Berlin - First Contact

Berlin has a very comprehensive public transport system, some of the trains & stations are really old but still well functioning. The only downside with the old trains is the carts doesn't not interconnect... My first train stop is at the 'gigantic' Hauptbahnhof station which consists of 5 storeys building & so many shops / eateries, looks more like an airport to me, I feel so small...
Right outside the train station, the traffic light caught my attention, yes, the traffic light. Former east Berlin has funny traffic light 'man' which is so popular among the tourist that there're special souvenir shops and even a restaurant themed on Ampelmännchen (traffic light in German).

Ampelmännchen products range from typical tourist souvenirs (key chain, postcards, fridge magnets, ear-rings, necklace pendants, T-shirts, umbrella) to weird CDs featuring 'train station sound in the morning' etc and jelly gums in Ampelmännchen man shape. There are even areas in western Berlin where broken / aged traffic lights have been replaced with ones that feature the cute traffic light man.

Germans have quite good sense of humour in 'nick-naming' some buildings...like the press's beach (not really a beach but the press usually sit back & relax by the river side after interviewing politicians at the nearby government buildings), the washing machine (which is actually the federal chancellery), the pregnant oyster (the Congress Hall)...

Pic: The Press's 'beach'

Pic: The 'washing machine' (my friend says everything is round inside...she wrote a letter to the relevant party & tried to get me in there for a visit but we have to wait half a year, oopss...)

We walked to the nearby Reichstag (Parliament house), wanted to go to the glass Reichstag dome for a 360 degree view of Berlin landscape but just the long queue (circled in red in picture below) scared us away...instantly we reached to mutual agreement: next time!

Pic: Reichstag with long queue to the dome

So we continue walking towards the well-famed Brandenburger Tor (which is my favourite attraction in Berlin, will talk more about it in a separate blog) & then the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is a relatively new attraction built in the memory of all Jews killed during the Nazi time (http://www.scrapbookpages.com/berlin2002/JewishMemorial/index.html).

Honestly, I think it's a little creepy to walk among the stones (some are twice or even more? my height) & don't feel quite safe as there're no visibility at all at some locations, anything could happen without anyone knowing. My friend told me the authority has to hire guards to petrol in the memorial area to ensure pedestrians' safety.That's the first part of my day1 first 'encounter' with Berlin which I think is long enough, hehe...well I have a long & interesting first day but I can't wait till everything is 'reported' to post the blog, so, the rest will be continued in next blog, hopefully soon...