Berlin

After a few days of the (rude!) crowds in Paris, we were ready for something a little less of the summer tourist crowd. We talked about it and settled on Berlin. It was away from the Olympics zone and was a start into eastern-Europe, a region we were interested in seeing.

In retrospect, we should've done some more research. I think there are probably more charming towns in eastern Germany than Berlin. The city was leveled in WWII and choked during the Cold War. Nearly everything has been built in the last eighty years in that post-war cinderblock chic that was so popular. There are also many new, beautiful buildings but a distressing amount is blase.

But, it was still fun. We went to the Bradenburg Gate and the Reichstag and got to see Checkpoint Charlie. This area of the world was off-limits to me due to my Navy duties. I was a Cold War warrior so it was interesting to see where the West faced off with the Soviet Union and nearly ended human civilization. The street was marked where the Wall once stood and you can get a sense of what it was like, albeit in the form of ghosts.

But, we went from the Arc de Triumph and Eiffel Tower to the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag. From the Palace at Versailles to Checkpoint Charlie. Quite the change.

It was a nice stay, especially after the massive crowds in Paris, but we were ready to move on after a couple days. We looked at the map, checked the schedules, and made our choice - Prague. It turned out to be a good one.