We had 2 half days in Berlin based on transportation to our conference and then flying home. We used our time well!
For our first half day, we went and visited the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church that was bombed during WWII and has stayed in its ruined form as a reminder of the war.
Around the church was a Christmas Market, so we did a bit more looking around and we visited the Kathe Wohlfahrt both here at the market and a block away at the actual store.
Inside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, you can see how beautiful it was prior to the war.
A statue of Jesus that survived the bombing.
Found a super cool man hole cover...Sissi wishes we had a plain t-shirt and some paint and she would have taken a rubbing of it.
A closer view. Really neat with all the highlight buildings in Berlin.
Sissi had been saving all year to get a doll at the Kathe Wohlfahrt store. This is the one she picked out and purchased.
I love these things...and this one was huge and outside, right in the middle of the Christmas Market.
The church right by our hotel.
Getting some lunch, also right by our hotel. A great Turkish doner stand with some noodles, also.
On our second half day, we took advantage of the late closing at Museum Island on Thursdays (open until 8pm) and went to see the Neues Museum. It's actually pretty old, but it was closed from WWII until just 10 years ago due to the destruction from the war. It holds most of their Egyptian artifacts and some German history as well. The picture above is actually the Berlin Cathedral, which we have actually never visited...next time, maybe?
This is the Altes Museum.
And, finally, the Neues Museum.
I won't describe all these pictures, but needless to say, the Germans rival both the French and the British in the number of Egyptian artifacts they have studied and accumulated over the years. I am so glad we are studying Ancient History this year with the kids for school, and Krypto has been taking a Biblical Archaeology class as well. This whole trip had so many highlights to take in and relate to our studies.
Even the ceilings in the Neues Museum had history and a story to tell. The audio guide as you went through the museum told you about the exhibits, but also described the rooms we were walking through and what was able to be saved after WWII and what wasn't. They also had original pictures of the rooms so you could get an impression of what it used to look like almost 80 years ago.
A few of the original wall mosaics that they were able to save, on one wall...the other three walls in this room were ruined in the bombings.
Original papyrus pages from the Book of the Dead.
Original mummies of three siblings that died young, a couple thousand years ago, during the Roman period.
Ruins from the museum...most of the very valuable stuff was boxed up and stored during the war, but quite a bit of the collection was left behind and was destroyed.
Part of the find at what they believe to be Troy.
Krypto reading about Schliemann's Troy.
We were so excited to find this one, we had studied it in our Khan Academy Art History course.
As close as we could get to take a picture of Nefertiti's bust...you can't take pictures in the room, only from the outside.
Again, some original paintings that remain on the walls from the 19th Century.
What a great crown!
And, I had to take a picture of this door. It was awesome!
That night we returned to our favorite burger place, right by our hotel....Prince Wilhelm's Burgers. Amazing, huge hamburgers and sweet potato fries. The place is run by Turks as well, and they are so nice. Oh, be prepared if you visit, cash only!
