Sue and Jim at Charlotte Douglas on their way to Budapest for a Viking Grand Tour.
Beginning with my trip from Charlotte. At the airport I met two fellow travelers whose friends tuned out to be a fellow teacher from Stark County, Ohio who taught in the Perry School District in 1968-72 with me. Small world!
Nancy Jester Hartley and Jack from North Canton, Ohio. Began teaching in Perry School (Whipple Elementary) in 1968.Just before sunrise at 39,000 feet over the Atlantic!
Berlin has a wonderful program that encourages visitors to explore this wonderful city. It is called the Welcome to Berlin Pass. We got our passes at the Airport and they paid for themselves by letting us use the public transportation from the airport to the center of town without taxi charges to our hotel. So day one I used, plane, train, bus, and light rail to explore my new adventures.
Story for this part is found in the captions of the photos included.
TV tower: Standing tall on Alexanderplatz, it is not only the tallest structure in Germany but also the city’s iconic landmark. Built by the GDR (German Democratic Republic) in 1964-1969 to broadcast the East German Socialism world-wide.
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St. Mary’s Church. Originally a Catholic Church but at the Reformation it was a Lutheran Church. Martin Luther statue in front. Cross is from the 13th Century. “The Brandenburg Gate is one of Berlin’s most important monuments, a landmark and symbol with over two hundred years of history. The Brandenburg Gate used to be memorial of division – after the construction of the Berlin Wall, it was located in the restricted area and could not be visited by East or West Germans. After the fall of the Wall, the gate became a symbol of German unity.” (From Official Berlin Website: berlin.de)East Germany Checkpoint Charlie and the remnants of the Berlin Wall.
Ellen’s Travel Journal 2016-2025 