We got around Berlin via the excellent public transport.
The east German apartment blocks were distinctively boring.
It was utilitarian architecture. The green paint was added for visual interest after the wall came down.
We visited the GDR prison of the secret police. They were very effective in breaking people down there.
It was a blank spot on maps. People in that area of the city didn't even know it existed.
Back to the parliament building for a tour of the dome. Inscription: "For the German People".
The previous dome was destroyed in war. This one improves on it.
It has a spiral ramp that affords a good view of the city.
And is a sky-light for the parliamentary chambers below. The central mirrors bring natural light inside all day.
Berlin on a manhole cover! (No, the Seattle Space Needle wasn't imported to Berlin! The smooth round concrete tower here with a ball near the top was built by the east Germans for TV broadcasting.)
Next day on our way home, we drove through Leipzig.
We stopped to tour the Buchenwald concentration camp. This is the crematorium. It is hard to see the evidence of such suffering caused by humans, but we must remember so as to learn.
Nobody escaped until the camp was liberated.
In this north area of Germany there were many wind turbines. And there were poppy flowers in some fields.
The country was more hilly in the north, but consistenly there were fields separated by tree lines. And usually the hill tops were wooded. Very beautiful.
Near Agnes' place is the BASF plant: a city-sized chemical factory.
