Berlin Trip Day 3 and 4

Saturday morning we headed over to the Berlin Zoo. It was really fun to take Julian to the zoo and have him recognize animals that we have read about in books. He still isn't talking at all but I could tell that he really liked seeing the animals up close and in person. In the zoo is an aquarium with a great fish, reptile and amphibian exhibits. I think the boys really liked the snakes and the jelly fish the most. Another highlight was when we went to visit the polar bears and it just happened to be feeding time. The zoo keepers threw the meat into the water so the bears had to dive in and get it. That was really cool because the boys were standing right up near the glass where the bears were eating the food.

We got to the zoo just as it was opening and it was pretty deserted. Julian really liked the elephants and giraffes.

Four crazy monkeys posing for a photo (well, I guess one of them is a crazy gorilla).

The Berlin Zoo playground was fabulous. If I lived closer I might buy a season pass just for the playground! We spent about an hour eating our lunch and letting the boys run and climb and swing and jump.

This is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Allied bombs left only the shell of the west tower intact during WWII. After the war the Germans decided to leave the church as it stood instead of restoring it. This church really is amazing when you stand in front of it and imagine what Berlin must have looked like after months of bombing.

Our next stop was the Natural History Museum. The main attraction here was the enormous brachiosaurus skeleton, the tallest dinosaur specimen in any museum in the world. The boys also enjoyed the displays on human evolution and a movie about the big bang. We could have easily spent hours and hours in this museum but after a busy morning at the zoo we were all tuckered out.

Emerson studying a display of animals in the Natural History Museum. We will have to come back and spend more time at this museum, there was so much more to see.

Hey look, the sun came out! It was cold and rainy the whole time we were there except for a few precious minutes on Saturday evening...what a difference the sun makes!

Our plan for Sunday morning was to check out of the hotel and then head back into Berlin and walk around a bit more. However,as we pulled out of our parking space at the hotel it started to pour down rain; so we just put a movie on for the boys and headed home. After we drove for a few hours the storm let up a bit so we decided to hit the historic city of Leipzig. This picture was taken in the town square in Leipzig.

Goethe, the famous author of Faust, studied at the University of Leipzig. This is a sculpture of Faust being directed by the Devil. Legend has it that you can rub the foot of Faust for some good luck...hey it doesn't hurt to try:)

This photo was taken in front of the Town Hall. It is one of the largest in Germany with over 600 rooms! Even after living here for 2 years the old architecture of Europe still amazes me.

Townsend posing at the base of the Bach statue. Johann Sebastian Bach worked at St. Thomas Church from 1723 until his death in 1750. His remains lie beneath a bronze epitaph near the alter of the church.

This is the organ in St. Thomas Church. It's neat to imagine hearing Bach's original music coming from this organ each Sunday.

We spent about 4 hours in Leipzig. We did a walking tour (thanks Lonely Planet guidebook), we ate some extremely yummy pastries and we walked the streets that Goethe, Bach, Schumann, Wagner and Mendelssohn walked. All in all a pretty interesting side trip and a bonus to our Berlin vacation.