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Bicycle Tour Adventure #39: Germany, Day 7
Above Left: Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (3 July 1676 - 7 April 1747) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau [Wikipedia]. He was a Field Marshal with a colorful career. He made the Prussian Army the fearsome corps that is known to history. He has fought the Spanish, Swedes, Poles, French, and Austrians which gave him his reputation but he saved some royal butt which gave him his upper ranks.
Above Right: Hans Joachim von Zieten (May 14, 1699 - January 26, 1786), also known as Zieten aus dem Busch, was a Cavalry General in the Prussian Army. He served in numerous wars and battles during the reign of Frederick the Great [Wikipedia]. There is another German von Zieten: Hans Ernst Karl, Graf von Zieten (1770-1848) [Graf is similar to Count], a Prussian General of the Napoleonic Wars
Above Left: Check Point Charlie: This is the original location of the actual Check Point Charlie but the original was torn down and, later, some industrious kids got together and recreated a copy of the Check Point Structure and then bought some period uniforms and they charge a few Euros for pictures and they are making some major college money. This is the recreated guard house (actual site).
Above Right: This is a Black and White (B&W) Image of the original Check Point Charlie. There are some pictures posted on a makeshift monument wall on a fence (it will become a monument some day, that's how these things get started sometimes). I have to tell the reader; around here Americans are Heroes and the Germans grateful for Americans, President Kennedy, and the Berlin Airlift.
Above Right: (B&W) of the beginning of The Berlin Wall.
Above Right: (B&W) of the Check Point.
Above Right: I saw this on the sidewalk; it is the WWII Germany Occupation Diagram. Someone explained the Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain, East and West Berlin, each Allied Zone of Control, and what the Americans/Allies had to do to drive (by ground vehicle) into Berlin from Check Point Alpha - It is all there, that is good graphic!
Above Right: We walked another block, my suspicion is confirmed, there is plaque in the double brick band; it says 'Berliner Mauer 1961-1989' (Germen for 'Berlin Wall').
Above Right: The Wall.
Above Right: Kids doing what kids have done since time memorial.
Above Right: Where The Wall went by the Brandenburg Gate (in the background); USA Zone to the Left side, Soviet Zone to the right side (we're looking south).
Above Right: Traffic Lights for Pedestrians and Bicycles.
Above Right: Transportation Museum: That is an US Army Air Corp DC-3. It is a Monday, so the Museum is Closed.
Above Right: Subway Train and it actually has our stop on screen, Brandenburg Tor. We're heading for the Reichstag.
![Madam Tussauo's Nicole Kidman [wax figure].](2011-09-26 AM 068.JPG "Madam Tussauo's Nicole Kidman [wax figure].")
Above Right: Reichstag, we're looking northwest.
"The Pope's Revenge": When the sun shines on the Fernsehturm's tiled stainless steel dome, the reflection usually appears in the form of a cross. This effect was neither expected nor desired by the designers.Above Right: This is a view of the Fernsehturm TV Tower from the Siegessäule (Victory Column) located on the other side of the Brandenburg Gate (we'll go there later today). Technically, we are standing in a former Communist East Germany looking across the [Free] American Zone of Berlin which started at Brandenburg Gate (which is at the end of the road in this picture) to the Communist Zone of Berlin which contains the Fernsehturm TV Tower.
Above Right: There is a long line, but luckily the line moves fast and one is buying tickets for a pre-set elevator ride time.
Above Right: Looking Northeast.
Above Right: Looking Westward. Note the views to the south were too sunny/bright for good pictures.
Above Right: A view of others from inside the tower.
Above Right: We found a train station and will ride it to the north end of the Teirgarten (Tea Garden).
Above Right: Flower Stall at train station.
Above Right: A Bear guards the river bridge.
Above Right: This lady saw us reading our map and stopped to see if she could help. We were debating which path to take and we took her recommendation.
Above Right: An actual Tea House (Teehaus).
The Siegessäule came to be a monument to represent the unification of Germany, but it started as a monolith/tower monument celebrating the defeat of the Danes in 1864 (for the Danish-Prussian war). But by the time it had been created, Prussia had additionally defeated both Austria and France in two separate wars (1866 and 1871 respectively). The Bronze sculpture of Winged Victory (8 Meters/Yards tall) was added and the monument was relocated from the front of the Reichstag area to its present Tea Garden / 17 June Strasse location in 1938. Had it not been relocated, it probably would have been destroyed at the end of WWII.
It is now located in a huge round-about and can only be accessed through a few underground tunnels (also used for pedestrians to avoid the huge boulevards). Furthermore the monument/tower portion was placed on a large marble (or marble looking facade) that had four huge bronze metal reliefs of famous battle scenes. There are holes and pock marks from WWII battles with (presumably) Russian soldiers. The French Army removed the plaques (which included a French Army defeat) but the Country of France returned them later. Some parts of the plaques are missing or stolen (like hands or heads) and there are bullet holes and explosion marks on some of the bronzes, especially the side facing eastward.
In typical German humor, it is sometimes called, in German, the words meaning "Golden Lizzy" or "Chick on a Stick"
Above Right: The climb; a spiral staircase with interim rest stations.
Above Right: A closeup on the bronze reliefs which demonstrates that this structure has been exposed to a little action.
Above Right: View from the Tea garden.
Above Right: It's a monument to the Soviet Soldier (created by the Russians while they occupied East Germany). That segment of the Green Area is called Treptower Park but it is in the area of the Brandenburg Tor and it is fenced off and closed to the public.
Above Right: Looking south from the same point. Here is Terry, who is trying to balance herself on the Berlin Wall line but I'm teasing her and she keeps laughing and can't maintain a one legged balance for more than one second; luckily, I got a picture of her 'on the fence' so to speak.
Above Right: The thing that looks like a Wine Bottle is the Beverage Menü (Bier, Wein, Wasser, Soda).
Above Right: Impressionist styled oil painting of the Brandenburg Tor.
Above Right: Dennis's Traditional German Supper - YUM!