Berlin in pictures

Hello friends!  I'm getting really excited about my upcoming trip back to the US!  This will be the first Christmas that I've spent at home since 2011, and I am looking forward to it SO much.  The days simply cannot go by fast enough!

Backing up a bit, I have so much to share about our trip to Berlin!  Lena and I went for a long weekend after Thanksgiving, and it was a blast - even though I was totally freezing the entire time!  We spent our days touring the sites and visiting the Christmas markets.  I found it really amazing that there was so much to see right inside the city!  The remnants of the Berlin Wall really give you such a strong feeling of how the division of the city must have been.  These pictures are almost all courtesy of Lena.. hope you enjoy!

We started our free walking tour surrounded by some beautiful buildings

Our guide taught me a ton about Berlin.  Before this, I didn't realize that the wall was actually more than just a wall.. it was an entire zone that separated East from West.

Checkpoint Charlie

Brandenburg Gate

Now without tourists!

"To the German people"

Early morning trip to the Reichstag

Cool building right?

The (only) good thing about going so early is that there is no one else around!

This memorial is (rightfully) massive

You're meant to interpret it on your own

Warming up with some hot coffee!

Christmas market!!!

Beautiful opera house

There was a random show with these little girls dancing.. it made me think of times when I did some random dance at some random community festival when I was young haha.

This photograph was in an exhibit that we went to.  I think it may be hard to tell, but two women are holding their kids over some barbed wire (the beginnings of the Berlin Wall).

Wall remnants

Peace!

Wow