Berlin is a city with 3.5 million people. The transportation systems are various, and extend to the rest of Europe in a large system. The entire city is built up. The apartments are tall. To get to my room in the flat I stayed in it was 88 stairs. The food in the neighborhood I stayed in was diverse and options ran for blocks. Behind my flat was food, drinks and shopping, and in front of my flat was trains, busses and a busy street for cars. Most main streets have a middle lane for pedestrians and buses or trains. There are three different types of trains. The Underground, Overground and Line trains. There are several bus options but mostly the one that starts with H. Writing out directions to a place takes an entire page in my journal, usually because of the transfers and long street names. I was staying in East Berlin, where nothing is done extravagantly and everything is accessible and cheap. I visited the Friedrich Strasse area and discovered that private corporate business has built an extravagant business amongst the historical buildings. There are pieces of Art in the old architecture but most of the buildings in this area are made of glass, and tall, full of things to buy, or business to manage. This is on the west side of Berlin. From the small glimpse I saw, there is a very clear difference between the East and West Berlin. East Berlin is local business based. West Berlin is booming with big business that towers over in glass. Berlin is a huge city with more districts to visit than I have time there.

I saw the Reichstag Building in Berlin. “It served as a forum for Hitler’s speeches and a rubber stamp assembly of loyal Nazis” (Ladd p. 89) This building is the “Paramount symbol of Hitler and Nazi Germany, and the ultimate prize in the battle of Berlin.” (Ladd p. 89) This building was set aflame February 27th 1933 and Hitler vetoed the demolition of the building to keep it a historical artifact for Nazi Germany. It was rebuilt in 1961 as the Berlin Wall was separating East and West Germany. The building was said to have been for Germany reunified, because it was to be Germany’s parliament’s meeting place. It is now a tourist attraction.

After a week in Berlin I rode the train to Bonn Germany to meet with Elizabeth. The train was supposed to be 5 hours. I ended up being on it for 10 hours because the electricity went out in the first section of the train. It was a long day. Then Lizzie, her Nana and I flew to London the next morning. It was a short, hour flight. When we arrived we rode an hour long tube ride from the airport to the apartment. The tube, or underground, or subway is hectic. Each car, or section was pact! This is normal we discovered through various tube rides through the city. The system is laid out well, and very easy to navigate! I wish there were a tube everywhere! Everyone had a British accent, even the loudspeaker. Sometimes it seemed like its own language….especially when sleep deprived. While in London we visited vintage stores, The Tower of London, The Parliament building, Westminster Abbey, and The Buckingham Palace.  I felt like I just got started, and then had to leave.

There were some really neat buildings downtown London. Some new, many artistically embewed with leaves, flowers and Queens. My favorite store was The Astrology Shop because it had a lot of really neat books. I had to pull myself out of there!

The next stop was The Tower Of London

This is the place of many royal coronation ceremonies, celebrations, royal imprisonments and some infamous beheading as well. This castle is many separate towers that all correlate together. Each tower was built at a different time. All of the stairs wind, and all of the doors have arches. The history here spans through many families, lineages, Kings and religions. This is where King Henry Vlll married Anne Boleyn, imprisoned her and beheaded her. A classic tale of betrayal. King Henry the Vlll was never meant to be King. His brother died young, and King Henry the Vlll was the next heir. King Henry Vlll then married his brothers wife Queen Catherine of Aragon. When Queen Catherine could not give King Henry an heir, because she older than him and hitting menopause, King Henry then had to make up a reason for divorce in order to be with Anne Boleyn. Long story short….King Henry the Vlll had 6 wives that never gave him a male heir to his throne. Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Queen Elizabeth l then became the well known Queen that ended the need for an heir to be male.

This is the Parliment! They play a large role in the Monarch that still exists in London.

Tomorrow I’m waking up early to meet with Against Me!

Until, later, Goodnight!