Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

[scubacruiserx2]

It sure was a sad thing with so many lives taken needlessly.:(

 

Yes it was and unfortunately our next stop reflected on it even more - Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe .

[scubacruiserx2]

The memorial seems to be stark , dark , twisted , confusing and depressing .

 

 

 

But , I think that's the point .

 

 

 

 

Our challenge was to enter it , and walk through individually , exiting and meeting our bus at the far side .

 

 

 

 

And of course , I turned off course looking for and finding , no reference point .

 

 

 

 

The memorial is near the yellow American embassy and in the distance , the Reichstag .

 

 

 

I really felt the desire to interject some color .

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

Such a poignant reminder of a horrific episode in history and such waste.:(

[scubacruiserx2]

Such a poignant reminder of a horrific episode in history and such waste.:(

 

It truly was , and we hope and pray that something like this never happens again !

[MicCanberra]

Unfortunately similar genocidal events are being repeated today in some parts of the world, just at a much smaller scale. :(

Anyway, sorry to drag down the tone of the review.:o

[scubacruiserx2]

We were all ready for a change and we got it when we stopped for lunch at Deponie ( Landfill ) .

 

 

I had : #431 Grilled Sausage „Berlin Style“ 9,50 €

with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes

 

 

Pat had : #434 „Schweineschnitzel“ 12,50 €

fried meat of pork coated in breadcrumbs with

mixed vegetables and boiled potatoes

 

 

And Ty had : #440 Fried Sausage „Berlin Style“ CURRYWURST 8,50 €

with pommes frites and homemeade currydip

 

And for desert , we all had #481 Applestrudel 4,10 €

fresh from the oven with vanilla sauce .

 

 

 

Wunderbar !

 

 

And after lunch we had a chance to walk it off . No tram needed !

 

 

 

 

 

Museum Island and the river Spree , under construction .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

After we crossed the river Spree

 

 

 

 

 

We saw a small model of a couple of giant buildings which we were about to see

 

 

 

 

The Altes (Old) History Museum

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altes_Museum

 

 

and the Berliner Dom ( Berlin Cathedral ) .

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Cathedral

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Continuing walking down the river we came to a beautiful bridge with statues and some blue water pipes .

 

 

 

 

This is the Castle Bridge

 

 

 

The castle bridge over the western branch of the Spree and was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. But before the architect was commissioned to the stone bridge, was at the same place a wooden bridge. They served mainly the material transport in the construction of the City Palace. Until the king in 1821 found that the wooden bridge with the surrounding magnificent buildings such as the City Palace is too profane.

Figures on the Castle Bridge

The contract for the construction of a new stone bridge was the then secret Oberbaurat Karl Friedrich Schinkel. To ornament of architect planned eight groups of figures of marble, but this could be realized only after his death. They show the life of a hero from youth to death. After completion of the bridge work, the Castle Bridge was the largest bridge in Berlin.

The Castle Bridge after the Second World War

During the Second World War, the marble statues were removed for safekeeping. The bridge itself was barely damaged. After the end of World War II, the building was on eastern territory, the statues in western occupation zone. After the demolition of the City Palace and the renovation of the square in Marx-Engels-Platz, the bridge was renamed Marx-Engels Bridge. It was named Schloßbrücke back on October 3, 1991, the first anniversary of reunification. By the mid-80s, the marble statues were brought to their ancestral places again.

 

From Berlin.de

 

 

As for the water pipes , we saw them all around the city and I don't remember Heather's exact explanation , but it went something like this article :

 

 

In short: Berlin is built on sand and the groundwater level is close to the surface. If building sites would just pump water out, the sinking ground water level in the area would damage other buildings and the trees. Thus therefor they use things like "Negativbrunnen" (reverse springs - i.e. water is pumped into the underground).

 

 

 

After crossing the bridge , we walked along the busy street Unter den Linden to our next stop , Neue Wache . It has a very interesting and storied history : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neue_Wache

 

This photo from Wikipedia and Beek 100

 

 

 

 

After German reunification, the Neue Wache was again rededicated in 1993, as the "Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship." At the personal suggestion of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the GDR memorial piece was removed and replaced by an enlarged version of Käthe Kollwitz's sculpture Mother with her Dead Son. The pietà-style sculpture is directly placed under the oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold of the Berlin climate, symbolizing the suffering of civilians during World War II. Quote from the Wikipedia article

 

 

This isn't a black and white photo

 

 

 

And if you look carefully , you can see what is tear-like riverlet of water flowing from the mother's eyes across her son's face and dripping down his chin .

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Unfortunately similar genocidal events are being repeated today in some parts of the world, just at a much smaller scale. :(

Anyway, sorry to drag down the tone of the review.:o

 

No worries , it was a very sobering and somber day , and the cool gray day seemed to be reflective of the subject matter . :(

[MicCanberra]

Some great pictures and fascinating histories along with them. The pumping of the water is very interesting, I was wondering if it was a flood mitigation process at first.:D

[Phamer55]

Found this wonderful ongoing review a week ago, finally caught up!

[scubacruiserx2]

Some great pictures and fascinating histories along with them. The pumping of the water is very interesting, I was wondering if it was a flood mitigation process at first.:D

 

Thanks Mic , and a gold medal for your always keen insight and powers of observation ! :) :D

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Phamer55[/i];50796545]Found this wonderful ongoing review a week ago, finally caught up!

