day one in Berlin.

Before heading out in the morning, we decided on some of the places that we absolutely had to see before we left by looking through the welcome card book, and the book that Anton's parents bought us. We had decided to go to Potsdamer Platz to visit the Lego Discovery Center, and from there go to the Holocaust Memorial. We had a lot of fun along the way!

On the way to Potsdamer Platz, I noticed something in the subway that I felt that at least one of my friends would appreciate:

I felt like Nickie would appreciate this, its a poster for Tanz Der Vampire, the German musical that she introduced me to.

After getting off the U-bahn, we arrrived at Potzamer Platz. It's a gorgeous place. There was so much to do! One of the first things we saw after getting off the U-bahn was some pieces of history! They had pieces of the Berlin wall set up there.

one section of the wall. 

a view from around the area.

many sections of the wall, along with the history of it.

well, it was supposed to be rotated, but is basically says Berlin Wall, 1961-1989

the station.

me with the wall sections.

this surprised me. I'm curious if anyone knows the story behind this. Its gum all over a section of the wall. 

It just seems weird that people would just stick their gum all over this piece of history.

After looking at the sections of the wall, we went down the street, to another area. I'm not exactly sure what it is called, but its very cool looking. I found something interesting in this place though, on the giant television, they were playing an interview with a famous actor (Christian Bale) and they dubbed over his voice. It was interesting, because in Sweden I have not come across that sort of thing. In Sweden the shows that are in English, are played in English for the most part, with the exception of children shows. So to hear them dubbing over an interview was interesting.  Here are some pictures: 

a random starred sidewalk. Not exactly sure what it was there for.

the plaza that we found.

this appeared to be the mascot for the German International Film Festival that was going on this week.

from inside the plaza

the film museum.

inside the plaza

The giant television playing the dubbed interview of Christian Bale. 

above the plaza

After having fun looking around the little plaza, we decided to head to the Lego Discovery Center. We debated on going in or not, but in the end decided it was worth it. We got a discount because of our welcome card. It was an amazing thing to see all the legos! I am so glad that we went! We got to see lots of things! We saw a 4-D Lego movie, and I managed to get onto two rides. Granted they were meant for little children, but it is a HUGE step for me, because I don't like going on rides at all. Here are some pictures from Lego Discovery Center: 

A giant lego giraffe, outside!

the stairs leading down to the actual discovery center.

part of the lego model of Berlin.

Part of the lego model of Berlin.

super detailed model.

It even turned from day to night, and back.

lego model of Brandenburger Tor

Lego model of the Reichstag 

lego model of the wall falling.

the picture above was after the wall fell, this was before! 

If you look closely, you will even see the graffiti on the back wall.

me inside a lego shark.

On the way to the first lego ride, which was a dragon roller coaster that went slower than a bicycle.

Anton with Indiana Jones! 

Anton and R2D2

Hermione 

Harry potter

Hagrid!

Anton and Batman!

The second lego ride, it was a spinny thing. not really sure what its called, but, I survived! 

After spending close to two hours in the Lego Center, we went for lunch. The book that Anton's parents got us, suggested an Italian place which was not very far from our location at all! The place was called Vapiano. It was an interesting concept, because you put everything on a card, that they give you at the door, and pay for it as you leave. They also cook the food in front of you which is very cool! We were amazed by the quality and the price of the food. It cost us about 9 to 10 bucks for our dishes of pasta. I would have paid a lot more! It was that delicious! It was so quick too!  Here are some pictures:

outside the restaurant

the view from our table.

the cooking area 

as you can see its packed!

walking into the restaurant.

our pasta! 

dessert.

I guess for now this is a bunch to absorb, but I will be posting more about the second half of our day in a bit!