Last of Berlin

On our last day in Berlin, we walked to Museum Island from our hostel. There we found the glorious Berlin Cathedral with a beautiful copper dome. We walked up along the river and made our way to the Pergamon Museum to see the Greek altar for which it is named from 180-160 B.C. The other most impressively large piece is the Babylonian Processional Way that leads to the Gate of Ishtar. The colors are grand as are the pictorials of lions that lead the way. Our next planned stop for the day was to Brandenburg Gate. On our way Marra got distracted by a Swarovski crystal store. We then made it to Brandenburg Gate followed by a short walk over to Reichstag, the Parliament building. The wait to get in was long and hot because they only let in a few people at a time but the architecture and views of Berlin made it well worth it. Like most places in Berlin, it was hot. Air-conditioning is not common despite the warm temperatures. The lack of humidity makes walking around much more tolerable than what we experienced in NYC or a typical summer day in Iowa. After seeing all the sights we were ready for some food, we decided on bratwurst from a street vendor next to Branderburg Gate. By that point we were exhausted, sweaty and very ready for some rest back at the hostel. Near our train stop we stopped in a huge department store like grocery store. After short naps we spent some time down in the lobby of the hostel and met Eli and his father from Vancouver. There was a lot of nerd speak and art talk before we hopped back on the train in attempts to find a shopping center but it was too late in the evening and they were all closed. The night was capped off with a walk in the neighborhood around Wombats Hostel where we finally found the Berlin art scene that had been eluding us since we arrived.