Saturday in Berlin

Got up around 10am and went into the city to find a place to park. After drving around aimlessly for about half an hour, I finally pulled over and consulted the nav system. It quickly directed me to a park & ride area near the subway. Have I mentioned that I love the navigation system?!?!

Bought a one day subway pass and went to the city center. Once there I stopped at a Kamps and bought an Apfelstrudel and a michkaffe. I´m guessing you can figure out what those are. Then I walked along one of the main shopping districts. There I stopped in a book store and decided to buy a Lonely Planet guide to Berlin. My Let´s Go travel guide for Western Europe is woefully inadequate when it comes to finding your way around in a city. This purchase turned out to be well worth it.

Took the book and began one of the walking tours. Saw some very cool stuff including the Brandenburg Gate.



There is so much history there. This is the place where Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Very cool to think about how America played a role in liberating this city and the people of Germany.

There are lots of big E signs all over the city for the "Einstein Year" celebration. It was 100 years ago this year that Einstein published his first two theories on relativity. Each sign has a little bit of history. It was fun to check them all out.

For dinner I decided to check out one of the Döner kebab places that my travel guide raved about. Apparently these Döner kebab things were invented in Berlin by Turkish immigrants and have become the most popular fast food here. I have to say after trying it that I can see why. It's VERY similar to a gyro, but the bread is a little different and it's toasted. Inside you get shaved lamb, red cabbage, onions, lettuce, tomato, and some sauce. In all, an outstanding cheap meal.