This photo of the Victory Column, commemorating Prussian victories between 1864 and 1871, was taken from the taxi on our way from the airport to our hotel.
This is the entry lobby of the Ritz-Carlton in Berlin. The hotel was amazing. I ate a variety of German sausage for breakfast each morning at the breakfast buffet. You can see a theme developing here.
After we arrived we wandered out of our hotel to see what we could just see by walking in the vicinity of our hotel. Our first stop was dinner. We stopped in a deli and I had, you guessed it, bockwurst. Dianna had soup which was very comforting considering the temperature never rose above 2 degrees celcius while we were there. Here Dianna is standing on the line the marks where the Berlin wall used to be. Behind her is the famous Brandenburg Gate and to her left is the Holocaust Memorial. Dianna is facing the direction of our hotel.
This photo is taken across the top of the Holocaust Memorial. The contrast of the warm sunlit columns and the cool shaded columns seemed to speak the words that cannot be found to describe a place like this.
The most famous landmark in Berlin, the Brandenberg Gate. We felt so fortunate to be there as the sun was setting to get this striking image. It's not hard to imagine the processions of Prussians, Nazis, and Allied troops that marched through those columns. What an amazing piece of history. The Victory Column is just beyond the gate. It is blocked from view by the columns.
I couldn't resist this photo op for 2 euros. The lady looks very Russian but I'm not sure the guy looked like the typical American officer. I had a navy hat, there were no American Air Force hats.
As we were walking about, the sun went down and it got really cold really fast. We were in Berlin's most expensive shopping district looking for hats, gloves and scarves. We couldn't afford the expensive brands. We got Dianna's hat from a souviner shop. I think she looks great in it. It was hard to spend any money on winter clothing knowing we had closets and drawers full of them at home in Utah. When leaving home for Doha we just didn't pack many winter clothes.
This is a shot down the street of the most expensive shopping district. We went into a mall to look for some scarves and gloves to find that the mall was an indoor auto mall. It had three levels of some of Germany's finest automobiles. They were displayed in shops and behind glass like anything else you would find in a mall. We knew we were out of our league.
While I was in my conference Dianna went on a bus tour of Berlin. Then while she was traveling to Castrop-Rauxel I took the same tour. The historic architecture of Berlin is absolutely breath-taking. It is another thing I don't think I could describe. This is a picture Dianna took of the Reichstag building. The original construction was completed in 1894. The inscription over the building, Dem Deutschen Volke, translates to "To the German People". It was the seat of the freely elected government. It is just on the west side of where the Berlin Wall was. It was damaged by fire and by the Red Army. The restored and adapted building is once again the seat of government for a free Germany.
This building is the most intreiging one to me. I'm not completely sure why but it seems to say a lot about the history of Berlin and Germany. The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church was damaged by a bomb in World War II. To me it is a story - a story of time, of place and of people. This picture was taken from the tour buss.
I downloaded a better picture from a google search.
Here it is in it's original condition.
I don't remember the name of the square but this is where the Nazi book burning took place.
A momument to Friedrich the Great. We visited his palace in Postdam a few days later.
This image above and the images below are from Dianna's trip to Castrop-Rauxel. Even though I didn't go I loved these images. This is the oldest building in Castrop built in the 19th Century.
Dianna is standing in front of a remnant of the original Berlin Wall. This is just outside our hotel. Although it is the original wall and it is located on the original location, this part of the wall was put here after the plaza was reconstructed. On our last day we visited the only spot where the original wall stands.
This shot was taken in Postdam. Potsdam is where the summer palaces of the Prussian kings, including Friedrich the Great, are located. We felt like we were in a winter wonderland.
Another shot in Postdam.
This is Sanssouci Palace, summer home of Friedrich the Great. We saw the chair he died in.
We decided to walk from the palaces to the train station. We were so glad we did because we saw some amazing things. We called this our gift for that day.
In one of the chapels we came across a replica of the Christus - definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
I loved this image of the shadow of the head of Christ framed in the archway as it rested on the wall behind it.
We also found a shop filled with the handmade wooden things Dianna's father loved - Cuckoo Clocks. . .
. . . and Christmas pyramids to name a few. We bought some Noah's ark animals for Abbey here.
This shot was taken on the same street. I think I will have this one enlarged and framed.
On our last full day in Germany we traveled by train to the Freiberg Temple. If you are ever in Germany and want to travel by train to Freiberg be certain you pronounce it correctly or you might find youself in Freiburg. The pronunciation between the two is subtle for the American ear but they are in completely different parts of Germany. Fortunately, our train tickets were for Frieberg. This is a shot from the train.
. . . as is this one.
The absolute highlight was being in the Freiberg Temple. Not only was it important to us because there is not a temple in the Middle East but it is significant because of its history. I want to read President Monson's book that talks about the building of this temple in Communist East Germany. We were filled with emotion.
On our taxi ride from the hotel back to the airport we stopped at the only originally standing part of the Berlin Wall.
As you can imagine it was an amazing trip. We missed Abbey terribly and are glad she was so brave.
I downloaded a better picture from a google search.
Here it is in it's original condition.
I don't remember the name of the square but this is where the Nazi book burning took place.
A momument to Friedrich the Great. We visited his palace in Postdam a few days later.
This image above and the images below are from Dianna's trip to Castrop-Rauxel. Even though I didn't go I loved these images. This is the oldest building in Castrop built in the 19th Century.
Dianna is standing in front of a remnant of the original Berlin Wall. This is just outside our hotel. Although it is the original wall and it is located on the original location, this part of the wall was put here after the plaza was reconstructed. On our last day we visited the only spot where the original wall stands.
This shot was taken in Postdam. Potsdam is where the summer palaces of the Prussian kings, including Friedrich the Great, are located. We felt like we were in a winter wonderland.
Another shot in Postdam.
This is Sanssouci Palace, summer home of Friedrich the Great. We saw the chair he died in.
We decided to walk from the palaces to the train station. We were so glad we did because we saw some amazing things. We called this our gift for that day.
In one of the chapels we came across a replica of the Christus - definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
I loved this image of the shadow of the head of Christ framed in the archway as it rested on the wall behind it.
We also found a shop filled with the handmade wooden things Dianna's father loved - Cuckoo Clocks. . . 
. . . and Christmas pyramids to name a few. We bought some Noah's ark animals for Abbey here.
This shot was taken on the same street. I think I will have this one enlarged and framed.
On our last full day in Germany we traveled by train to the Freiberg Temple. If you are ever in Germany and want to travel by train to Freiberg be certain you pronounce it correctly or you might find youself in Freiburg. The pronunciation between the two is subtle for the American ear but they are in completely different parts of Germany. Fortunately, our train tickets were for Frieberg. This is a shot from the train.
. . . as is this one.
The absolute highlight was being in the Freiberg Temple. Not only was it important to us because there is not a temple in the Middle East but it is significant because of its history. I want to read President Monson's book that talks about the building of this temple in Communist East Germany. We were filled with emotion.
On our taxi ride from the hotel back to the airport we stopped at the only originally standing part of the Berlin Wall.
As you can imagine it was an amazing trip. We missed Abbey terribly and are glad she was so brave.
What made the trip most meaningful was the connections to our family and the church. What an amazing world we live in. And what is most amazing are the people that are in it. The places are a record of history of the people who lived there. What a history Berlin and Germany has. For more on our trip, see Dianna's blog.
