Royal Observatory at Berlin (1711-1835)

After a rainy travel day and a rather wet arrival in Berlin we were a bit worried about the weather for our first full day in the capital of Germany. Being determined spirits we packed our umbrellas and set forth to join a 4 hour walking tour. The tour was in the afternoon and we paid a quick visit to a museum dedicated to the history of Berlin along the way. The visit wasn't a complete success, we didn't really have enough time to get very far with it, but the bit that we did pick up actually came in quite handy on our walking tour as we had some background for the information we were getting during the tour.
The tour was really good - even if the guide and half the group were Australians! We picked up a lot of historical background which we kind of knew about, but not really, as well as getting a feel for the city and what sites and attractions we might like to visit on our own. Berlin is a huge city, but the area in which so much history in terms of the 20th century and most of our lives took place can be wandered around in a couple of hours. We had a chat with one of the fellows that rents out the apartments - one of which we are in - and he was saying it is a big year for him, he has lived now for 25 years with the wall and 25 years without it. When he goes to see the bit of the wall still standing it just looks so small compared with how he remembers it from childhood. At least he missed the war.Lue lisää