We stayed at the Park Plaza Wallstreet Berlin, which is located on Wallstrasse. It is just steps from a main line on the U-bahn, 10 minutes walking to Alexanderplatz, the Pergamon and plenty of other major, must see sites. There's 
also an amazing tourist-focused pedestrian zone about five minutes from the hotel called Nikolaiviertel. In addition to plenty of places to eat and drink and the statue of 
St. Stephen slaying the dragon there are a great selection of antique shops and art galleries. My favorite place however was one of the nicest clock shops (new clocks only) I've seen in Europe so far. The most amazing music boxes as well.Our room was a little on the small side, but we had gotten a great discount deal so we didn't mind. Despite the size, everything was brand new and it was jammed with plenty of services and amenities including a giant tub with room for two. The staff were incredibly friendly, spoke impeccable English and were more than happy to help with anything you needed - as was every Berliner I met.
We flew into Tegel Airport, arriving about noon and were through customs in moments with our bags already waiting for us despite the fact that we had been bused to the terminal. Love that German efficiency. We picked up mass transit passes and then hailed a cab. Cabs, like much in Berlin, are incredibly affordable, especially after life in London. Our driver gave a great, pride-filled narration on the way to the hotel. We passed by the Victory Column (where Obama would appear the week after), the Holocaust Memorial - officially called the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the brand new American Embassy - the friendliest looking American embassy I've seen in a very long time - which officially opened earlier in the month on the 4th of July, then on to Museum Island and around the almost deconstructed GDR Palace of the Republic before winding up at the hotel.
Palast der Republik
The Palace of the Republic turned into this interesting quest for the first few days of the trip. I didn't know the name of the building, just that in 1989 there had been this huge white marble and gold glass building in East Berlin that you couldn't miss. And I couldn't find it in 2008. It took a few days and the help of my friend Felix who was born in "the East" and was involved in the protests surrounding the decision to tear the building down, to help me figure out that the giant deconstruction site I'd seen almost every day of our visit was the former Palast.The Pergamon
We immediately headed toward the Pergamon Museum and grabbed some street food on the way. It was definitely a dramatic change moment. Everything, from
the buildings that now had patched bullet holes to the new construction to the incredibly long line to get into the Pergamon was different.The Pergamon didn't disappoint either. It was just as incredible as last time to see the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate and the other amazing pieces of the collection.
There was also an interesting, but jam-packed exhibit called Babylon Myth and Truth, I'd say more, but the title speaks for itself. Was very interesting given that present day Iraq, Iran were included in the historical overview.
The next day we started with a walk by of Märkisches Ufer, which is a short block where the architecture is considered to appear unchanged (and well-preserved) since the 18th and 19th centuries. From there it was off to the Bodemuseum via Alexanderplatz. Alexanderplatz is a major transport hub and the last time I was there was billed as the "Times Square" of East Berlin. As you might suspect it didn't even come close. It's mostly a shopping and eating spot now. We got our fix for some Dunkin' Donuts coffee there one day.
The Bodemuseum is first a striking architectural experience, built at the end of the Prussia empire with a soaring domed lobby that has a great cafe overlooking the huge space. We were specifically in search of the two sculptures they have 
by Bernini, so we could practice what we had learned in Rome early this year.Then it was off to the Berliner Dom (if I have my German right, dom means cathedral). A beautiful church, the restoration from the destruction caused by the bombings during World War II is what is most awe inspiring about this place. Next on the agenda was Hamburger Bahnhof and on our way there we stumbled onto a great little find, the Hackesche Höfe, a little set of interconnected co
urtyards. For some, it's a movie theater and a great place to eat and drink. For us it was about the amazing architectural work, which is 
considered a classic example of German Secession style.At the Hamburger Bahnhof we decided a snack was in order first, so we hit what we thought would be a typical museum cafe. Instead we landed at Restaurant Sarah Wiener. She's an "untrained" c
elebrity chef in Berlin known for not using recipes, though she has two cookbooks. Lunch turned into an amazing 2 hour, multi-course affair with wine, coffee and dessert. Everything was incredibly delicious and beautifully presented, I highly recommend this restaurant.The museum was even more amazing. First, it is more than 10,000 sf so it's a huge space. We saw some great Cy Twombly, which was a great thing to reinforce what we had just seen at the
Tate Modern exhibit. Some really amazing Anselm Kiefer work as well.It had been a serious day of touring and we were set for even more the next day, so we headed back to the hotel to chill before meeting up with our friends Felix and Sam for dinner.
