The Wall to The Tower - 2025

A 14-day adventure by Christopher Read more

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Day 4
Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 5:35 PM
☁️ 73 °F
Altitude: 144 ft
Germany Berlin 52.509012, 13.37929452°30’32” N 13°22’45” E
German Spy Museum
July 24 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
Next, I went to the German Spy Museum. It was geared more for kids, but it had some cool things for adults, too. There was a password strength calculator. I have a password manager which generates random passwords that are up to 30 characters (caps, lower, numbers, and special). There is a "master password" to access mine. I put in a similar password (same structure of characters), and it said it would take 4 million years for a computer to crack it. I'm not sure how true that is, but it made me feel good! Checking online, one site said 15 years, and another said 2 million.
They had a cryptex like in the DaVinci Code and taught you how to crack a safe!Read more
That's really neat! [Sharon]
7/25/25Reply
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Day 4
Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
☁️ 73 °F
Altitude: 121 ft
Germany Berlin 52.507196, 13.38266152°30’26” N 13°22’58” E
Topography of Terror
July 24 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
Last stop of the day was to a place just outside of a museum called the "Topography of Terror". This is the last part of the Berlin Wall that I saw. We passed by it yesterday, but we didn't have time to go down and take pictures. I'm not sure, but I would guess that it is one of the longest parts of The Wall still standing. Because it is part of the Topography of Terror Museum, it doesn't have graffiti. Very emotional and quiet place.
I learned that the "Nomans Land" between the walls separating the East and the West were typically between 30 and 150 yards. If somehow somebody did get over the first wall without being shot, they would almost always get shot in the middle. The East Germans filled the area with sand so it was harder to run on. The "safest" way was to and dig under into West Germany. Once The Wall was up, they estimated only 5,000 people made it from one side to the other, compared to over 400,000 prior.Read more
I love finding out these things!!!!!!!!!! [Sharon]
7/25/25Reply
Amazing! [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 7:35 AM
☁️ 64 °F
Altitude: 128 ft
Germany Berlin 52.525286, 13.37028652°31’31” N 13°22’13” E
To Belgium!
July 25 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Im off to Belgium! First part of the train ride is to Cologne. For this trip, whenever I could, I treated myself to 1st class tickets and pre-selected sest. :-D
I have a 90 min layover ther. We are running later, so I probably wont really have time to explore.Read more
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 11:25 AM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 295 ft
Germany Hagen 51.362956, 7.46040151°21’47” N 7°27’37” E
Speedy Thoughts
July 25 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Send "speedy" thought. Train is running behind schedule, and I didn't have as long before my connection as I thought. Speedy thoughts, please!
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 12:30 PM
⛅ 73 °F
Altitude: 528 ft
Germany Wuppertal 51.254745, 7.14998551°15’17” N 7°8’60” E
Late
July 25 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
We're not going to make it on time. We're going to be late getting there by about 45 minutes. I canceled my ticket and rebooked a new one. The bad news is that the new one cost €67 MORE than the other. It sounds like they're going to do something to help everybody get to the final city (either Brussels or Paris). But I paid for 1st class, so it's going to be a pain in my case. It's expensive, but rebooking now gets me a reserved seat. Pease of min is worth the extra €67 in this case.Read more
What is E67? [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
TravelerIts €67. I.e. 67 Euros. € is the sign they use instead of $
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 1:00 PM
⛅ 75 °F
Altitude: 230 ft
Germany Cologne 50.943442, 6.95838150°56’36” N 6°57’30” E
Finally
July 25 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
We finally made it to Cologne (Köln)! The conductor said we could exchange our tickets, so I went to see if it was too late. Since I had already canceled the original, they said I couldn't do it. Oh well. I wasn't in a rush today because I knew there would be a lot of time needed for travel.Read more
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
⛅ 77 °F
Altitude: 194 ft
Germany Cologne 50.941733, 6.95257750°56’30” N 6°57’9” E
DB Lounge
July 25 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
One of the benefits that I get with the 1st Class ticket I bought was that I get access to the DB Lounge. Free food, soda, wine, and beer. Nice chairs. Quiet. And only a 8 min walk from the train station!Read more
It seems you're living high on the hog, so to say! [Sharon]
7/25/25Reply
Wow nice! [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 3:10 PM
⛅ 79 °F
Altitude: 190 ft
Germany Cologne 50.94177, 6.9564850°56’30” N 6°57’23” E
Köhln (Cologne)
July 25 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
The cathedral in Cologne is beautiful! I didnt have time to go in, but after seeing it, I'll definitely go in next time!
It would have been interesting to see the inside! [Sharon]
7/25/25Reply
I'm going next time! [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM
⛅ 79 °F
Altitude: 213 ft
Germany Cologne 50.94813, 6.95356250°56’53” N 6°57’13” E
On to Belgium!
July 25 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
I don't think I'll be able to go back to 2nd Class after this trip in Europe....lol.
How did you get to be in first class???? [Sharon]
7/25/25Reply
TravelerI paid the extra....lol
7/26/25Reply
Spoiled! [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
TravelerHaha
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 5:47 PM
⛅ 75 °F
Altitude: 75 ft
Belgium Saint-Gilles - Sint-Gillis 50.836541, 4.33792650°50’12” N 4°20’17” E
Bruxelles Midi
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
Made it to Brussels!!!!!
