Berlin

We spent our July 4th weekend in Berlin this year. Laurel's birthday is July 5th, and two of her best friends from high school had flown over to spend a couple of weeks with us. Berlin was on their wish list of places to see, so we headed there for the holiday weekend. Sounds perfect, right? Wrong! That happened to be the weekend of record breaking temperatures for Germany and a lot of other European countries. For two days we walked around in 100 degree temperatures. We're from the south, so this shouldn't have been a big deal, right? Wrong again! There was virtually no A/C to be found in this concrete jungle - not in the restaurants where we ate, not in the museums we visited, not in the stores where we shopped, and not in the apartment where we stayed - because, well, it's Europe. A Louisiana summer day had nothing on Berlin this particular weekend because at least in Louisiana, you can go inside and cool off.

Despite the sweltering heat, we had a great time in Berlin. I honestly didn't have very high expectations going in, but I ended up loving this city. There's obviously a lot of history there, but it's also just a really fun, eclectic place.

Obviously the main attraction for all of us was seeing part of the Berlin Wall. It was so sad to read the grafitti on the section of the wall we visited and imagine the people who wrote it not knowing if they'd ever see their loved ones on the other side of the wall.

We also visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It was unlike any other memorial I've ever seen. It contains over 2700 concrete slabs of varying height that rise and fall over a four acre area.

We saw the Reichstag Building which is the home of the German parliament. Normally you can go into the glass dome on top of the building, but it was closed due to the heat.

We also saw the U.S. Embassy which was exciting since it was the first one we've seen since moving here.

The girls did a pretty good job of looking cute even though they were literally wilting from the heat!

They loved these bears which we saw all over the city. They are called Buddy Bears, and they are just placed in various places around they city. Each bear has its own unique design, but they're all very colorful and extremely cute.

Because it was so hot, we cut our day a little short and went back to our apartment where we filled up all the bowls and cups we could find with water and promptly stuck them in the freezer. While we waited for our ice to make, this is what the living room looked like - three girls passed out from the heat in an apartment filled with...heat!

Day two brought more heat and more sight-seeing. The Berlin Cathedral is absolutely beautiful, and it has a beautiful area in front covered with grass.

The fountain out front was a big hit with just about everyone who walked by it. We definitely took our shoes off and stuck our feet in to try and cool off!

Next up was the Brandeburg Gate, the city's famous triumphal arch. The area around the gate was featured in much of the news coverage of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980's. President Reagan stood in front of the gate and delivered his famous "tear down this wall" speech on July 12, 1987.

During our two days in the blazing inferno, we did find one cool respite, and we visited it twice! Fassbender & Rausch is one of the world's largest chocolate stores, and what do you absolutely have to have in a chocolate store? Air conditioning!! The store was cool, it smelled amazing, and there was chocolate everywhere! The chocolate sculptures were incredible, and we all bought goodies to bring home with us.

Our last stop in Berlin was Checkpoint Charlie, the best known crossing point between East & West Berlin during the Cold War. Today it is a huge tourist attraction where you can get your picture made with the "guards.'

Berlin was an awesome experience, despite the uncomfortable weather. Most importantly though, this girl had a great birthday weekend, checked another destination off her bucket list, and even got her Daddy to smile on camera!