Noilly Prattle: Photo impressions around Berlin, Winter 2013

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Photo impressions around Berlin, Winter 2013

our S-Bahn stop Savignyplatz
40 Euro fine ticket
      Berlin has turned out to be a bit of a bummer. As I look back on my posts since our arrival at Frankfurt Flughafen they seem to be mostly a catalogue of bitches and gripes: screwed up trains, language dustups, physical injury and, last but not least, today we got pinched on the S-bahn for not having a properly stamped train ticket and got fined 40 Euros each. Well, at 70 Euros each for a monthly train pass, we still got off cheap.


Schloss Cecilienhof
Churchill, Truman, Stalin in Potsdam
[Wikipedia]
  






   The weather has been uncooperative as well. The skies have been uniformly gray almost the whole time we have been here (since January 10), there has been quite a bit of show and temperatures remain stubbornly at or below 0 degrees centigrade.       

     Nevertheless, we have intrepidly gone out and about town taking daily walks. We took a day trip to Potsdam yesterday for a little more walking and sightseeing. I was especially interested in seeing the venue for the Potsdam Conference among the "Big Three" powers (Churchill, Truman and Stalin) to discuss the fate of Germany and Japan in 1945 at Schloss Cecilienhof, an early 20th Century palace that was spared the allied bombing of the rest of Potsdam. 


Unter den Linden
Brandenburg Gate
     Of course my camera was ever with me and following are a few photos of my impressions going about in Berlin. You will notice that only one photo shows blue sky--a rarity during out stay here. We are off to a Berlin Philharmonic concert tonight and off to Prague next week on Monday. 



guarding US Embassy, not the Tor






















 the Wall is an open air gallery, this is one of the paintings
Jewish Holocaust Memorial



section remaining of the Berlin Wall










another painting on the Wall with graffiti







souvenirs at end of the Wall













love hotel? -- across the street from the Wall




this drab station was in old East Berlin













Schloss Charlottenburg Palace, [only blue sky photo]


flea market in Tiergarten













Schloss Charlottenburg statuary 
Burger KIng in Tiergarten


Lion Bridge in Tiergarten













sign seen at U-Bahn entrance 


photo on subway wall near
Brandenburg Gate












portico of Sans Souci Palace in Potsdam







swans bottom feeding in fountain
at Sans Souci Palace









BigThree conference room in Schloss Cecilienhof
[Wikipedia]


Reichstag


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the pictures!

By the way, when my grandfather died we found a book of his that detailed the journey that his army division (2nd armored division) took during WWII. Inside the book were pictures that he took and one of them was of these big banners (I think) with pictures of the "Big Three" (again, I think). I believe they were outside of a stadium or arena, not sure where. I'll share them with you sometime.

I hope the next part of your journey is more enjoyable. - Michelle

Anonymous said...

Sorry to post twice. My computer was acting weird. - Michelle

Anonymous said...

Yes, am sure you will enjoy going back to beautiful Prague. I really have enjoyed your blog w photos, as I imagine I will not be going there.
-R