We are back in the US!

Our American Airlines flight was very full and left late, though we arrived pretty much on time. No traffic during the car ride to Eugene's dad's house. We are running a bunch of errands tomorrow in the city and will resume posting when we start our US road trip.
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On the Plane to NY

To be continued on the USA part of our trip!

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On the plane from London to New York

Last leg of journey back to States
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Landed in London

Taking a bus to the terminal
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On the plane from Berlin to London

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At the British Airways Lounge in Berlin Airport

Wenjun's trips to Brazil finally paid off! We are able to hang out here because she is a sapphire AA frequent flyer - sounds so mysterious!
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Ordering Food at Berlin Airport

Ground level snack bat, not amazing.
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New York, 6000+K

Sign at Berlin airport.
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Tegel Airport Bus (TXL)

Another great deal, it takes you to the main airport in Berlin for only a regular €2.10 ticket. Great deal if you can tolerate the crazy driving with your suitcases.
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A Berlin tram

They mostly serve East Berlin so we didn't ride them.
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Our hotel from the outside

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Berlin Bus 200

Otherwise known as the best sightseeing tour €2.10 will buy you in Berlin and perhaps anywhere. Bus 100 is great also. This is on the upper level - most of them are double deckers. We took the 100 from Alexanderplatz to the Zoo and the 200 on the way back.
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Mosaic Ceiling

Inside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin.
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Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Near the old Zoo train station in Berlin.
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German President's Residence

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Thai Dinner Near Our Berlin Hotel

Not bad at all!
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Reichstag

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Holocaust Memorial in Berlin

It consists of 2711 nameless gravestones of varying heights. The cobbled floor's undulation is probably meant to remind you of the suffering of the Jews. Very good memorial because it allows you to contemplate at your own pace. We didn't make it to the Jewish Museum, but it was nice to see this.
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Berlin Hi-flyer, tethered hot air balloon with views of the city

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Berlin Wall

Not as thick as I had thought, but also has iron bars reinforcing the concrete
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Remaining section of the Berlin Wall at Niederkirchner Street

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Part of the Berlin wall?

No, just neighborhood graffiti.
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Original site of Checkpoint Charlie

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Brandenburger Tor

This is the Brandenburg Gate, a famous Berlin landmark.

Outside Checkpoint Charlie museum

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Piece of the Berlin Wall

This is located outside the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum. The area is a bit of a tourist trap these days as there is no wall actually left outside of it, however there are plenty of "border guards" you can take your picture with, people selling audiotours, and even a station where you can supposedly get your passport authentically stamped with an East Germany exit visa or something like that. The museum is privately run and hence exorbitantly priced - €12.50 for a regular price ticket. It is pretty fascinating though in documenting the history of the wall and those that tried to escape East Germany through it. It badly needs a renovation though, and one is supposedly ongoing.
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Reichstag Dome at Night

 

The original East/West borderline

Now preserved in the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie.
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The sign at Checkpoint Charlie of the Berlin Wall

Here, we are looking from what used to be East Berlin zone to West Berlin zone.
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A lot of WWII memorabilia for sale on the streets of Berlin

I guess some people find it amusing
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Berlin buddy bears

We found out there were about 140 of these bears made in 2006 as Berlin "ambassadors" of goodwill. I think they are now scattered around the world.
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Sachs Goldman?

This must be a trademark issue, no?
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We Can Post Again!

We'll post pictures in order, so yesterday's pics are coming first.

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Nutella crepe in action

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Boo Blogger

Blogger cut us off from making email posts which makes it problematic for us to post from our phones. The only way to remove the restriction is to wait 24 hours. This also means we can't post the pictures that Wenjun takes on her phone :(. We will try our best to get some up tomorrow, otherwise we might have to leave it for when we get back to the US.

Technical Difficulties with Blogger

Posting will resume soon

Crepe break in the mall

The expensive part of the mall

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We've been seeing these bears a lot

Anyone know what they are?
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Mall scupture of trash

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A model of Friedrichstadtpassagen mall

Very large, modern mall connected by underground passages
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French church in Gendarmenmarkt

Twin church, Deutsche Dom, across the square, with the Concert Hall in between
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Gendarmenmarkt

One of Berlin's nicest squares
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Unter der Linden

One of Berlin's finest boulevards, according to the Lonely Planet
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Deutsche Guggenheim

Exterior is not as modern as other Guggenheims
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Max Planck, Founder of Quantum Theory Worked Here

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Humboldt University

Berlin's oldest university. Marx and Engles studied here. Einstein taught here. Book sale outside today.
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Inside the memorial

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Memorial to victims of war and tyranny

Neo classical building with oculus
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German history museum

Building by IM Pei
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View south along the Spree

Interesting that there are boardwalks along the grass lawn
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View of West Berlin from top of Berliner Dom

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View of Berlin from the Berliner Tom cupola

Facing southeast, you can see the Nikolaikirche (with twin spires) and the Rathaus (red building with clock)
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Crypt of Berliner Dom

Where many of the Berlin royalty are entombed. Many of these tombs are for infants or children. Also, many died young (in their 20s)
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