J and D's Excellent Adventure

Mr. John had a few things around town he wanted to see before he jetted off to Spain. We tried to get a few of them in on Saturday, but the heat was so overwhelming that basically nothing got accomplished. The night before he left we ate a ton of Otter pops, chugged some Coke and got some last-minute motivation to hammer out some sightseeing goodness. Jeremy graciously volunteered to put Abby to bed so we could go adventuring. I didn't complain.

First we hit up the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. It was severely bombed during the war and was incredibly interesting. I can't believe it is still standing.

Then we went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the US Embassy. I did get a little more insight into it this time around -- according to Eisenman's project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. Yup, it does do that.

A quick stop for bratwurst and pommes.

Across the road we got some Brandenburg Gate action.

This hotel has an interesting history. You should Google it because I'm super lazy.

We checked off Checkpoint Charlie.

And got a driveby shot of the Reichstag – the German Parliament. It's a pretty sweet building.

Thanks for coming, Boyd. We miss ya already! If you ever feel like braving the stink again, come on back :)