Berlin II 2019

     The rest of my week in Berlin was spent rather quietly.  After all, this was the 15th time I have been there.   There is nothing "new" for me to see, so I can take it easy - which I like.  It was my 5th week long stay at the Eurostars Hotel in Berlin.  I really like/recommend this hotel.  The location is great.  Down the block from Freidrichtrasse station and minutes from Museum Insel and Unter den Linden.  The rooms are exactly what you would get in any 5-star chain hotel.  The service is very friendly, if not so efficient, and the breakfast lacks for nothing.

     I did go to the Pergamon Museum.  It is the first time I have gone in a few years.  The main building is getting an addition and renovation so you enter from the side and you can not see the actual Pegamon Alter.  You can see the Babylon Walls and the Islamic collection - all good.

I also got to see the progress on the Berliner Schloss.  I have watched this from the beginning!  The first time I went to Berlin in 2002 the old Palais der Republik was still standing.  This was the East German building for culture put up during communist days on the spot where the Hohenzollern Stadt Schloss stood for centuries.  On my many returns to Berlin I have seen the Palais der Republik turn down and the area turned into a green space where people laid in the sun and played volleyball and frisbee.  Then they began excavating to begin the redconstruction of the Berliner Schloss.  The exterior is basically done but for the dome entrance and the landscaping.

     I also did a lot of walking around and some shopping and possibly drank some beer.  I really enjoy Berlin, its walk-ability and they places to stop and while-away an hour.