Warnemunde Germany 

We arrived punctually into Rostock Port at 7.30 am ready for our 3 hour bus ride into Berlin. Everything went smoothly and once again a lovely coach to get our large group into town. One pit stop along the way.Our group split into a good number (thanks Louise).

We were met by Espin, our tour guide at the Olympic Stadium, home to the Olympic Games in 1916 (cancelled due to the First World War) and 1936. The stadium resembles the Colosseum, it's enormous and a great photo opportunity.

Next off Charlottenberg Palace, the oldest surviving Prussian Palace.Magnificent. Berlin was a big surprise to us, it is a very beautiful city, and has over 12400 trees, all of them numbered! Every where you look it's green and very clean.

We passed the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, and saw the largest department store on the Continent of Europe, KaDeWe. A Myer store on Steroids!

The Victory Column and Tiergarten and then Reichstag, a Government building. Berlin is under very high security today as the Prime Minister of Israel is in town. Never seen so many police. The traffic moved pretty well considering. 

I have taken a zillion photos and will share a few when we arrive at home.

Our guide left us to wander and look at an old church (Kurfürstendamm) that was bombed during the war, it is still left with a big hole in it. The inside is beyond description. Ornate is an understatement! I got a beautiful candle for my mum.

Beside that was a church that appeared very plain on the outside, just grey tiles,once inside those tiles shone a very bright blue. 

We got a photo of a lady with a PanAm bag on her shoulder, she got it off e-bay!! 

Other notable landmarks were a walk through Brandenburg Gate and a visit to the Holocaust Memorial, a very moving experience, a memorial to the over 6 million a jewish people murdered.

2711 concrete blocks of various sizes and height all in waves, some up to 5 meters high. Hard to describe, but an incredible masterpiece by the architect.

I got a photo of the infamous Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson dangled his child out the window!

We then had a lunch break, a very efficient and friendly place, Warren had yet another $hitty beer! and a wander before rejoining our group and continuing this awesome tour. We passed the site of Hitlers Bunker, now a car park. 

Espin did a fantastic job of commentating, and was a very informed and passionate young bloke. 

Every corner we turned, every road we took we were amazed by what we were seeing.

Berliner Dome, outside the building was the largest single piece of marble on earth, unfortunately it didn't fit inside, kind of looks like a humongous ashtray! 

We saw the Hotel De Rome, right next to a church still bearing the scars of war time. I am truly grateful we didn't witness this horror of war. 

Espin took us to see the memorial to the empty library, Bebelplatz, where 20 million books were burned by University Students from the Humbolt University. The university is where Albert Einstein and the Brothers Grimm attended. They now sell books to compensate for this. For those of us who love books, this was a sad sight to see the empty shelves, and wonder at the reasoning.

Our day was coming to an end, with 2 final stops, one at CheckPoint Charlie, now just a tourist photo opportunity, and the Berlin Wall. Yes, I remember the day the wall came down, and to think we were standing in front of it.

Just beside that was the Topography of terror, the site of the Gestapo, SS and Reich Security Main office. (And good clean FREE toilets! They charge up to €1 for a pee over here!) 

This was another day we will never forget. Remarkable sights, and sad reflections of a tragic time in history.

Our journey home was a bit longer due to roadworks, but that worked to our advantage, instead of travelling on the Autobahn, we got to travel through some delightful and picturesque villages. 

It was a very long day, but oh so worth it. 

Tomorrow a sea day to recover.