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Henrietta suggested we do a very Danish thing and rent bikes to tour the city.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5658/...352d0a3c_c.jpgcopenhagen 16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/777/2...3d5e2e90_c.jpgcopenhagen 44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/678/2...e8d83783_c.jpgcopenhagen 45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/693/2...9101a77d_c.jpgcopenhagen 46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/611/2...8219999a_c.jpgcopenhagen 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5687/...7df262ee_c.jpgcopenhagen 26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Then it was a visit to Christiania, which is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood inside the Christanshavn area of Copenhagen. It has been a source of controversy since its creation in a squatted on military area in 1971. Its cannabis trade on Pusher Street has been tolerated by authorities, but is gang run and really has nothing to do with the people who live in Freetown. This is a very creepy area with guys in ski masks hiding behind army camouflage nets selling weed. No photos allowed of course.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/679/2...539c50f9_c.jpgcopenhagen 70 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here we continued the tour and ended up on Paper Island at Copenhagen Street Food to check out the street food trucks. We met up with two other adventure riders Lars and Annette.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/635/2...d50a39c1_c.jpgcopenhagen 72 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5630/...76d3c79c_c.jpgcopenhagen 73 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5805/...e76c3503_c.jpgcopenhagen 75 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Setting out south from Copenhagen we had a great day at 24 degrees and slightly cloudy. There was almost no wind. We made the ferry at Gedser in good time after 155 km.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/722/2...6a0d2e38d1.jpgScreen Shot 2015-09-01 at 10.59.36 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Here you can just ride up and get a ticket. There were about 15 other bikes here as well. The lashing points are pretty good. They space the bikes out at designated spots along both outer walls, where there are permanently attached ratchet tie downs that secure the bike to the wall and the deck. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/634/2...654dedb8_c.jpgberlin 1 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The crossing was very calm on the 2-hour trip.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/597/2...658179caed.jpgScreen Shot 2015-09-01 at 11.00.03 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr From here we headed east to the island of Rugen Germany. This was just a scenic stop that was not too far from the ferry in case we had issues and arrived later in the day. We set up camp and then took a tour thru the national park. The storm in the night was incredible. It was pouring, like build an ark pouring and the thunder and lightening were deafening. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5822/...4a73560fe3.jpgScreen Shot 2015-09-01 at 11.03.15 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Luckily for us it stopped in the early morning so we could pack up in the dry. We then backtracked to the 20 and rode south and west on the dreaded highway all day in 34-degree heat to get to Berlin.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5786/...7bfc87af2d.jpgScreen Shot 2015-09-01 at 11.04.27 PM by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Our green card insurance runs out this week and we need to renew at ADAC. They are the only agents who will do this now. We arrived to the huge ADAC office near the Mitte zone about 2. The agent informed us that there are no ADAC offices in Berlin that sell green card insurance since the end of 2014. The nearest offices are more than 100 km (in almost all directions) away. AGH! Well what can you do? So melting in the heat we made our way to the hotel we had booked near the Tiergarden. Driving up the main road we rode up to the Victory Column. This commemorates the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian war of 1866. As we rode up the street a truck pulled up next to us and the passenger yelled out to us with thumbs up “Welcome to Berlin!” https://farm1.staticflickr.com/705/2...f2f85ae1_c.jpgberlin 3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
After some cold showers and aircon we ventured outside. Near our hotel is the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church, which was heavily damaged in bombing raids in 1943.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/672/2...b4f5a44e_c.jpgberlin 4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We walked about 5 km thru the gardens, past the Victory Column, (which since 1864 has commemorated the Prussian victory in the Prussian-Danish War), and to the Bundestag or parliament with its glass -domed roof. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/781/2...211d9a13_c.jpgberlin 5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5741/...b4a366b6_c.jpgberlin 6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5649/...1b107ff5_c.jpgberlin 8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5772/...a88e4d51_c.jpgberlin 12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Next we headed to the nearby Brandenburg gate. This is one of the original 14 gates to the city. This 18th-century arch is one of the best-known landmarks of Germany. Out front of the gate you can see 2 lines of bricks that mark the location of the Berlin wall that divided the city for almost 30 years.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5783/...8305cc4f_c.jpgberlin 14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/713/2...3518a686_c.jpgberlin 15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5751/...0d007062_c.jpgberlin 16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/655/2...c90f381d_c.jpgberlin 61 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Today we signed up for a walking tour of the city. This included a trip to Museum Island a UNESCO site. The evidence of the mortar wounds is clearly seen.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5713/...05b84c89_c.jpgberlin 20 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5689/...17e2d34c_c.jpgberlin 21 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/688/2...d39a2d8e_c.jpgberlin 22 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/685/2...04887359_c.jpgberlin 24 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The Museum of Fine Art
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/616/2...c3836cbb_c.jpgberlin 23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr The massive Altes museum and the domed Berlin Cathedral flank the large square. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5690/...57dddc39_c.jpgberlin 25 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5750/...526850f6_c.jpgberlin 26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5679/...3b25ab57_c.jpgberlin 28 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/656/2...720970ae_c.jpgberlin 30 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/686/2...9f17b9a0_c.jpgberlin 31 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5824/...f73656a6_c.jpgberlin 87 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
From here you can see the tallest “building” in Germany. This is the TV tower built by the Socialist German Democratic Republic to be “seen” by those in the West.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5684/...1d0b3682_c.jpgberlin 33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr Next it was the memorial to the fallen soldiers of all wars. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/586/2...5b3815cf_c.jpgberlin 44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/741/2...edbe57ec_c.jpgberlin 41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5753/...c48b63b4_c.jpgberlin 42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/596/2...aa57dd1b_c.jpgberlin 48 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The memorial to the infamous Nazi book burning in 1933 is in front of the University Library. The picture does not show it well, but the Plexiglas covers the opening to a white room lined with empty white bookshelves with space for 25,000 books.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/641/2...012bf893_c.jpgberlin 45 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/623/2...f51f6b01_c.jpgberlin 46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/612/2...957cd9e4_c.jpgberlin 47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
This is an example of a “ghost” station on the subway. When the wall was up these stations were not open for access as the trains running here were West Berlin cars that passed under this area in East Berlin. They did offer opportunities for escape to the west however.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/567/2...f6a2e0d2_c.jpgberlin 51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr From here you pass the British, French, and USA embassies, which flank the Brandenburg gate. The Napoleon took the original statue from atop the gate in 1806 and the new one turns her head to eye the French embassy! https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5681/...8ecb2e77_c.jpgberlin 57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/760/2...720a58fc_c.jpgberlin 53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/694/2...da87fdfc_c.jpgberlin 56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/617/2...b80f9b80_c.jpgberlin 55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/742/2...0db04582_c.jpgberlin 58 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/750/2...89058fde_c.jpgberlin 59 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We just passed by the Memorial for the Jews murdered in the holocaust. It was getting late in the day so we will have to come back here to visit
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5789/...22d42be0_c.jpgberlin 63 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickrit the information center. https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5632/...639f4b1d_c.jpgberlin 62 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/733/2...90e6e2cf_c.jpgberlin 64 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr We visited the site of Hitler’s bunker, which is now a parking lot in an effort to “normalize” the site. There is a small plaque erected in the corner for information. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/603/2...33df5325_c.jpgberlin 66 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/737/2...f22ae204_c.jpgberlin 67 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5682/...7a614546_c.jpgberlin 68 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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