BERLIN, GERMANY 2008
Sophia loves maps; "We are here!"
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin's most famous landmark
Atop the Brandenburg Gate, Goddess of Victory on a chariot
Mural shows the Brandenburg Gate during the era of the Berlin Wall (1961-1989)
Site of the infamous book burning by the Nazis in 1933
Memorial to the Jewish Holocaust victims
The sole remaining ruin of Berlin's World War II damage: Kaiser Wilhelm church next to a modern bell tower
Modern statue of Christ hanging above the altar of the new Kaiser Wilhelm church
The Reichstag, seat of the German parliament, destroyed by arson in 1933, bombed in World War II, restored in the 1990s
The glass cupola inside the Reichstag with winding pedestrian ramp
Inside the Reichstag; can you see me taking the photo?
The dark tablets are a memorial to the German politicians killed due to their opposition to the Nazis
Humboldt University in Berlin, a lot older (1810) than Humboldt State University in California (1914)
One of the last remaining segments of the Berlin Wall (for demonstration purposes only), showing the double wall system and "death zone" in between
Memorial to East Germans killed while trying to escape across the wall
Checkpoint Charlie with a picture of a Soviet soldier beyond; this was the only crossing into East Berlin from 1961-1989
The sign at Checkpoint Charlie which used to indicate the political division of West and East Berlin
One of the few remaining communist-era murals of East Berlin, everyone marching forward for the glory of socialism
And everyone happily singing the praises of communism
Emphasizing social duties like working hard in school (at geography and science), on the side of a skyscraper in East Berlin
A few East German Trabant cars survive, but most stopped running long ago
The East Berlin walk sign, one of the little differences between West and East
The longest remaining segment (1.3 km) of the Berlin Wall
Who is this guy supposed to be? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? James Worthy?
A slab of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz; the former path of the wall is marked by cobblestones (lower left of photo)
Sophia Ebiner at one of the remnants of the Berlin Wall
Making our mark on the Berlin Wall (this was encouraged)
Sophia next to our little graffiti
Potsdamer Platz today with all of the skyscrapers built in the 1990s after the fall of the wall
Eastern Berlin has had a total makeover since 1990
Some construction continues in eastern Berlin
Obama spoke to 200,000 people in Berlin a week before we were there
Tina Turner is still doing worldwide tours? She's 68 years old!
Hotel Adlon, where Michael Jackson dangled his baby over the balcony railing in 2002
Berlin Zoo, one of the world's best
Asian elephant taking a dirt bath
Giant panda, one of the best loved creatures on earth
These grizzlies look like they are in Alaska
Sophia at the hippo enclosure
Gendarmenmarkt square looks nice in black and white
Gendarmenmarkt at night
BERLIN, ONE OF EUROPE'S GREATEST CITIES
