where this was tried, so much explosives were used that surrounding buildings completely cracked, despite the bunkers not moving an inch.... German engineering :)

The Jewish holocaust memorial. Built in 2005 bang in the centre of town, deliberately so no one can miss it. I think Germany is the only country that acknowledge the genocide that took place, and in such a bold statement like this. There is 2711 pillars here. 

A memorial for the 80,000 soviet soldiers who during the battle of Berlin in April/May 1945. By then most German soldiers had been killed, so children were enlisted to fight (made to take the gun and fight, otherwise shot by the SS guard enlisting you), so it is thought that most of this massacre (a final hurrah even though they had been defeated) was through the hands of inexperienced child soldiers. 

New parliamentary buildings... Lots of glass to signify transparency of the government. 

The gate.

Segway times!! This thing is ultimate- you can legally (and we did) ride on the footpath, in the cycle lane, in the bus lane and in the car lane. Amazingly weird, a touch geeky, but super handy and fun.

After the tour, I went with a couple of blokes from the tour (South African, but one lives in Denmark) to one of the cities best beer gardens. Completely tucked away in the tier garden (the cities biggest garden, so so lush and beautiful) is this stunning place, the rain kept us inside, but I think it kept the crowds away too though so we had is nice view...

And the old hand for size comparison...

The victory column