Easter Tour day 5 (Berlin): Berliner Dom

Late at night the previous day, we bid farewell to Weizhe,who has been kind enough to put up with us the past few days.



We head off for the airport early in the morning because we are taking the 7am flight to Berlin.


Easyjet is the way to fly!


Our first stop was at The Reichstag. We decided to visit the Reichstag a few days later when we returned from Munich and Dom had joined us.


The library right beside the Reichstag.


The Brandenburg Gate.

There is a sulpture of Victoria, the goddess of victory, driving a horse carriage atop. During the french occupation in 1806, the sculpture was dismantled, on Napoleon's orders and taken to Paris. It was only returned in 1814.

This is a very famous gate because it stood in East Berlin and looked over the Berlin wall into West Berlin. It also marks the start of the street Unter den Linden, a rather famous street in Berlin.

Besides continuing our tour, we decided to have some lunch first.


German Sausages!

After lunch, we walk along Unter den Linden. I'm a little stressed cos I'm holding Eye-witness and am supposed to point out the sights. Best part is, I mistake a small war memorial, Neue Wache, for a famous museum, Zeughaus. I say how come the famous museum is so small. Then when we realise my mistake, I get suanned. Right...


Zeughaus!


Zeughaus, Berliner Dom and Tv Tower all in one!

We make a detour to small church before heading to the Berliner Dom.



Princess Luise and Friederike in the Schinkel Museum. The church was converted into a museum.




Walking towards Berliner Dom


By the Spree river, Schlossbrucke (bridge) behind.

Walking along the bridge, decorated with statues from Greek mythology.


Walking to Berliner dome again


Along the way, we see these guys standing in the middle of the road. I gather they are supposed to point drivers to where the parking lots are located. Except these 2 seem to be shifting about and talking to each other quite a bit and are now pointing in different directions. So where're the parking lots?


Building next to Berliner Dom. Zhiqiang likes this building quite a bit..... Hmmm...


Berliner Dom!





Beautiful dome ceiling!



Then we realise that we can actually head upstairs to the upper floors, so why not?





A better overview from above.

Then we realise that we can go even higher, so...

Here's another view of the interior of the church from the highest floor.

After that, we realise that we can climb further. We climb up to enjoy the scenery.



View from Berliner Dom.


SC requests for me to take this photo for him. Effect turns out to be quite nice i think.

I have one photo too!

View from the window

After walking around on this floor, we discover another flight of stairs which goes a long way up. Since we're already here, we decide to go all the way.. It's a long way up and my legs are getting tired....

Finally, at the very top, it's a balcony and you get to see Berlin around the Berliner Dom.

Berliner Dom and Berlin









After some shots from the Balcony, we head back down.

Down and down and down...


Group shot in front of Berliner Dom. Using a very mini tripod.. end up covering most of the building... ^0^

After all that sightsee-ing in Berlin, it's time for us to find our accomodation in Berlin. We suddenly realise its rather late and panick a bit. Now our dear driver and navigator have to figure out how to get to our hostel Qiang asks me to look for his torch light but I can't find it. They are rather tense as this is their first task and pour over the map in the dim light. Worse part is, we don't have a detailed map of Germany, only the one given free of charge by the rental company. As for me, what am I doing? I'm still taking photos.. Yes....

I switch on Qiang's laptop to find out details of our accomodation and maps on how to get to the hostel.

As we drive on, I start getting stressed too. Qiang's laptop has no more battery and has to be used sparingly. I quickly copy down the insturctions on how to get to John's Oriental House. Before I can take a decent photo of any of the maps, the laptop dies... ArghhH!

We take pretty long before we finally find our hostel for the night... Yey!!

It's a rather cheap place that Zhiqiang booked on the net. Think it's 10 Euros...


Ah! there are no beds.. only mattresses on the floor. Most simple hostel I've been to so far.. But there are clean sheets, so no matter...

That night, qiang knocks out totally and starts snoring quite a bit. In the middle of the night, I awaken to see a man and lady walking up his area to stare at him. Then they walk back to their corner in a huff.. I hear the man later telling Qiang to "shut the F*** up". I think its super funny, but I don't wake Qiang and let him sleep on. The next morning, SC says that the guy even threw a ball of paper at Qiang to get him to quiten down. hehhe.... Luckily, I am a sound sleeper. ..

Berlin day 2