To the Gate!

After the museum we went back out into the cold.  And it was biting cold.  The snow started while we were inside, which made for some pretty Berlin views, but also made it hard to walk around.

We decided that since we were in the area, we would walk to The Brandenburg Gate.  On the way we passed a neat looking history museum that had a host of guards on the roof, and some really cool fence ornamentation.

The snow was pretty intense, and the wind was blowing it right into our faces as we walked.  Luckily, we were somewhat prepared, both wearing multiple layers of shirts under our big coats, with scarves up in front of mouths, bandit style, and hoods covering the rest of our heads.

And then we made it!  It was too bad there were so many people in front of it, but it was pretty impressive.  I did a little research; it was first built in 1791, suffered considerable damage during WWII, and was continually restored until 2002.  During the Cold War, the gate was isolated and inaccessible, right next to the Berlin Wall.  

We got really cold standing there taking pictures so we went into a Starbucks right on the corner to figure out what we were going to do for dinner.  We got hot chocolates while there, because why not? We found a road that might have a few options on it, and since we were warm again, we ventured back out.  We settled on a bright, clean, and warm-looking restaurant.  I got a Berliner beer and Taylor got fancy wine, and we both settled on large plates of pasta.

(photos by e.hunt)