 

And thank you Phamer55 , a gold medal for marathon reading !

 

 

[MicCanberra]

Thanks Mic , and a gold medal for your always keen insight and powers of observation ! :) :D

 

 

 

Thanks, I think that lifts Australia into the top 10 on the Olympics medal tally.:D

[scubacruiserx2]

Continuing along the street , we paused in front of Humboldt University before crossing the street

 

 

 

Across the street was this striking photo ad

 

 

 

 

 

I find foreign advertising and graffiti interesting

 

 

 

Play ad : "It's me NOT, ADOLF HITLER IS BEEN"

 

 

 

Graffiti on a door

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Humboldt University is an amazing school which is home to 29 Nobel Prize winners . A couple of the famous alumni and professors include Albert Einstein and Marx and Engels .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_University_of_Berlin

 

 

 

However , Heather was more concerned with Bebelplatz , where we now stood .

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebelplatz

 

 

 

 

The Bebelplatz is known as the site of one of the infamous **** book burning ceremonies held in the evening of 10 May 1933 in many German university cities. The book burnings were initiated and hosted by the nationalist German Student Association, thus stealing a march on the National Socialist German Students' League. The assembly of the books had started on the sixth, when students dragged the contents library of the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft into the square. At the Student Association's invitation Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels held an inflammatory speech prior to the burning. Besides other spectators, it was attended by members of the **** Students' League, the SA ("brownshirts"), SS and Hitler Youth groups. They burned around 20,000 books, including works by Heinrich Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein and many other authors.

 

Quote from the Wikipedia article

 

 

 

 

Set in the ground is a glass window which allows you to see number of empty bookshelves large enough to hold the 20,000 burnt books .

 

 

 

There is also a plate with a quote from one of the burnt books , Almansor 1820 , by Heinrich Heine .

 

 

 

 

English translation : "That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they will in the end also burn people".

[MicCanberra]

Prophetic words from 1820.

[scubacruiserx2]

Thanks, I think that lifts Australia into the top 10 on the Olympics medal tally.:D

 

# 8 in terms of total medals , I think ! Australia & the US in the gold medal basket game ? :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Following Heather we had a short walk toward a double dome area

 

 

 

 

The first dome was the French Church built by the Huguenot community between 1701 and 1705 .

 

 

The second dome is the German Church built in 1708 by the Lutheran community .

 

 

 

Between them is a third building , the Konzerthaus Berlin , built in 1820 .

 

 

 

The Gendarmenmarkt is arguably Berlin's most magnificent square. It is best known for the architectural trio composed of the German and French cathedrals (Deutscher und Französischer Dom) and Schinkel's Konzerthaus (concert hall) which together form one of the most stunning ensembles in Berlin. The "domes" refer to the domed tower structures erected in 1785 by architect Carl von Gontard. They were mainly intended to add stature and grandeur to the two buildings.

 

From Berlin.de

 

 

 

 

It's a great spot for wide angle photos .

 

 

 

[MicCanberra]

# 8 in terms of total medals , I think ! Australia & the US in the gold medal basket game ? :) :D

 

Certainly a good chance to get there (the Aussies that is), they pushed them hard in the first round game before being done in the last couple of minutes.:D

[upwarduk]

Although we have been to Germany a number of times ( DH's choir exchange visits) we have never been to Berlin, so interesting reading!

[scubacruiserx2]

Certainly a good chance to get there (the Aussies that is), they pushed them hard in the first round game before being done in the last couple of minutes.:D

 

I'd love to see a rematch in the Gold Medal game . We'll find out today . :) :D

[scubacruiserx2]

Although we have been to Germany a number of times ( DH's choir exchange visits) we have never been to Berlin, so interesting reading!

 

It's a long day , but we felt that it would be good for Tyler's education . He knew Hitler and Stalin ( but not Churchill or FDR ) and we thought that it would be good for him to see some of those sites where their actions took place . I'm surprised that Cruise Critic would allow the name of Hitler , but filter out the name of his political party ! If the Germans are willing to call evil by it's proper name - so should we !

 

We also have seen another side of Germany . Pat's parents ( both American ) met in post war Germany . And we did have a nice 10 day stay in Munich with day trips to Saltzburg .

 

 

and Neuschwanstein .

 

 

 

 

Beautiful countryside in Bavaria !

 

 

 

On the same trip ( no cruise ) we visited Ireland , where Pat's ancestor's first immigrated to the US ( thru Cork ) .

 

 

 

 

If Tyler wasn't with us , we considered driving from Rostock to Poznan , Poland , where my ancestor's immigrated from . It's about a 4 hour drive each way .

 

[Gracie115]

And if you look carefully , you can see what is tear-like riverlet of water flowing from the mother's eyes across her son's face and dripping down his chin .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sculpture being my favorite form of art....this is just beautiful.....thanks for sharing it....you should go to Rome someday and see the amazing works by Bernini, Rafael, Michaelangelo and more.....truly amazing and humbling...

[scubacruiserx2]

Sculpture being my favorite form of art....this is just beautiful.....thanks for sharing it....you should go to Rome someday and see the amazing works by Bernini, Rafael, Michaelangelo and more.....truly amazing and humbling...

 

I would love to , hopefully one day soon ! :) :D