Our final full day of Berlin sightseeing has to include a river cruise as we must always sit on a boat where ever we go.
Before we head off though we indulge in our favourite German tradition – caffee und kuchen.
Then it’s off to board our boat for a float along the River Spree. Taking in some of the most iconic sights of Berlin including the Reichstag.
The floating man admires the Berliner Dom through the window of the boat.
The cruise took us through some of the impressive Government quarter with huge glass fronted offices. Below is the Kronprinzenbrücke, designed by Santiago Calatrava.
Below is the Bode Museum – one of the group of museums on the Museum Island. It was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904.
Later on that day we visit the poignant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. The original church on the site was built in the 1890s.
It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943 and the original spire and foyer have been left as it is as a memorial with a new church built around it on the site.
The new church was designed by Eiermann and consists of four buildings grouped around the remaining ruins of the old church.
The initial design included the demolition of the spire of the old church but following pressure from the public, it was decided to incorporate it into the new design.
Above is the ornate, damaged ceiling of the original church and to the right is the interior of the new one.
Because of the distinctive appearance of the new buildings, it is sometimes nicknamed “Lippenstift und Puderdose” (the lipstick and the powder box) by Berliners.
