Brandenburg Gate and Parliament

Today we decided to check out some more major tourist attractions in Berlin. We hopped off the subway near Checkpoint Charlie, which we visited yesterday, and walked down a long street called the Unter Den Linden, lined by silver linden trees, which led to the Brandenburg Gate. The street was very wide and had a large median for pedestrians. In the median were a couple small street cafes.

The Brandenburg Gate loomed, monumental, at the end of the road. Its image is scattered all over the city, on the subway trains and Euro coins and show posters. A small band was playing on the side of the street, commanding the attention of most of the passersby.

Around the corner, a few blocks down from the Gate was the magnificent Parliament building of Berlin, the political center of Germany. It towered above the flat stretch of grass leading up to its front stairs. German flags flew from the corners of the roof, and a giant glass dome graced the center of the structure. The building was made of thick stone, intricately carved and heavily repaired after WWII.

A lot of people were lounging in the long courtyard before the Parliament building, lying on blankets, reading books, flying kites. Bicycle carts waited near the street for passengers. A Segway tour snaked its way across the stone floor and disappeared around the corner of the building.

Arne and I walked through a pretty little park at the far end of the courtyard, then decided to go through the city to find a place to eat. We used the subway to go to Mehringdamm where we met Viyan for currywurst a couple days ago; tonight we went to an Indian restaurant which was visible from the currywurst place. Both of us had practically the same meal—chicken bites with rice and a few mouthfuls of lettuce. Only the sauce was different. Mine was a rich red tomato-ey spicy sauce; Arne’s was a brownish yellow. Both were DELICIOUS!

We finished the day with a partial viewing of the Sound of Music. Why only partial? Arne suddenly passed out, and I followed shortly thereafter.