On our first full day in Berlin, the weather improved a bit.  Good for us as it enabled us to tour without fear of any downpour any time during the day.  Our first stop of the day was the Potsdamer Platz.  Along the way, we saw this statue of a man on a ladder.

Scenes from Potsdamer Platz

Berlin's Hollywood Walk of Fame

A piece of the wall at the Potsdamer Platz Bahnhof

More of the wall on display outside the Potsdamer Platz Bahnhof

Yuk!  This piece of the Berlin wall is covered with gum.

Public bikes.  We saw a lot of these all throughout Berlin.  I like the idea a lot.  I just don't think the concept of rental bikes left out in the open is feasible in the US.  These bikes will be stolen before you know it.

Little did I know that the Sony Center was in Potsdamer Platz.  Well, here it is.

I had seen pictures of the Sony Center in magazines and even saw it on TV a few times.  I thought it was a mall with stores, lots of stores.  It turns out it is actually more a place to watch movies, more in the line of  Century Theaters or an AMC.  There were lots of restaurants too.  What makes it stand out is its huge size.

This is how the Sony Center looked like indoors.

The glass ceiling

The film, Spiderman, showing in one of its theaters

One of the entrances to the center

Years ago, during our summer vacation in Zurich, Switzerland, we saw painted cows all over the city.  In my hometown of San Francisco, we have the hearts.  In Berlin, it's the bear.

The Tiergarten is to Berlin just as Central Park is to New York

The Holocaust Memorial

I couldn't believe how the memorial came out in this picture.  It looks like an art print when in reality these are really blocks of cement placed in a line one after another.

This is how it really looks surrounded partly by the rear of the US Embassy Building, the Adlon Hotel, condo residences, and other buildings.

The Brandenburg Gate facing Unter Den Linden

This part of Berlin used to be East Germany.

At the Brandenburg Gate once again

Marc by the Brandenburg Gate

Together in front of the Brandenburg Gate

A view of the Reichstag from the Brandenburg Gate

Just like what the employee from our IBIS Hotel in Potsdamer Platz said, a lot of the sights in Berlin are close to each other.  She was indeed right as we later discovered.  The Brandenburg Gate was just a few steps away from the Reichstag which we visited next.  I watch Euromaxx and European Journal on cable very often and they featured the glass dome of the Reichstag a few times.  Of course, we had to visit it and it did not fail to impress.  Visitors were not allowed without passes.  The number of visitors was likewise filtered and controled so the German Parliament Building would not be inundated needlessly.  We first had to go to an small information office and get our stickers to go in.  We formed part of the blue group which was ushered into the building by a young guide all the way to the floor leading to the glass dome.  Once inside, we were left to explore on our own with an audio guide.  The audio guide was extremely informative.  It lead visitors from the bottom to the top of the dome describing the different landmarks of the city which surrounded the Reichstag.

The facade of the German Parliament or Reichstag

This is our group, the blue group, being escorted into the Reichstag for our independent tour of the building.  We were each given a round blue sticker which we placed on our shirt.  After going through security check, we all took an elevator to the floor where the glass dome was located.  Each of us were given an audio unit in the language of our choice.  Some took guides in Japanese, others in French or Spanish.  We used the one in English of course.

Here's a view of the glass dome of the German Parliament Building or Reichstag from the bottom

This is the glass dome of the German Parliament or Reichstag.  Completed in 1894, The Reichstag was constructed in neo-Renaissance style.  It was heavily damaged after the Second World War.  It was rebuilt with the exception of a glass cupola that adorned its center.  The Reichstag again became home of German lawmakers after the fall of the Wall and German reunification in 1990.  This new glass dome was designed by Sir Norman Foster.

It was a good thing we visited the Reichstag when we did.  It closed for several days the day after our visit for cleaning and maintenance.

Here's a view of the glass dome from the top

The open top of the glass dome.  I initially thought that the roof of the glass dome was left open to allow air to come in given it was summertime.  We later found out that there was no retractable roof and the space on the very top of the glass open.  Rain and snow do enter and go down the funnel of the glass dome.

Me wearing our audio unit inside the glass dome of the Reichstag

A view of the dome from outside

The German flag from one of the corner towers of the Reichstag

Going up the glass dome of the Reichstag turned out to be very helpful to our sightseeing.  It gave us a good  idea of the lay of the land.  Given the height of the dome, we saw practically all of the sights of Berlin and plan our next visit.  We returned to the Berlin Hauptbanhof, had lunch, and then off we went to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the Ku'damm area.