Or You Could Just Google "Berlin Landmarks"

Before I moved to New York, I'd been there four times, enough to "see the sights." Unless of course they required waiting in any sort of line, in which case, not my thing. (Someday, though, I WILL go to the top of the Empire State building, most likely at 1am before it closes for the night to avoid the crowds, but hey, that still counts!) So when I finally moved to Manhattan, I didn't really have to feel guilty about never making an effort. Tourist stamping grounds are not my stomping grounds. (Except in the case of my office, which is in the big fact middle of Grand Central - Bryant Park midtown.)

This is just a wordy excuse to justify the fact that up until now, I have made zero effort to see any famous landmarks in Berlin that couldn't be spotted from my window like the Berliner Fernsehturm (TV tower), or down the street, like the Wall memorial. But the weather on Saturday was beautiful so I decided to join the masses and see what there was to see (while weaving along at a painfully slow speed).

I walked for over three hours (there's a bus I could have taken, but let's be honest, I was never really going to join a gym and I have been allowing myself to buy the most ridiculous "groceries" so walking it was!). During this span, I was reminded of the time my family and I took our first trip to Washington D.C. We made our way around the Mall and were headed to the car to see the Jefferson monument when my dad spotted a heard of Japanese tourists. "If they are going to walk there, so are we! We can't be upstaged in our own country!" So being competitively patriotic, we started the long journey across the river. Only to see them all get on a bus moments later. USA, USA.

Anyway, that's how I felt most of the day because I kept telling myself, "It's not that far away." And then it was. But whatever, I had ordered an "eiskaffee" thinking for a silly minute that the Germans were embracing iced coffee, forgetting that eis means icecream... So yeah, USA, USA.

Considering Berlin's turbulent, war-filled history, it is pretty amazing the amount of landmarks that are still standing, but even with their impressive stature, I think my favorite part of the day was strolling through Tiergarten, the Central Park of Berlin. It was perfect weather and a little nature never hurt anyone.

But now that I've seen the monuments, I think it's safe to say I'll resume my exploration around the rest of the city away from the fannypacks. (That is until it's Christmas Markt season!!)

Museumsinsel Berlin

Berlin Dom; tourists; sunshine

Random awkward family photo

Berlin Victory Column (which seemed much closer when I started to walk toward it)

Brandenburger Tor (under construction)

(For some reason I am extremely captivated by my newest Berliner discover - 
GIANT SLUGS! Considering how much I hate snakes - more than anything in the world - 
these little appendigeless suckers are awesome!)

War, what is it good for? Monuments. 

Just in case you forgot what I looked like.