Day 8: Monuments and Memorials in central Berlin...

Today's adventures began with a walk through Alexanderplatz, past the Berliner Dom and down Unter den Linden to the iconic Brandenburg Gate.

We spent some time at the Bradenburg Gate Museum, which offers a very accessible introduction to the history of the Berlin using the Gate as an anchor point in the narrative. We enjoyed a stroll through the lovely Tier Garten,

At the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, we reflected on the enormity of the suffering that permeates the history of many of the sites we will visit during our travels in Europe. This was further emphasized to us by the exhibits presented at the Topography of Terror, a museum that asks visitors  to consider the role of the Gestapo in perpetuating such suffering.

At Check-point Charlie, we remembered the tense/intense rivalry that developed between the USA and the Soviet Union after the Second World War.

Supper time gave us an opportunity to turn our back to the everyday pleasures we have the priviledge to enjoy: we dined at the Berlin Mall. But, believe it or not, despite an incredible selection of dining option, many of our students chose to go with one of the standard bearers of globalization:

 On our stroll back to the hotel, we went through the Gendarmenmarkt and saw the Deutscher Dom, the Kinzerthaus and the Französischer Dom:

Then in Bebelplatz we took a moment to considered the Book Burning Memorial...

Needless to say, we've been trying to make the most of time in Berlin!