knutty knut!

I woke up Wednesday morning and threw on a tank top...Alison came back to the room and said, "think again...it's chilly outside!". I'm so glad I did the bike ride the first day when it was beautiful and sunny! So, I put on my sweatshirt and headed out for my second day of exploring in Berlin.

My first stop was the launch event...I went by to see the place all set up. It's amazing how fast they pull everything together half way around the world! Our commercial notebooks were in a mockup of an airplane. It was pretty warm and dark in the little airplane tunnel...so I'm glad my products are part of the next launch! :) Here's a shot of the outside of the convention center with all our HP decorations.
Next, I took the s-bahn to the zoo station. On the way I ran into this amazing church that was left as-is from after the war. The city is so beautifully rebuilt...this landmark stands out as a reminder of the history.

Another interesting tidbit...you see 2 types of crosswalk signs in Berlin. The West Berlin type, that are skinny green and red men. And the East Berlin type that are stout little men with a hat. After the 2 cities 'merged' they started to replace the East Berlin style then realized, "these are so much better!" so they left a few here and there. So, it's one of the indicators of when you're in the area that was previously East Berlin.

Next stop was the zoo...and this is where I fell in love! I visited giraffes, elephants and birds.

But, then I followed the signs to a cute little bear named Knut. O--M--G, he is the cutest little animal I have ever seen. If you don't know his story, check it out on wikipedia...he is just adorable. This little guy is a born ham! He pranced and performed for the crowd. He had about 70 people crowded around ooh'ing and ahh'ing. You can tell he just loves to play to his fans. Here are a few shot and of course a self portrait...haha! :)

After the zoo, I took the train back to the hotel and to plan where to head next. I checked the map and decided to walk one of the big streets back to the Brandenburg Gate.

Then visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This was eerie to walk through. The blocks are all different sizes and heights and the ground moves up and down to give you the illusion of being disorented. Here are a couple of photos...

From there, I went over to the Reichstag, the parliament building...and guess what I saw?? Two girls doing a JUMP pic!! Ha!! I wonder if they saw Jane and me doing it the day before. The jump pic is on fire! It's making its way around the globe!
I went up to the top and climbed the glass dome with quite a view of the city. The dome was finished in 1999 and merged into the existing architecture...it's a great symbol of the city with the old and the new. And is open for anyone for free!

After this, I walked to the hauptbaunhof, the main train station. It's all made of glass and pretty impressive! While I was there, the Turkey vs. Switzerland futbol game was about to start and there were red jerseys and flags everywhere! They were parading through the station and singing...they looked like they were having a great time!

My final tourist stop was back by the hotel. I cruised up to the top of the TV tower (the 13th tallest in the world), checked out the view and the art exhibit at the bottom. There were some great pics from the fall of the wall and other photos from all around the world.
As I walked back and the sun was setting, I caught one last great pic with the evening sun illuminating the beautiful buildings.
I snacked on pizza at a place near the hotel and watched the futbol game, then headed back to the room to set my alarm for 4:30am to get to the airport for my flight back to the USA.