Berlin
Berlin- It's the capital of Germany, it's own state, it has endless history and current political things to see, but most of all, it is--as of right now--my favorite city in Germany. I really didn't expect it, but I really did fall in love with the city in the less than two days that I was there. Here are some of my favorite things you should definitely see while you're there(because you should definitely go).
Holocaust Denkmal: I had seen so many photos and videos of this, it was so interesting to see it in person. It's a very eerie place, just over 2,000 gray blocks, ranging from one cm high, to double your height.
Brandenburg Tor: This is only a two minute walk from the Holocaust Denkmal. I didn't really know too much about it before I saw it, but it was beautiful(during the day and night). This is a huge tourist attraction... but at night and early in the morning there was hardly anyone there. Here there this is also a cheeper souvenir shop(much less expensive than anywhere else I saw), that's where I bought a piece of the Berlin Wall!
Reichstag: This is also close by the Brandenburg Tor! This is where the current political action of Germany happens. You can sign up in advance online for a free tour, but do it much in advance, we tried a day in advance and it was too late. But even if you don't, it's still a cool place to see. The building itself is massive, as if you were to zoom in on a picture. It's not necessarily very tall, as buildings go, but it's bulky.
Fernseherturm: This is another T.V. tower, like in Stuttgart, but even taller. This is a good place to also buy tickets online in advance. We got in line at about 9:30 and they began taking in the no-ticket line at 10. So it took up a bigger chunk of our day than I'd have hoped. It was really cool to be able to see all of Berlin from up there, though!
Berlin Mauer, East Side Gallery: this is a section of the wall that still remains up. You can see many of the famous paintings like "Bruderkuss"(brother kiss), the Trabi breaking through the wall, and tons more. This was one of my favorite things to see.
Ampelmännchen: There are a bunch in Heidelberg, but make sure to keep your eye out for the little walking signal guy on the street lights. He was first started in East Germany, and they loved him so much, they made sure he was continued after the fall of the wall. Now he can be found in other parts of west Germany as well, like Heidelberg!
One thing I didn't get to see that I really wanted to was Sonnenalle. This was a street in Berlin that was divided by the wall. I read the book in high school and college for class, and I have seen the movie twice. If you've read it or seen it--well if you haven't, you should, it's actually pretty funny--you should definitely make it out there!
