We got off to a late start on Sunday after our whirlwind tour of Berlin the day before. Leaving Austin behind at the hotel (he was still recovering), Pam and I decided to return to the Riechstag to see if we could visit the dome. The Reichstag dome is an iconic glass dome constructed on top of the Reichstag building. If nothing else, it looked like there might be some nice views of Berlin from up there. We stood in line out in the cold for about 45 minutes before finally getting in. It was getting dark by this time, but I was able to get a few pictures off.
After walking around on the top of the Reichstag for a little bit, we decided to head to a nearby restaurant called Die Eins. The food was ok, but the real attraction was the nice location right along the river. Dorthe and Austin met us at the restaurant afterward.
We crossed into east Berlin and visited the Tacheles -- a squatting artists' paradise. Dorthe explained that artists (illegally) moved into the building after the Berlin Wall came down 19 years ago and turned it into one of the best-known exhibition spaces in the city. To be honest, it kind of felt like squatters had been living there for 19 years. The central stairwell smells of marijuana and urine. The structure is missing its back wall, and what remains of the building is covered in graffiti and peeling posters. It was no doubt an interesting place to visit.
After our tour of Tacheles, we decided to go see a movie at a nearby theater. The movie was called Berlin Calling, an independent german film with english subtitles. It wasn't bad. After the movie, we said goodbye to Dorthe and thanked her for her wonderful hospitality. Then Austin, Pam, and I headed back to our hotel for some rest. We flew back home the next morning -- us to Zurich, Austin to LA via New York. All in all, it was a great weekend.
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