The Brandenburg Gate

We got to Berlin right around 11:00 am. We were just driving around trying to find the Berlin Wall first, but we kept hitting all the main attractions as we were trying to find it. First we drove right through Check Point Charlie, then we passed the Brandenburg Gate. We decided to wait on the wall & park when we saw an open parking lot! We parked in a ghetto parking area, praying that nobody broke into our van while we were away, & walked toward the Brandenburg Gate. There were people EVERYWHERE! Everyone was carrying German flags or had flags tied around their waists. It took us a second, but we soon realized that the Berlin International Marathon was THAT day! Talk about a bummer. There was NO WAY we were going to get up close & personal to ANYTHING! Looking around we realized that all the main roads were shut down for the marathon. There was no straight shots to anything & some of the major monuments were surrounded by the marathon "path" so you couldn't get to them.

But walking along the side of the marathon road, there were several fun grassy areas for the girls to play around in. They especially loved any fountains we saw along the way.

Our first stop was the Brandenburg Gate. Of course, the marathon ran straight through the gate, so we couldn't get a picture straight on or underneath it. But we did get some beautiful shots from the side. And we must admit, it was kind of fun seeing all the spectators & runners in the marathon. It was pretty exciting when they passed by us!

Right next to the Brandenburg Gate was the US Embassy. The girls took a picture right in front of it.

We stayed there long enough to see the front runners of the Marathon run past us, & then we headed on our way to Check Point Charlie!