June 10, 2025
I had a bit of time before we headed to the train station to leave for Prague so I wanted to explore a bit more of Berlin in search of happy places after the intense day yesterday!
I grabbed an Uber and headed to the East Side Gallery. The Gallery conserved graffiti project by 118 artists covering part of the Berlin Wall & celebrating its demise. The art is incredible and they have made it an fun place to reflect
While I was out I got a great view of the Reichstag dome, a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag.
As we have explored the city we keep seeing Buddy Bears The bear is Berlin’s mascot, and in 2001 they started developing the so-called Berlin Buddy Bears, fiberglass sculptures of bears to promote the qualities of “tolerance” and Weltoffenheit (cosmopolitanism) associated with the city. It is joyful to spot the bears
The pieces of the wall that are close to our hotel have locks attached to the base. These locks are a relatively recent phenomenon and are not part of the wall’s original structure or history. The love locks are a symbolic gesture of love and commitment and are placed by couples or people honoring a loved one.
Berlin has recovered but not forgotten the horror of the camps, the devastation of the war and the wall to become a thriving city…there is hope!!!
Off to the train station to go to Prague!!
Love that city, so fortunate to have been there before the wall came down!!