Berlin May 2008

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Berlin May 2008

The pictures are from a sight seeing scavenger hunt, which was a team building event at the recentSiemens Audit conference I attended in Berlin. The group of 500+ auditors was divided into groups of 10people (we had 8, 2 no shows I guess). We were given a map, a list of the places we needed to go, a listof questions related to the locations and city to answer, a bus/subway pass, a camera (to obtain evidencethat we made it to each location) and a time and place to be, at the end. We were taken by bus, anddropped off around the middle of town and sent on our way (I can not imagine any US company doingthis to a group of foreigners – and not sure if anyone took inventory for the missing at the end). Each

location had a tour guide to provide information and to take a group photo.

My group consisted of Me (USA), and a person each from Australia, Singapore, Japan, Germany (but notBerlin), The Check Republic, South Africa, and Denmark. (all really nice people, so our group had fun)

These pictures were taken with my phone camera, so they are not great, and not necessarily from thebest angles, due to the short time we spent at each location.

Some of the pictures are of things that were not on our list, but items we past on the way.

The winning team was all Germans (except 2, from the US), and included several people that had a handin organizing the event … but I’m not saying it was fixed.

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The concrete slabs are remaining pieces of the Berlin wall. In between them are some

pictures of this same section of the city before and during the time the wall was there.

Before the wall, it was the “city center”, largely destroyed during WWII, While the wall

was up, there was pretty much nothing around, and many of the buildings were

abandoned and taken down. Today this area is back to being a “City Center” with

office towers, subway/rail station, shopping and places to eat.

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This is a memorial to the Jews that were killed by the Germans during WWII. The

ground here is not flat, and the pillars vary in size from about 1 foot to 6 feet. I think

there was around 3,000 of them

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Brandenburg Gate – Over 200 years old, The only gate remaining

from a series used as entry points to the city.

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The Reichstag – This is the capital building (since 1999 after the capital was moved to

Berlin from Bonn when the wall came down) . It was originally a parliament building

going back 100 years. It has a new glass dome (the original dome was destroyed in

WWII) which is a viewing tower from which you can see most of the city.

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The RosenstraBe memorial – RosenstraBe is a section of town where Jewish men

(Married to non-Jewish women) were gathered to be sent to concentration camps.

Their wives staged a protest here asking for the men to be return. It was one of the

few times there was open protest against the Reich’s actions. Additionally, because of

recent military defeats and a desire to keep the city’s spirits up, many of the men

were actually returned.

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Nikolai church – The oldest church in Berlin. Built in the 1300’s (restored after WWII

– I believe in the 70’s/80’s). Located in the oldest part of the city which was founded

about 1200. The small area of town is now a combination of restored old buildings

and some more modern looking buildings and is primarily shopping and restaurants.

We were told the original founders of the city named it Berlin, which means “Muddy

Ground”

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Berliner Dom (a church)– originally built between 1895 and 1905, The main dome was

destroyed in WWII and was not restored until the 80’s when the political climate began

to change. This is located in the East German part of the City, and the communist

didn’t like to spend money on churches.

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The Berliner Dom again – The lighter colored patches on the walls and pillars, is

where they repaired damage from the war. The construction in the background is

where they are taking down an old communist government building (dismantling rather

than knocking down due to the amount of asbestos used) – The communist took down

the old palace and built the government building on the site. The plan is to rebuild the

palace exterior with a modern interior.

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Fernsehturm – Located in East Berlin, it’s a TV tower built by the Soviets during the

late 60’s. It is the highest structure in Germany. There is a restaurant and

observation deck in the ball part. The Red brick building on the right side of the

picture is the Berlin town hall (Rathaus) -it looks kind of like of brick warehouse.

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This is a memorial to the books that were burned by the Nazi party in the mid 30’s (a

specific event). It is in the ground (so you look down into this window) outside the

library in the large courtyard where the burning took place. It’s a room with empty

bookshelves with enough space for the books that were destroyed. It’s estimated that

around 20,000 books, deemed too liberal, or that had Jewish authors were destroyed.

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Small museum – can’t remember the current name. It has changed names

and purpose throughout its history at the will of the current powers that be.

It started as a museum dedicated to the end of Dictatorship – Changed by

the Nazi’s then the Soviets, and again by the united Germany.

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The Sony Center – At the newly revived city center (post wall). It wasCompleted in 2000, There are several buildings that make up the

complex, as well as a main rail/subway station. This part of the

center is covered, but not fully enclosed.

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This is some sort of local drink in Berlin. It taste like beer mixed

with Hi-C, not that great, but it did hit the spot during all the

walking. The day was sunny and around 80. (Perhaps this stop

was a reason we didn’t win)

Berlin May 2008

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