Berlin: Day 2 - Rain, rain, go away!

Berlin is a city full of history - this, of course, means nothing to young children. We try to plan our days to include at least a few hours of stuff kids enjoy and even then I cannot avoid one of them complaining about something.

This morning we awoke to a drizzling rain, the kind that lightly falls all day hardly ever ceasing. I hate rain unless it is in FL where it is hot and rain is a welcome relief. I especially hate rain when it is already cold outside. So, breaking my rule of saving all children activities for the end of the trip as my bargaining chip for good behavior, we boarded the train for LegoLand Discovery Center at Potsdamer Platz. We figured this would be a good way to spend a rainy day.

After one train stop, everyone exits at Alexanderplatz. We follow suit only to learn that beginning today, on the first full day of our trip, there is construction work taking place at the following 2 stations. I specifically chose this apartment because of it's proximity to the U2 line (here's to you Bono!). The U bahn solution: bus everyone to the Spittelmarkt station on a U2 labeled bus so they can then continue their journey on the U2 line. We were at the tail end of the morning rush hour which in Berlin seems to last all day. This specific round of bad luck does not surprise me since this month has been all about throwing me for a loop.

We get to LegoLand a little after 10:15. After a quick snack at the next door Dunkin Donuts, we made the line for tickets in the rain. Our coats/jackets were soaked by the time we actually got inside.

LegoLand is a glorified Chuck E Cheese with more sophisticated activities. There is a 4D movie, a slow moving Lego Dragon ride, an Indiana Jones jungle expedition, a model building workshop (kids were taught how to make Halloween pumpkins), a testing center where you design/build a vehicle and then test it on a track, a huge jungle gym and the proverbial gift shop at the exit. The kids had a great time, but I really could have skipped the whole thing.

As we leave and head across Potsdamer Platz, we see a large crowd gathering in front of the Ritz Carlton. Josh was curious so we headed over. This is where social psychology can be viewed at it's finest. I asked someone why the crowd had gathered. No one really knew. What I found all the more interesting, but expected, is that more and more people, having not a clue as to who was coming out of that hotel, kept lining up and waiting with all the other clueless persons.

I wasn't going to wait around for a celebrity when I didn't even know who it was. But, my goofy husband was eager to find out who everyone was waiting for. I joked with him that for all we knew, it was Hannah Montana.

The Ritz started giving out purple balloons to the kids. It had some writing on it. I kept telling the Cat to find out what the balloon said. Guess who everyone was waiting for? He finds out and comes up to me asking me who is Miley Cyrus? For any parent of a tween girl (or if you watch the Disney Channel for any period of time0, you would know that Miley Cyrus is Hannah Montana.

I really couldn't care less (sorry to my young cousins who are big fans), but the tweenager whose parents asked me what was going on was thrilled to hear this news. the Cat in all his Peter Pan-esque glory wanted to stay because if Miley is coming so is Billy Ray and this would be a double celebrity sighting. Not that he even cares about either. I couldn't care less about either. I bribed him with coffee at the Starbucks across the platz and he caved.

After our coffee break we headed back to the Brandenberg Gate to continue walking where we left off the previous evening. But, it was persistently raining and the kids were tired. We paid the extra money to hop on one of those sightseeing buses for a 2 hour tour of Berlin. Thing 2 caught a nap while we became more oriented to the city. Despite the price of 15 Euro per person (children free), it was well worth it for Thing 2 to get a nap.

The only reason to board one of these buses is to get the commentary as you ride around. If you don't care abotu the commentary or already know what you are looking at, hop on Bus 100 or 200. These stop at all the tourist areas beginning/ending at the Zoo and Alexanderplatz. We rode Bus 100 for the remainder of time in Berlin due ot the U-bahn situation.

By the end of the tour, it had stopped raining, so we continued from the Brandenberg Gate onto Unter den Linden, a very pretty street whose name literally means "under the linden trees." The trees were practically bare, but they were lit up from beneath and the whole street was quite nice. The street is lined with restaurants, shops, luxury car showrooms like Ferrari and Bentley and the massive Russian Embassy complex. According to the tour guide on the bus, the mammoth complex doesn't just hold the Embassy, but houses a school for the Russian children whose parents work there as well a pool and other perks. The guide called it "a city onto itself."

We found a restaurant called Maredo's which is a chain of Argentinian-like steakhouses. The food was good although it is not authentic Argentinian cuisine. But, it was a family restaurant despite the candle light. My kids actually ate some thing other than chicken nuggets - their German counterpart wiener schnitzel.

The streets perpendicular to Unter den Linden house several Embassies including the British and French which are closest to the gate. After the war, the city of Berlin was divided in four with the Soviet sector to the East and an American, British and French sector to the west. Interestingly, today, those four nationalities are the closest in location to the Gate.

We ran across the Berlin Store on Unter Den Linden and found their prices for some things to be quite reasonable compared to other places we had passed by. Berlin isn't the tourist trap that Prague is, but it has it's fair share of traps.

Thing 1 passed out shortly after that store visit. Since it had stopped raining and we really didn't have an opportunity to walk earlier, we walked the mile and half back to our apartment. On the way, we passed Bebelplatz. This is another place where a profound statement was made showcasing a bit of history.

Bebelplatz is surrounded by the Staatsoper (State Opera), St. Hedwig's Cathedral and a Library. To anyone who has not read anything about the square, you may simply pass it by. But, it is here that the Nazi's held a massive book burning in the 30's. A simple memorial was made underground. The only way you will notice it is by walking onto the square and making your way towards to the other groups of people looking into the ground. Once you get there, you will find a glass square and when you look inside you see a white room with empty bookcases. Enough said!

After getting back to the apartment and putting the kids to bed, the Cat and I ended our exhausting day with a bottle of champagne to mark our 7th wedding anniversary.