Winterwalk

We decided today to walk up to Checkpoint Charlie - the old American border checkpoint left over as a monument to remind Berliners and tourists alike that the free market is the way to go. To further remind any sentimental Communists who won that war, what you enter past the checkpoint and people fondling chunks of the Berlin wall is the formerly East Berlin borough of Mitte, a huge shopping district packed with people spending their Christmas cash.



We made it as far as Alexanderplatz and the t.v. tower seen just about anywhere in the city. I personally like the way it looks overlooking the Spree over in Friedrichshain, the neighbourhood we're moving into next week, but here's a shot of it next to the Berliner Dom and a ferris wheel - 1 of 2 within walking distance.



It was a pretty nice day, so cold my face froze, but relatively sunny for a while so I took some pictures along the canal. Walking down this same path a couple years ago is how I first fell in love with this city. Apparently, I'm not the only to feel this way, as it was jam-packed.




I also miss my morning walks along Lake Ontario and the two swans that hang out near the shore. So the dozens of them in the canal helped with that.



We also passed this on our walk. Possibly some sort of water pumping thing - deduced by the fact that it lay a few metres from the canal. It looks weird, but I'm sure that since it was built by Germans, it serves an oh so practical purpose and will last forever.