A year in pictures: Week 38... er... A day in Berlin!

There are too many pictures that I want to post from this week, so each day/city will need it's own post.

Lee and Tricia were here over Memorial day weekend, so we took advantage of Erick's time off and planned a trip to Berlin. 

Day 1: We decided to take the train and found that if we were willing to make a transfer or two, the train was pretty cheap. It was so much better than driving! Here are Lee and Tricia:

Erick entertaining Bailey with the iPad:

Joey and TJ playing DS

Even David traveled well on the train. But then, he always travels well :)

Erick and I are standing in front of the Reichstag, which houses the German Parliament. Believe it or not, I recognized it from the miniature version that I saw in Legoland. The Lego version looked just like this:

Our cute little family in front of Brandenburg Gate. This is one of those moments where - again - I thought to myself, "I can't believe we are living here, enjoying all of these amazing experiences."

This is Bebelplatz. This is where, on May 10th 1933, a group called 'Action Against the Non-German Spirit' burned piles of books that were on Hitler's 'black list.'

This is Lee and Tricia making out in front of the romantic Landwehr canal (at least that's what I think it's called):

Lee was reading about Berlin on the entire train ride, and he read even more when we got here. He ended up making a great tour guide:

Me and my big brother in front of the Berliner Dom (also known as the Berlin Cathedral):

It seems like I have to have a picture of my kids feeding the birds in every major city in Europe:

The view from the apartment we were renting:

I stayed at the apartment to put the kids to bed, but the big kids (Lee, Tricia, and Erick) set out for more sights. This is Schloss Bellevue. It's Germany's version of the White House. This is where the president lives:

Next, they got to see the Victory Column. This monument was designed to commemorate the victories of Prussia in the 19th century. The statue at the top is Victoria, the Goddess of Victory:

Day two: Behind us is Checkpoint Charlie. The best-known Berlin Wall crossing:

Part of the Berlin Wall still standing:

Throughout the whole city, this brick line marks the location of the no-longer-standing Berlin Wall. My family each have one leg in East Berlin and one leg in West Berlin:

Next, we decided to leave Berlin and head to Potsdam to check out some palaces. This is New Palace. It was built after the Seven Years' War in the 1760's. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace:

Back behind us is Sanssouci Palace. Some say it is the German equivalent of France's Versailles. This was the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia

The train ride home was anything but boring. Lee saw to that:

We had an hour to spare while changing trains in Hof. We explored the town a bit and saw these cool street lights. Loved them: