After checking into our room at the IBIS Potsdamer Platz, the rain stopped.  We were glad it did as it enabled us to go touring right away.  Although our hotel seemed far from everywhere, we were surprised to find out that the location couldn't be beat.   Throughout our stay in Berlin, we walked to many attractions.   Of course, we also took the subway especially at night since we were already very tired to walk back to our hotel.  Anyway, just a block from the IBIS was the preserved Wall of Berlin which now forms part of the Museum of Topography of Terrors.  It is located in the Niederkirchnerstrasse, formerly Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, on the site of buildings on which during the the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945 were the headquarters of the Gestapo and the SS, the principal instruments of repression during the Nazi era.

This was once part of the Wall that divided the City of Berlin into East and West.  It has been preserved and is now part of the Museum of Topography of Terrors.

The Museum of Topography of Terrors

Another few blocks from this outdoor museum was Checkpoint Charlie.  What I only saw on TV, in the movies, and in history books, I was now visiting in person.  I couldn't believe it.  The place looked so commercial with all the souvenir shops and restaurants around.  There were even some men dressed as soldiers whom tourists posed with for pictures.  A few feet away was another man, also dressed as a soldier who stamped your passport with various visas from the now defunct German Democratic Republic (the Communist Germany) as well as the Federal Republic of Germany (The Democratic Germany).   All I could think off and actually asked Marc all the time was on which side we were standing on every time we walked around the area.

Checkpoint Charlie in the rain.

By the time we reached Checkpoint Charlie, it had begun to drizzle once again.  Since we didn't have lunch yet at the time (It was already around 5 pm.), we went into the nearby McDonald's for a quick bite to eat.  Whenever we were hungry, we didn't dilly dally and just went to the nearest fast food restaurant we could find.  We figured, we still had three weeks to savor the local fare, and we didn't worry too much about getting food from the golden arches.  Besides, we did get to try the local fare, lots of it over the period we were in Germany and Eastern Europe.

The rain continued after our quick stop in McDonald's but we continued touring anyway.  Luckily for us, the rain stopped again.  It just drizzled on and off throughout the evening.  From Checkpoint Charlie, we walked around the area now called Mitte.  Our hotel, is actually in the Mitte area of Berlin as well.  Anyway, it used to be part of East Berlin, but now it has undergone tremendous economic change.  It is now so upscale looking with all its shops, galleries, restaurants, department stores, and expensive condos.  If I were to live in Berlin, this is actually the area I would like to live in.  It is pretty indeed.

We also got to visit the Brandenburg Gate and Unter Den Linden for a short while that evening.   Seeing the gate was truly awesome.  We also saw the the Adlon Hotel where JFK once stayed in the 1930s and where the super rich and celebrities stay in Berlin.

The historic Brandenburg Gate

This is what's on top of the gate.

The Adlon Hotel

The United States Embassy right by the Brandenburg Gate

In many parts of Berlin, one will see bricks on the ground like the ones above.  They mark the places where the wall once stood throughout Berlin dividing the city between east and west.

These men were singing to their hearts content while riding this vehicle.  They were loud but very happy.

So were we to be in Berlin!