The first morning we took the metro to the marathon Expo that was at an old airport (Tempelhof Airport) on the south side of Berlin. As soon as we walked in Bill commented that this was the airport from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." I of course laughed this off, but turns out he was right!
They had a huge kids area at the expo and of course Jacob had to see the airplane.
Next stop was Checkpoint Charlie which was named because of it's checkpoint number (1-alpha, 2-bravo, 3-charlie, etc). Checkpoint Charlie (or checkpoint #3) was the checkpoint between East and West Berlin where most foreigners passed. While the original checkpoint is no longer there, a mock border crossing guard station stands in it's place.
Right near the Checkpoint museum we stumbled upon an old photo booth and I insisted on getting a few pics with Jake. We didn't purposefully leave Bria out, she just happened to be asleep in the stroller. At first Jake wasn't sure what to make of it, but by the final picture I think he had gotten a hang of it. I just love how they turned out and hope to give these to Jake when he is older.
Next, we went to see another fragment of the wall that happens to be located in the same area where the Gestapo and SS headquarters used to be.
Made a quick pit stop at Starbucks to refuel before continuing on.
Next stop was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The 2,711 gravestone looking concrete pillars (this number has no significance) from afar seem pretty ordinary in appearance, but when you get close and walk between the pillars this is not the case.
Now on to the Brandenburg Gate. The gate (1791) is the last remaining gate of the original 14 in Berlin's old city wall. On top of the gate there is a statue of the Goddess of Peace and a 4 horse chariot. At one point Napoleon took the statue to the Louvre in Paris, but once he was defeated by the Prussians, they returned it to it's original location on top of the gate and renamed her the Goddess of Victory. The gate remains a symbol of peace in Berlin. The highlight was being able to run through the gate the next day.
I am pretty sure we walked our own 1/2 Marathon that day, but the last stop was the Berlin Dom before heading home to get off our feet.
And that brings us to race day. I have done a lot of great races over the years, but this one is definitely going in the books as one of the most memorable. The entire course consisted of running by/through Berlin's history. Got to run through the Brandenburg Gate, next to Checkpoint Charlie, etc. etc, not to mention doing it with 30,000 others. One more item checked off the bucket list.
For this first time runners had to wear an orange bracelet to be allowed in the starting and finishing area. I am assuming this was a result of the Boston Bombings.
Good luck hugs from my little pirate.
Messing around while Daddy babysits.
Waiting patiently for the runners (*side note- Daddy was in charge of dressing Jacob that day)
Most of the time these two are best friends.
Bria was yelling "yay" and cheering for all the runners. Any time Jake sees someone running he will tell you "Look, they are running a race."
Bill was only able to get one picture of me after I passed.
Great race, great sites, the best cheering section and a PR too. All in all, a great day!
Post-race cool down.
Found a RS' recommended deli for some lunch.
Bria is REALLY into animals these days and insisted on carrying her bear all over Berlin.
Decided to do a boat cruise on the Spree River. You can see Jake enjoying the audio guide and had to get "Capt. Morgan" in the back. We were shocked to learn that Berlin actually has more bridges than Venice.
The classic beer and bottle picture that we have from every country.
We didn't actually have time to visit any of the Museums, but we did pass by Museum Island.
Just enjoying some gelato before we head home. Jake received lots of compliments on his outfit.
And that wraps up yet another memorable trip...
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