I finally found a decent computer

...so here are some updated pictures:

First up, is this club that we found near our hostel. You all have no idea how absolutely amazing this place is. We've been back for two nights already and will probably do so again tonight. Basically, it is an old warehouse that a Jewish family stored their business stuff in before the war. It is HUGE. Well, needless to say, Berlin was FUCKED UP during the war by the allied bombings. This warehouse was no exception. It was sheered in half. What is left was recently turned into an art squat and a club. The courtyard is filled with sand and huge sitting rocks. All around is trash art that is freaking awesome (I'm talking halves of helicopters and shit), and alright techno coming from all directions. There are six bars throughout the place, one of which is on the top of the warehouse in a converted balcony. I love this place.

Next up is all of the tourist stuff.

First at bat is Checkpoint Charlie. This was the entrance way between East and West Berlin. Often the point of conflict. it has since turned into one of the biggest tourist traps in the world.

Next up is the Berlin Wall... or what is left of it. Ironically they had to erect a fence to prevent people from taking the wall apart piece by piece.

This is one of the sniper watch towers that were in place along the wall.

This is one of the many memorials the Soviets built for themselves after they breached Berlin in WWII. What makes this site very interesting is, to either side are the first and second soviet tanks to enter the city, and under the stairs are 20,000 soviet soldiers that died in the invasion. The plaques show the names of all of them.

This structure easily has the coolest story out of anything in the city. It was erected to celebrate the German and Persian victory over France. The cool part is what it is constructed of. Obviously the base and the tower itself are constructed of concrete... but the decorations and the angel on top are all made of melted down French cannons from the war. How fucking burley is that??

Here is a good shot of the German parlimentary building, the Reichstag. It is very beautiful. The glass dome on top is supposed to represent the transparency of the new German government.

Last, is something I thought was just totally bizzare. We have had beautiful weather for the whole time we were here, until of course I actually said something about how lucky we are. Well almost right after I did, the wind picked up, and all hell broke loose. This is a picture of torrential downpours in addition to a dust storm created by the high winds. It was INSANE!