Goodbye Berlin

Our last morning in Berlin. We decided to walk down Unter der Linden to visit the TV Tower, passing the university and the beautiful Berlin Dom (cathedral) on the way. At 368m high the TV Tower is the tallest structure in Germany. It was built between 1965 and 1969 by the German Democratic Republic as a symbol of Berlin. When the sun shines on the tower's tiled stainless steel dome, the reflection usually appears in the form of a cross. This effect was not anticipated by the architect. Berliners nicknamed the luminous cross Rache des Papstes, or the "Pope's Revenge". We enjoyed going up the tower and seeing the view of Berlin from the top.

I liked the contrast of the old cathedral and the new TV tower in this scene.

We then went for a hurried visit to the Zoo before going to the airport. It was a choice of shopping around Ku'damm or the zoo, and Thomas obviously went for the zoo. They have many interesting species there although sadly their panda bear died in 2012.

We have really enjoyed our trip to Berlin. It is a much smaller city than I expected, much, much quieter than London with no queues and everything seemed to be much cheaper than London. A very worthwhile visit which Thomas really enjoyed.