Art Daily: Berlin Day Two

I was in bed from 5:30pm Sunday until 11am today. Needed it. Bad. I found my way to Hackescher Markt for Insider Tour's Famous Walk. Four hours with the excellent Barnaby. He is originally from the UK but moved to Berlin 9 years ago. He fell in love with the city after his first visit and move here 6 months later. I will be writing a review on Trip Advisor as it seems this site can make or break your business. One site shouldn't have this much power.

Lot's a photos to follow. I'll do my best to remember all the interesting bits told to us by Barnaby. He's a Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan fan so we got along just fine. These two will come up later.

Berliner Dome from the bridge to Museum Island

Bullet holes from the Battle of Berlin in 1945. Every column is full of bullet holes on Museum Island near the Egyptian Museum.

Berliner Dome in Lustgarten

Lutsgarten facing Humboldt Box

Ah, it's Fall. On our way off Museum Islant to Unter den Linden

Neue Wache- Kathe Kollwitz sculpture of Mother with her Dead Son, a World War II memorial.

Read about it here: http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=10388

Barnaby and our group with the TV Tower in the distance.

Babelplatz. Site of the 1933 Nazi book burning with Humboldt University. Einstein, Schrodinger, Otto von Bismack, the Brothers Grimm & Marx attended.

Memorial to the book burning. Empty shelves. You decide.

All trees in public places are counted and marked. Here's number 2 in Gendarmenmarkt.

Deutscher Dome. This doubled as the Bank of England in 2004's Around the World In 80 days. They had a large Bank Of England sign on it for two week during filming. Talk about confusing the tourists.

Brie sandwich at WayCup.

Checkpoint Charlie. Nothing here is original and the photo of the soldier letting you know you are entering the West was taken in 1991.

Barnaby standing the East Berlin as we stand in West Berlin

Part of the wall at Topograhie des Terrors. Niederkirchnerstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse.

East side of the Berlin Wall

West Side of the Berlin Wall

Funny there's and iron fence in front of the Berlin Wall.

Walking man, a remnant of East Berlin life. It's now trademarked and privately owned. Welcome to the West.

Berlin wall from across the street.

Along Wilhelmstrasse on the way to

Former SS & Gestapo HQ. Now it's a bank

Wilhelmstrasse facing Leipziger Strasse. Zoo to the left, Alexanderplatz to the right.

Barnaby is 6'8" by the way.

Czech Republic Embassy

Western street light

You can't miss the emergency vehicles

Standing on the site of Hitler's bunker. Google Holocaust Memorial on a map and look south down Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse and look at the street view. You will see a group tour standing on the spot.

Hilter's private bunker was under this spot. Just on the other side of the foot path is where his and other bodies were burnt after they committed suicide. Berliner's are conflicted about pointing it out.

This sign is the only way you would know under that car park was Hitler's bunker. The whole complex could hold 80 people comfortably. It has all been dug up and filled in.

Graffti on part of the Berlin Wall.

Holocaust Memorial

I have a video walking through the memorial but it wouldn't load here. I'll try to post it again or on Facebook.

Pariser Platz. Brandenburg Gate

Next to the DZ Bank building (designed by Frank Gehry) facing Hotel Adlon. You may remember a certain pop star dangling his child over the balcony on the second floor.