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 6:00 PM
⛅ 75 °F
Altitude: 157 ft
Belgium Saint-Gilles - Sint-Gillis 50.832414, 4.3501750°49’57” N 4°21’1” E
Hilton Garden Inn Brussels City Center
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
Just checked in! It looks like this will be a nice hotel too!
That looks really nice! [Sharon]
7/25/25Reply
Looks nice [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 7:40 PM
⛅ 73 °F
Altitude: 95 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846499, 4.35282150°50’47” N 4°21’10” E
Grade Place
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
Here are some of the buildings in the Great Square.
Nice! [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 7:45 PM
⛅ 73 °F
Altitude: 79 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846729, 4.35240850°50’48” N 4°21’9” E
Legends Walking Tours
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F
The walking tour company that I used in Berlin partners with this company in Belgium. Let's see how they compare!
Let ne know! [Dad]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:05 PM
☀️ 73 °F
Altitude: 62 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846827, 4.35239450°50’49” N 4°21’9” E
Guide
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
We met our guide for the evening, Maryam. And we're off!
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:10 PM
☀️ 72 °F
Altitude: 85 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846727, 4.35235650°50’48” N 4°21’8” E
Town hall
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
The places in this square are beautiful. However, there are a few things wrong with their Town Hall. It's not symmetrical at all.....lol. Statues are different, the windows are different, the clock is on the side, and the door is off centered. Apparently, it was supposed to be symmetrical, but due to multiple architects, it morphed into what we see now.Read more
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:15 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 85 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846804, 4.35233150°50’48” N 4°21’8” E
Leather Tanners
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Our guide told us a story about how the leather guilde in Brussels needed something to help them with their leathermaking process. It turned out that a substance found in urine worked great. People were paid for their urine, but eventually, people started diluting it so they could sell more of it (which was bad for the leathermaking process). So the leathermakers needed to hire people to taste the urine first to make sure it wasn't diluted. Because those testers were often very poor, we got the expression "piss poor" for the two groups of people.Read more
LOL I got a big kick out of that one! [Sharon]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:20 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 85 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846804, 4.35233150°50’48” N 4°21’8” E
First prison
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Originally, this building was a prison because it was close to square where the trials were held (Great Square). They made an underground tunnel to transport the prisoners back and forth. That tunnel still exists!Read more
What did the tunnel look like??? [Sharon]
7/26/25Reply
TravelerIt's a hotel now, so the tunnel is closed off on both sides unfortunately
7/27/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:25 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 98 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.844664, 4.35293350°50’41” N 4°21’11” E
Saint-Jean Square
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
In this square, they punished women who adulterated. They eventually put up a statue of Gabrielle Petit in the middle. It is ironic because she was very devoted to her country and her family. Her husband was a soldier, so she enlisted as nurse. The British made her a spy during World War I because of how many languages she spoke. Unfortunately, she was captured by the Germans and exicuted because she refused to be unfaithful to her country.Read more
I wonder why Nathan Hale wasn't awarded a statue...... [Sharon]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:35 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 131 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.842605, 4.35281250°50’33” N 4°21’10” E
Tower of the masons
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
This is part of the first wall around the city. The tower was used for prison for important trials to help make sure they didn't escape.
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:40 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 118 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.84222, 4.35233850°50’32” N 4°21’8” E
Water
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Water came down from this street to supply the rest of the city with water. This location, specifically, is right outside of the city wall, where the poor people lived.
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 8:45 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 125 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.841219, 4.35089450°50’28” N 4°21’3” E
Peter Bruegel
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
Peter Bruegel is a famous Dutch painter who lived in Belgium. One of his paintings was called 126 Proverbs. It contains 126 proverbs from Dutch that exist in Dutch, although many have English equivalents. The monkey was a reference to the painting of him and his wife that he painted as monkeys. Magpie was the animal associated with gossip, which he hates.Read more
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
⛅ 72 °F
Altitude: 190 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.837699, 4.35158850°50’16” N 4°21’6” E
Palace of Justice
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F
This is the Palace of Justice. It is the largest one in the world.
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Day 5
Friday, July 25, 2025 at 10:00 PM
⛅ 68 °F
Altitude: 56 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.847111, 4.35243950°50’50” N 4°21’9” E
Dessert
July 25 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
Stopped back in the Grande Square for a drink and some dessert waffles! Definitely weren't authentic Belgium waffles, so I'll have to get some real ones tomorrow.
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Day 6
Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 12:27 PM
⛅ 75 °F
Altitude: 105 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846234, 4.35199550°50’46” N 4°21’7” E
Frit
July 26 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F
Stopped for lunch and got some Frites (French fries) with garlic sauce, and a fricandelle (a porc or chicken sausage - mine was porc). The fricandelle was ok, but the fries were great!
Those fries do look delicious! [Kim]
7/26/25Reply
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Day 6
Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM
☁️ 75 °F
Altitude: 105 ft
Belgium Brussels 50.846423, 4.35235850°50’47” N 4°21’8” E
Charles Buls
July 26 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
Charles was a mayor of Brussels starting in 1881. He was a big supporter of the Flemish language in the city and even made street signs in both French and Flemish. He also fought to keep and restore places that are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. His biggest achievement was to oppose the ostentatious architectural plans of King Leopold II so that Brussels could keep its look and culture.Read more
Sounds like a good mayor! [Sharon]
7/27/25Reply
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